Year: 1871

ed States. The first reaches to the


year 1913, befor which time no rail


road bonds from the West were of.


fered or advertised in this city. The


second period extends to the out


break of the war, and shows a yery


active construction of railroads, and


a growing disposition on the part


OF capitalist to invest in their secu-


rites. The third period covers


the paper money expansion, with


the wonderful stimulus it has given


to railroad enterprise, commercial
development, and material growth
in every section of this continent.
During this last period the news.
papers have played very import
ant part in informing the popular
mind, and keeping alive the pub
lie confidence in railroad invest
ments, as the most promising
and the most permanently
valuable, when judicious care is
taken in the selection. In this
country there has scarcely ever
been a time when the newspapers
were more active than now in dis
cussing the merits of the multitude
of new enterprises which arc invit-
ing capital in wall street. And to
all appearance the growth of our
railroads is likely to increase for
many years to come. And this
movement will be stimulated by
many obvious causes, two of which
are CONSPICUOUS. First, the great
majority of our railroads have
proved very satisfactory invest
ments to those who embarked their
capital i'll them and were patient
enough to wait sufficient lapse of
time for their full development. In
all such great works there is at first
slow rate of progress, which it is
impossible to avoid, especially in
new countries, where soil and eli
mate are good. and whose popula-
ton and resources are increasing.
But when the time of prosperity
comes, it's fruits often multiply
themselves in geometrical progress
sion. There are banking firms in
Wall street whose boast it is, that
after ten or twenty years, no rail
road they have ever endorsed has
failed to pay its regular interest to
this day. Secondly, there is a vast
amount of capital which in this
country and from abroad, is accu-
mulated and is in quest of safe, re-
munerative investments. Many
descriptions of railroad bonds ex-
actly meet this want. A few pro-
iected shemes may disappoint ex-
pectation. But there is now SO
much intelligence on the part of
the public, that unsupported claims
and promises which cannot be full
filled are soon exposed, and cease
to be delusive to anybody.


We have mentioned the increase
of our population as one cause of
the growth of railroads. 1t is also
true that new railroads bring new
population. But, as with the
growth of commerce and industry,
the same number Of people double
their traffic every ten years, our
railroads may for a long time be
expected to make some progress
even in those States where the
population is comparatively station
ary. The State of Massachusetts,
has one mile of railroad to five and
a half square miles of territory.
When the like ratio has been devel-
oped in the great States of New
York and Pennsylvania, they will
each have 5000 miles, or double as
many miles of railroad as now. IL
linois would have 1000 miles, or
twice and half as much as at
present. In view of these facts, it
is fair to infer that i'll some others,
the construction of railroads will be
rapidly pushed forward until the
ratio of Massachusetts, has been
reached. Before that time, how
ever, we shall have loo, 900 miles
of railroad in this country, instead
of So, ,399, as at present. To build
all these new roads less interval
of time may be required than some
of our readers may suppose. This
may be inferred when we remem--
ber that we have been almost
doubling our annual increase Of
m;leage which in 1864 was but 1888