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012 - The Central Pacific Railroad · Story of the First Trans-Continental Railroad

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  Speaker 1: Section twelve of the Story of the First Transcontinental Railroad
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  Speaker 1: by William Francis Bailey. This LibriVox recording is in the
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  Speaker 1: public domain recording by Paul Harvey. The Central Pacific Railroad
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  Speaker 1: suggested by Theodore D. Hurah, Huntington, Crocker, and Hopkins struggle
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  Speaker 1: for congressional aid progress made. The preceding chapters and tracing
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  Speaker 1: the history of the Union Pacific Railroad cover in a
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  Speaker 1: major the preliminary events leading up to the building of
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  Speaker 1: the Central Pacific Railroad its connection from Ogden West. In
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  Speaker 1: addition to this, there is a wealth of incident connected
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  Speaker 1: with its history that will well repay the student. The
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  Speaker 1: following are a few, and but a very few of
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  Speaker 1: its salient points. For some years previous to the time
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  Speaker 1: when the Final Act was passed by Congress, which was
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  Speaker 1: to provide those of the Western coast with speedy and
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  Speaker 1: safe communication with the homes of their youth, the question
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  Speaker 1: of a grand trunk road had been discussed by California
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  Speaker 1: as a public and as private individuals. Many self reliant
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  Speaker 1: men were sanguine of success. Could the project be rightly
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  Speaker 1: brought before Congress. This feeling grew among the people of
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  Speaker 1: California until a man sought office at the hands of
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  Speaker 1: the people could not be elected were he not a
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  Speaker 1: railroad man. Provided that office was one wherein the holder
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  Speaker 1: could injure the prospects of the proposed road through the
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  Speaker 1: counties where the line was supposed to run. The question
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  Speaker 1: was strongly agitated, for those counties were expected to assist
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  Speaker 1: the undertaking by voting their credit in various sums. So
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  Speaker 1: eager were the people of the interior of the state
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  Speaker 1: to have the enterprise commenced and completed that they were
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  Speaker 1: willing to accede to any terms which would ensure the
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  Speaker 1: success of the enterprise and relieve them from the oppression
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  Speaker 1: of a powerful water monopoly which controlled the majority of
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  Speaker 1: the shipping both via the Panama Route and around Cape Horn.
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  Speaker 1: The members of Congress from California knew that their election
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  Speaker 1: was in part owing to this feeling, and that much
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  Speaker 1: was expected of them by their constituents. They failed not
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  Speaker 1: when the time arrived. But to one AA sergeant, more
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  Speaker 1: than all others, is California indebted for the great work
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  Speaker 1: which now binds her to her eastern sisters. But we
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  Speaker 1: are proceeding too fast, overlooking but not forgetting another name
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  Speaker 1: nonetheless ones, because the bearer lived not to behold the
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  Speaker 1: final completion of the work he initiated, and so earnestly
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  Speaker 1: advocated Theodore D. Judah now sleeps the sleep that knows
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  Speaker 1: no waking, but still his presence can be seen and
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  Speaker 1: felt in every mile of the grand road which his
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  Speaker 1: genius brought into being. His name was a household word
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  Speaker 1: in the West for thousands new and appreciated the manly
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  Speaker 1: spirit and genial mind of the earnest, persistent, and sanguine engineer.
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  Speaker 1: In the then little hamlet of Sacramento, Dwelt C. P. Huntington,
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  Speaker 1: Charlie Crocker, Mark Hopkins, and a few others warm personal
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  Speaker 1: friends of Judah, who often in the long winter evenings
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  Speaker 1: gathered around the stove and Huntington and Hopkins' storeroom, and
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  Speaker 1: there discussed the merits and demerits of the Judah theory.
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  Speaker 1: These and some other gentlemen became convinced that the engineer
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  Speaker 1: was right, that the scheme was practicable. They subscribed fifty
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  Speaker 1: dollars apiece, and in the summer Judah and his assistants
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  Speaker 1: made a careful survey of the passes in the Sierras.
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  Speaker 1: This was in the summer of eighteen sixty and in
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  Speaker 1: the fall the engineer party returned toil, worn and travel stained,
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  Speaker 1: but vastly encouraged and elated with the result of their
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  Speaker 1: summer's work. So favorable was the report that fifteen hundred
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  Speaker 1: dollars was immediately raised to be used the following summer.
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  Speaker 1: In the same manner, the summer of eighteen sixty one
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  Speaker 1: found Judah and his party in the gulches and defiles
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  Speaker 1: of the Sierras, earnestly prosecuting their labors. The result but
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  Speaker 1: confirmed the previous report, with the, if possible, more encouraging
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  Speaker 1: details regarding country, cost, et cetera. Judah then visited many
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  Speaker 1: of the principal capitalists of San Francisco to obtain subscriptions
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  Speaker 1: for the work, but failed to obtain a dollar. But
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  Speaker 1: this road, what is it? Nothing that concerned them. It
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  Speaker 1: did not represent capital. A poor engineer wanted to make
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  Speaker 1: some money and had started the idea for that purpose.
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  Speaker 1: These wise men shook their heads and sneered at the undertaking.
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  Speaker 1: What can they do, said they, even with their charter
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  Speaker 1: from the state, they have no money. They are poor men.
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  Speaker 1: It's only a sharp dodge on their part. They think
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  Speaker 1: the road will be undertaken in time, and when the
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  Speaker 1: time arrives, they will stand a chance to sell their
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  Speaker 1: charter and realize a few thousands, that's all. But they'll
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  Speaker 1: be dead before a railroad will be built across the continent.
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  Speaker 1: Such was the general tone of conversation among moneyed men
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  Speaker 1: regarding the road in its infancy. And it cannot be
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  Speaker 1: denied that the people of California owe nothing to the
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  Speaker 1: capitalists of their state, not even their thanks for aid
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  Speaker 1: in the earliest days of the enterprise. The bone and
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  Speaker 1: sinew of the people, the mechanic and the merchant, the farmer, laborer,
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  Speaker 1: and miner, did all that could be expected of them,
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  Speaker 1: But the capitalists held back, and for good reason. They
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  Speaker 1: feared that the railroad would give the death blow to
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  Speaker 1: the monopolies in which they were more or less interested.
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  Speaker 1: Sacramento alone deserves the credit of having originated and brought
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  Speaker 1: to a successful completion the Central Pacific Railroad when the
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  Speaker 1: state had chartered the company, when only funds were necessary
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  Speaker 1: to ensure the completion of the work, only two subscriptions
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  Speaker 1: were obtained in San Francisco, and one of these came
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  Speaker 1: from a woman. In eighteen sixty two, Judah went to
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  Speaker 1: Washington with charts, maps, et cetera of the road. Sergeant
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  Speaker 1: was there as enthusiastic in the support of the Major
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  Speaker 1: as Judah himself. He drew up the bill under which
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  Speaker 1: the road was built. James H. Campbell of Pennsylvania and
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  Speaker 1: Schiler coal Fax Than, whose there is no more honored
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  Speaker 1: name in California, were his most efficient supporters in the House.
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  Speaker 1: In the Senate, MacDougall of California, Wilson of Massachusetts, and
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  Speaker 1: Moral of Maine also stood manfully by the Major, and
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  Speaker 1: there was fought the great battle. There, enlightened ideas, assisted
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  Speaker 1: by young and vigorous intellects, met and conquered prejudice and
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  Speaker 1: mondied opposition, and opened a new commercial era in the
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  Speaker 1: annals of the Union. But it was not accomplished without
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  Speaker 1: a long and wearying struggle, in which the bull dog
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  Speaker 1: pertinacity and fierce grip of Sergeant was manifested day after
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  Speaker 1: day for weary weeks. In the Committee of the Whole,
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  Speaker 1: Sergeant and Campbell stood up alternately and answered objections as
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  Speaker 1: fast as made in short, sharp, close and cutting speeches,
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  Speaker 1: and night after night, they held interviews with Eastern senators
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  Speaker 1: and representatives. While at their side, supplying them with information
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  Speaker 1: on all desired points, sat Theodore D. Judah, the engineer,
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  Speaker 1: earnest and hopeful to the last. Senators did not nor
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  Speaker 1: would not believe that the road could nor would be built,
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  Speaker 1: said Lovejoy during one of the debates. Do I understand
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  Speaker 1: the gentleman from California to say that he actually expects
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  Speaker 1: this road to be built? The gentleman from Illinois may
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  Speaker 1: understand me to predict that if this bill is passed,
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  Speaker 1: the road will be finished within ten years, responded Sergeant.
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  Speaker 1: People can now judge between Lovejoy's and Sergeant's ideas of
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  Speaker 1: the vigor of the West. The end came. The bill
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  Speaker 1: was finally passed, and the news thereof caused the hearts
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  Speaker 1: of Californians to leap for Joy. Ground was broken at
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  Speaker 1: Sacramento and work was commenced immediately. Another battle was to
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  Speaker 1: be fought, a financial one. Before they could receive any
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  Speaker 1: aid from the government, forty miles of road must be
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  Speaker 1: built and stocked, which would cost at least four million dollars.
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  Speaker 1: For that forty miles carried the road up among the
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  Speaker 1: Sierras through a great portion of their heavy work. Money
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  Speaker 1: was tight, In fact, it always is when a man
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  Speaker 1: wants some commanding two percent per month in California, the
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  Speaker 1: corporators put in their entire fortunes. The city of San
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  Speaker 1: Francisco issued bonds in assistance of the work. The state
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  Speaker 1: and several counties also rendered material aid, but all combined
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  Speaker 1: was but a trifle compared to what was required. C. P. Huntington,
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  Speaker 1: then Vice president of the Road, went to New York
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  Speaker 1: for aid, but among the capitalists there he met the
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  Speaker 1: same answer that had been given to Judah by the
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  Speaker 1: moneyed men of San Francisco. Finally he met with Fisk
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  Speaker 1: and Hatch dealers and government stocks. They feared not the
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  Speaker 1: result of the scheme. These energetic capitalists, with the promptness
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  Speaker 1: of young and active binds, while older capitalists were questioning
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  Speaker 1: whether there was really a serious intention of building the road,
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  Speaker 1: pledged their faith to furnish the company with what money
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  Speaker 1: they required and when they required it. The sum ranged
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  Speaker 1: from five million dollars to twenty million dollars per year,
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  Speaker 1: but they failed not the money was always ready. The
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  Speaker 1: success of the enterprise was now assured. The bonds of
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  Speaker 1: the company were put on the market and advanced rapidly
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  Speaker 1: in price, and soon the company had at their command
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  Speaker 1: all needful funds. When the summit of the Sierras was reached,
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  Speaker 1: the road was pushed rapidly forward, but long ere. This
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  Speaker 1: was gained when the company was toiling among the mountains.
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  Speaker 1: Jeers and taunts of derision could be found in plenty
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  Speaker 1: in the columns of California newspapers. Much flat swindle as
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  Speaker 1: the road was termed by some of these far sighted
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  Speaker 1: journalists when the company was laboring to overcome the heavy
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  Speaker 1: grade near that town has passed into a byward in California,
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  Speaker 1: and now is suggestive of success. The route, after these
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  Speaker 1: summit was gained was then comparatively easy, and rapid progress
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  Speaker 1: was made. The Chinese laborers, who had worked on the
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  Speaker 1: road from first to last, drove the work forward, and
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  Speaker 1: on May tenth, eighteen sixty nine, the roads met on
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  Speaker 1: Promontory point, six hundred and ninety miles from Sacramento. The
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  Speaker 1: following will show the number of miles completed during each
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  Speaker 1: year in eighteen sixty three, eighteen sixty four, eighteen sixty five,
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  Speaker 1: twenty miles each year in eighteen sixty six thirty miles
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  Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty five, seven forty six miles in eighteen
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  Speaker 1: sixty eight, three hundred and sixty three miles in eighteen
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  Speaker 1: sixty nine one hundred and ninety one miles. End of
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  Speaker 1: section twelve. Recording by Paul Harvey,