The morning Astorian., May 29, 1908, Page 7, Image 7

FK1DAY, MAY 29, 1908.
THE MOIINING ASTOIUAN, ASTORIA, OREGON.
WHEN THE WEST
WAS BORN AGAIN
Thirtv-Ninth Anniversary of the Comple
tion of the First Pacific Railroad A
Crude Affair Compared With the Latest
Enterprise A Marvelous Construction
of the New Western Pacific Line How
the Great Empire of the Prairies and
Mountains Has Come Into Its Own
May 10, wa llic thirty-ninth an
rmcritary of the greatest commercial
event in the history f th' country.
On the lltth of May, M, the last
kpikes were driven in the firnt rail
roatl to link the great West commer
cially with the ret of the United
Statci.
Thing! were very different from
what they urc now on that May day
thirty-nine year ago, though the
entire country, which no long had
held aloof from the Pacific railroad
project, seemed to awaken at lat
and realise the meaning of the cere
mony which wa being performed at
the little railroad town of Promon
tory in Utah, 6.38 mile east of Sacra
mento. Few oeojde gathered to wit
4 n..i tli rvrnt a eotnuared to the
number that had attended the far
more imposing cxt-rrUcs when grouml
wai broken in Omaha, in 1864. But
the whole nation gave ear, as it were,
to the ound of the hammer stroke
that drove home the last npiken and
for the fir -t time brought into dote
commercial contract the great pro
ducing region of the West and the
coiiHitminK center of the Kast.
All the principal office of the coun
try were connected by telegraph with
the now forgotten town of Promon
tory on that day, and the click of the
instrument communicated to waiting
IhoutamW the resounding blow that
completed the Iat section in the Mccl
highway between ocean and ocean.
The governor of California bad come
to attend the ceremonies, but from
between what hat been and, what i,
of nn-KMiritiK America' wonderful
protest in lee than two generation,
can be found than by comparing the
lirtt line to the Coast the Union Pa
cific and the late.t-the Western
Pacific.
When the firt Pacific line was built
the engineer ran the track around a
boulder rather than move it, and even
gave way to the largest tree.
Though an authority write that the
constructor of the Union Pacific
buildcd better than they knew, it ha
taken the constructive genius of a
Ilarriman and at least a hundred mil
lion dollar to rebuild the road and
make it an efficient transportation
system judged by modern standard-.
Hut not even mountain could turn
the Western Pacific engineer aside.
In the early day it wa "get there
vimehow;" today it is "get there
wisely."
The instruction given the- engin
eer of the Western Pacific were
simple and direct: "You are to build
a straight rad which in no case will
exceed a maximum grade of one per
cent." Thirty-nine year ago that
mandate would have spelled impo
itibility; to day it i an accomplished
fact. Indeed, on the older Pacific
road grade were a Nature made
them; but the Western Pacific ha
been built in an almost unbi lieveablc
way which give it, on eighty per
cent, of its mileage from Salt Lake
City to San Francisco, a maximum
grade of four-tenth of one per cent.,
TWIiNTIKTll CI-NTUKY
Track Laying Machine at Work on i
ing Contrast with the
the other side of thtc Rockies there
was the scantiest representation. The
last tie to which the rails were spiked
was made of highly polished Califor
nia laurel and bore a silver plate with
the inscription:
The Last Tie
Laid in the Comple
tion of the -Pacific Hail
road May 10, I860.
Into this were driven four spikes,
two of silver and two of gold, and
when they were fast and firm the
great bond between the Atlantic and
the Pacific was welded.
"Hat off!" was the messages dik
ed by the telegraph instruments to
the Kast. And then, after the invoca
tion by tlhc Reverend Dr. Todd of
Pittslicld. the wire spread the word,
"We have got done praying." Back
came the answer, "We understand;
all arc ready in the East."
With that simple ceremony ' was
completed the tremendous achieve
ment of which Sidney Dillon, presi
dent of the Credit Mobclicr the
company which constructed the
Union Pacific declared many years
afterwards: "It is not too much to
say that the opening of the Pacific
Road, viewed simply in its relation
to the spread of population, devel
opment of resources, and actual ad
vance of civilization, was an event to
be ranked in far reaching results with
the danding of the Pilgrims or per
haps the voyage of Columbus."
The old West has practically van
ished and with it many of the things
that made the story of the building of
trie first Pacific railroad read almost
ynike a fantastic romance. In the first
quarter-century after its completion
, . t . - n -r. i ....
IllC UlllOli l iiciuc iiucuiniJiiaucu ic-
sults which have influenced the whole
world to a striking degree. But to
day the work of that period seems
crude and almost careless. No better
way of understanding the difference
RAILROAD BUILDING
he New Line to the Pacilic-A Slrik
Mcthod of the Early Day
or a fraction over twenty-one feet to
the mile. In other words, this road
through the most mountainous reg
ion of the country has been so con
structed that its locomotives will
have a hauling power equal to that of
engines mi the Lake Shore and Michi
gan Southern, whose line traverses
the level East. On the Union Pacific
in early days the grades increased the
operating expenses three hundred
per cent.; contrarywise, the lack of
grades on the Western Pacific means
saving just that much in cost of oper
ation. There is one respect in which this
newest rqad which is going down
from Salt Lake to San Francisco has
not tried to outstrip its predecessors
that of speed in building. There
has been nothing hasty about its plan
ning or construction; indeed, in its
fruition it has been slower, though far
safer, than were the earlier lines. The
Western Pacific was born in the
brain of E. T. JefTery, who closely
followed General Palmer as presi
dent of the Danver and Rio Grande,
and it has been' brought to comple
tion by him. Mr. JefTery has been
in the railroad business fifty years
and this youngest child of his imag
ination is more than fifteen years old,
though active work of construction
has not been going on all that time.
As soon as he succeeded to the presi
dency of the Rio Grande in 1891, Mr.
JefTery sensed the need of an outlet
to the Pacific Coast. . The pioneers
in Pacific railroading took no account
of local freight, but as experience has
proved that this class of traffic makes
up 95 per cent, of the total, the new
enterprise, instead of building to
reach the coast somehow, anyhow,
was designed with consideration for
all the commercial factors, to the end
that it might get the most carrying
business, open up the most promising
territory, and thus earn the largest
dividends.
There, in a word, is the greatest
WITHOUT
ENGINEER
DIFFICULT SURVEYING
Neither Mountains nor Prccipics Can
Deflect the Course of Great Steel
Highway of Today.
difference between the early roads
and the latest. Two generations
ago the West was regarded merely
as a gap to be bridged in order to
secure the supposed Oriental trade.
Today the trade with the Orient is
an almost negligible factor compared
with the importance of providing for
local traffic and developing new ter
ritory. In 1869 the West was noth
ing from the traffic manager's point
of view; in 1908 it is everything; and
the change has been marked by the
growth simultaneously of the rail
roads and the country through which
they pass. But the most striking
difference between the methods cm
ployed in putting through the early
Pacific roads and those used today
appears on the financial side. Thirty
nine years ago the idea was simply
to build a railroad, a railroad that will
at the same time furnish the people
of its territory transportation facili
ties that will make it profitable and
an opportunity for secure investment.
The Union Pacific required for its
construction tremendous government
subsidies. Sometimes these took the
form of millions of acres of land,
sometime of cash additions in th-;
shape of bonds. In certain cases the
subsidies aggregated $4H,(XX) a mile,
and never did they fall below $16,000.
The West has come into its own,
however, and now it has to look to
no one for help in its great works.
Not only has the Western Pacific re
ceived no subsidy, but it has actually
paid the government for timber cut
on the land along its right of way
which the government laid claim to.
With a population that has grown to
thirty millions from the two millions
f people it had when the Union Pa
cific was built, the West realizes its
own gigantic possibilities and wel
comes another railroad. Whereas
moneyed men ridiculed what they re
garded as a visionary scheme and re
fused to invest in the Union Pacific,
so that it was almost impossible for
the promoters of that great enterprise
to secure capital, some of these same
scoffers hastened to give their sup
port to the present undertaking. The
entire bond issue of the Western Pa
cilic, amounting in round figures to
$50,(KK),(KX), was subscribed before a
spadeful of earth was turned on the
right of way.
Two-thirds of the way through the
last century the West was a desert;
now it is the great producer of freight
Then its railroads were built as a
daring gamble; now they are con
structed as an asured investment from
the start. Then the one per cent.
grade was an impossibility; now it is
a characteristically twentieth century
money maker so expensive in the
beginning that it would have frigh
tened the previous generation, but
so certain in result that it makes a
strong appeal to this one.
Biliousness and Constipation.
For years I was troubled with bil
iousness and constipation, which made
life miserable for me. My appetite
failed me. I lost my usual force and
vitality. Pepsin preparations and
cathartics only made matters worse.
1 do not know where I should have
been today had I not tried Chamber
Iain's Stomach and Liver Tablets.
The tablets relieve the ill feeling at
once, strengthen the digestive func
tions, rurify the stomach, liver and
blood, helping the system to do its
work naturally. Mrs. Rosa Potts,
Birmingham, Ala. These tablets are
for sale by Frank Hart and Leading
Druggists.
For a burn or scald apply Chamber
lain's Salve. It will allay the pain
almost instantly and quickly heal the
injured parts. For sale by Frank Hart
and Leading Druggists.
Overland Limited With a Hundred
Passengers Aboard
NARROWLY MISSES SMASHUP
With Engineer Dead on Cab Floor
the Overland Limited, Runs Wild
Over Switches and Past Signals,
at Speed of Sixty Miles an Hour.
CHICAGO, May 28,-Thc over
land Limited, fastest train of the
Chicago, Milwaukee and St Paul
Road-system, ran Monday night at
full speed for nearly sixty mile an
hour over interlocking switches and
past signals near Byron, III., with
engineer Albert Gauvins lying dead
on the cab floor and no controlling
hand on the throttle. The train, with
a hundred passengers aboard nar
rowly missed a smashup.
Officials of the railroad yesterday
heard the story as told by Fireman
Michael Nash. It proved a frightful
tragedy had been averted as by a
miracle.
The train left Chicago on the jour
ney to San Francisco with Gauvinat
at the throttle in very good health.
Near Davis Junction, at Byron, where
the train slows down to cross the
right of way of another road, fireman
Nash noticed that the train was fly
ing across switches and tracks at top
speed, unmindful of adverse set sig
nals. Just as the limited cleared the
tracks of the other road, a heavy
train thundered across on the rear.
Nash leaped back into the engine cab
and discovered Gauvin's body lying
on the floor. The train was stopped
and help called. An examination
showed the engineer was dead as the
result of hemorrhage of the brain.
After some delay another engineer
was obtained and the train proceed
ed. Guvin had been in the service
of the road about 25 years.
Whooping Cough.
"In February our daughter had the
whooping cough. Mr. Lane of Hartland
recommended Chamberlain's Cough
Remedy and said it gave his custom
ers the best of satisfaction. We found
it as he said, and can recommend it
to anyone having children troubled
with whooping cough," says Mrs. A.
Goss, of Durand, Mich. For sale by
Frank Hart and Leading Druggists.
Subcribe for the Morning Astorian,
Now 60 cents per month, delivered by
earner.
TEETH
The Old Reliable
CHICAGO
PAINLESS
DENTISTS
Cor. Commercial and Eleventh St.
ASTORIA, ORE.
Phone 3901 '
Headquarter!
PORTLAND. ORE.
Are equipped to do all kinds of
Dental work at very lowest prices.
Nervous people and those afflicted
with heart weakness may have no
fear of the dental chair.
22 K. crown t&M
Bridge work, per tooth '.I.W
Gold fillings $14)0 Hp
Silver fillings 50c to $1.00
Best rubber plate $800
Aluminum-line plate $10 to $15.00
These offices are modern through
out We are able to do all work
absolutely painless. Our success is
due to uniform high grade work by
gentlemanly operators having 10
to 15 years- experience. Vegetable
Vapor, patented and used only by
us for painless extraction of teeth,
50c. A binding guarantee given
with all work for 10 years. Exami
nation and consultation FREE.
Lady in attendance. Eighteen of
fices in the United States,
Cor. Commercial and Eleventh Sr&,
over Danziger store.
POST CARD HALL
Entrance Whitman's BooK Store
$3000PostCardStocl
WHOLESALE and RETAIL
Free writing desk and material in connect
ion, also stamp department: stamps of all
denominations; post cards, books of
stamps and newspaper wrappers sold.
SEE SHOW WINDOW
Whitman s Book Store
i HHPs Famous Dryers I
t f For the balcony, lawn, fire-escape, window balcony
X and roof have a world-wide reputation. They are in X
a class by themselves. There are no other dryers simi-
; ; lar or in any way to be classed with the Hill Clothes f
' Dryers.
I The Foard & Stokes Hardware Co
Incorporated
Successors to Focrd & Stokes Co.
nut ttttnnimutitH niiiMMi
THE TRENTON I
I
First-Class Liquors and Cigars
602 Commercial Street
T Corner Commercial and 14th. - ASTORIA, OREGON X
tM itmniuMtuti hiiiiiii
Sherman Transfer Co.
HENRY SHERMAN, Manager.
Hacks, Carriages Baggage Checked and Transferred Tracks and F ami tan
Wagons Pianos Moved, Boxed and Shipped.
433 Commercial Street
Mtin Phone 121
SCOW BAY BRASS & IU WORKS
ASTORIA, OREGON
IHOH AND BRASS FOUNDERS LAND AND MARINE ENGINEER
Up-to-Date Sawmill Machinery.
18th and Franklin Ave.
. Prompt attention gives I llrepait w&k.
T( Uaia24fl
STEEL & EWART
Electrical Contractors
Phone Main 3881 ... . 426 BondJStreet
To Republican Voters
AN OVERWHELMING majority of Oregon's
voters by registration have formally declared that
they believe in the principles of the Republican
Party. Let them now show that they are honest
by voting in accordance with their declarations. The
Oregon election comes before the Republican National
Convention. Let every Republican voter in the Second
Congressional District uphold the honor of the Republican
Party in Oregon and strengthen the influence of Oregon's
delegation in the National Convention by voting for
H. M. Cake for United States Senator and W. R. Ellis
for Representative in Congress. If either of these Repub
lican nominees fail of election the primary election system
will be discredited and a return of boss rule will be invited.
The good name of Oregon's delegation to the National
Convention will be placed in a humiliating position. For
the effect it will have on the November election it is
imperative that the Republican nominees in the June elec
tion shall be elected by an overwhelming majority. As
a believer in the principles of the Republican Party it is
your duty to be at the polls June 1st, and vote for
Cake and Ellis.
SECOND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
REPUBLICAN CENT'L COMMITTEE
i E. II. FLAGG, Secy. W. E. WILLIAMSON, Chairman