Year: 1871

IL RA1LROAU.


The Northern Pacific Railroad company
las shown a good degree of wisdom thus
far in avoiding useless expenditures of
money. Their funds have been quite faith
fully applied to the building of the road,
and it is well that this IS the case So
enormous an amount of money will be re-
quisite to build and equip this great high
way that not even a t:i.ndref. Thousand dol
lars can be expended itjudiciously without
being felt as loss at some ime during the
construction Of the road. They cannot al
other purpose, not of national and interna-
tional Importance. Above all they cannot
afford to engage in any unnecessary town
site building or harbor building. They
will take things just as they find them and
use what is the most available.


We hear a great deal about the Lake
terminus Of the Northern Pacific. But any
spot however torlorn, would be the tempo
rary terminus if it would furnish track on
which they could run their iron out to the
Junction, the real initial point of the road
1t would be foolish indeed in the Company
ii thcy did not use any track they could
find in preference to wagoning their sup
plies over a common road, or bringing
them around by Chicago. Even Bark
Point by could act as terminus awhile had
It furnished a tramway for carrying iron
ctc. from the Lake to the Junction.


1t is claimed that the Northern Pacific
has an interest in the road they are using
from the Junction down to the Lake. 1t
Is not at All wonderful that Mr. Cooke, their
financial agent at present, should have been
allie 70 force them into some such arrange
men ii favor Of his enterprise on the other
sid Of the bay.


t IS hardly fair however to set this forth
!. the voluntary act ofthe Company. They
could not well help themselves. It was a
choice between two evils, either to lose the
six millions they expected from Mr.. Cooke,
or sink Il few thousands in his enterprises
1, his dictation. But it will not pay them
u - far III that line. Even Mr. Cooke
can overdo the business. lie can demand
s. much Of the Northern Pacific that it
would pay tie stockholders to select an
other agent, or he can saddle SO much
speculation on the company'S name as to
impair public confidence, delay the sale of
bonds, and SO hinder the great and needed
highway Of the nations as to necessltate a
thorough reconstruction of the manage
ment and its affiliations, real or seeming


But Judging the present directory of the
\. =. solely from their actions we can
safely credit them with being men of far
sighted business sagacity who know too
much to destroy or even allow the serious
impeding Of their great project, by extra
ncous entanglements beyond certain
point. To destroy their road, or their
credit for the sake Of village speculations
that can never by the remotest possibility
amount to anything till the road is safely
through, (even if they amount to anything
them is proceeding that the business men
Of the great northern thoroughfare viii
never consent to; and Judging the future
by the past we do not expect to see the
Northern Pacific railroad company eXpend-
ing any more money at the head of Lake
Superior during the next thirty-six months
than is absolutely necessary to convey their
IRON from their steamers to their road.


We are entirely without any expectations
ofseeing them laying out in the construc-
ton Of humbug harborage the very millions
that are vitality necessary to put their long
line OF road through the country between
this region and the far Pacific.