4th. If Canada belonged to us, we would soon cross the Sault Ste. Mary, skirt the north shore of Lake Huron, run down the Ottawa to Montreal, thence to Portland, thus making that city with Puget Sound; but as Canada is not ours, and not likely to be soon, Portland, as a terminus, is out of the question, and we cannot enter Canada at the Sault Ste. Mary. The North- ern Pacific, after touching the lake at the mouth of Montreal river, would seek the best route to the Straits of Mackinac. Crowning these, it would seek an outlet by the various roads centering at Detroit, Toledo, etc. Of course the road would send a portion of its business, via St. Paul, to Chicago, St. Louis, etc. 5th. I am satisfied that, unless there are insurmountable diffi- culties at the Straits of Mackinac, any railroad seeking an eastern outlet via the south shore of Lake Superior and the Peninsula would find it to the advantage of the road to take this route. 6th. I have answered this in my reply to the first question. 7th. I do not think the Government should, at present, make direct grants of money or bonds for any purpose except for the ordinary river and harbor, and other similar objects, and other improvements. But I do think that some plan should be devised whereby these great trans-continental improvements may be at once commenced and rapidly completed, and I am confident that aid can be given in such form as will not increase the public debt one Jollar, or jeopardize the interests of the public treasury, and yet will be all-sufficient to secure the capital required. Should such aid be granted, it should only be on condition that the Gov- ernment should hold a first lien on the road franchises lands and rolling stock. This aid would be effectual if given in the form of an endorsement of guarantee of the principal and interest of the roads, and such plans could be adopted as would provide for the interest from the proceeds of bonds, so that the Government could not possibly be called upon to advance the funds for the interest RAILROAD CONVENTION, 11 for several years to come, if at all, for it may safely be assumed that, when finished, these roads will earn the full interest on their cost the first year. 8th,* 9th and 10th. I send you a report just made by W, Mil- iier Koberts. This report I do not desire published, as it is not yet made public, but it must unmistakably confirm all that has been said heretofore of the glorious character of the country along most of the route, and that tributary to the Northern Pacific Iioad. 11th. The North Pacific route, via Puget Sound, would shorten the distance to China, J apau, etc , over eight hundred miles. 12th. This question, of course, is answered by all in the affirm- ative. 13th. The national debt would be liquidated more rapidly by these enterprises becoming successful. The area of taxation would be greatly enlarged, and all parts of the nation would be invigor- ated and made stronger. The remaining questions I must pass by, except a brief reference to the 17th and last. We who were born in the West, and have seen the wondrous progress of the last 40 years, cannot be too san- guine in our anticipations of the future glory of the North- West. I dare not trust my pen to foretell the future, as I expect to see it, should I live twenty years longer. I regret that I have not time to do justice to the whole subject as contained in your questions. I hope the Convention will do what it can to influence Congress to grapple with the vital subject, and to enact such laws as will, while protecting the Government to the uttermost and not incro;ising the public debt, yet give effective and prompt aid to these enterprises. •Sincerely Yours, JAY COOKE. letters fkom sex a to ii howard. Detroit, Nov. 7, 1800. My Dear Sir : I am very glad to see the ca l for a Northern Pacific Railroad Convention, to be held at East Saginaw on the 23d inst. The time fixed is so near the commencement of the next session of Congress that I may be prevented from attending, though I should be right glad to be on hand. The series of qnestions to be discussed are all extremely import- ant. One more might be added, and I think it should be, viz. : What, if any, distance will be saved in running the road down our Upper Peninsula and across the Straits of Mackinac to the East- ern markets, rather than from the head of Lake Superior to Chi- cago ? There is some dispute about this, and the question ought to be carefully and fully considered. My own idea is that *the Mackinac route is considerably shorter. It is important, however, that the thing should be clearly verified, and not left to conjecture. You will at once see the importance of the question. 12 NORTHERN PACIFIC I might add another query — the practicability of running a traia of cars across the Straits of Mackinac; but, as that is a pure ques- tion of civil engineering to be determined by scientific men, I would not add it. Mr. Johnson, the engineer of the N. P. R. B. Co., has often assured me that the thing is entirely practicable, and I believe him. Me is a very sensible, well-instructed man. I am looking with great interest for his report to his Company of the surveys and explorations of the Company the past year. As to a cash subsidy for this railroad, from Congress, I candidly think the idea had better be given up. If we grant a subsidy in bonds or indorsements to one Company, we must to another, and the railroad (Kansas Pacific) on the 35th degree and the famous Fremont line on the 32d degree — and Heaven knows what other lines of Pacific railroads — will assert their claims to the like aid from Government. The treasury can't stand this whole brood of suckers ; their hunger would exhaust a world of subsidies. And this, you may rely, is the feeling. No more cash subsidies to rail- roads is, you may take it for granted, the sentiment of the people and of Congress. You remember the omnibus bill reported by a majority of my committee in the Senate. Well, that bill is as " dead as a smelt. 7 ' There is no chance of its passing whatever. It is dead and buried. The N. P. R. R. was provided for in that bill. I told Mr. Rice, Mr. Canfield, Mr Smith, and others interested in the Northern Pacific, that there was no chance of its passage ; no, not at all. But the Northern Pacific Company need not despair. They have their destinies in their own hands, and, with careful management, can build the road and make money. Their charter grants them (substantially) a strip of land 40 miles wide, across the continent from the western boundary of Minnesota, and 20 miles wide east of that line — land enough for an empire — more land, I believe, than is embraced in the State of New York — the most of which is rich and productive, covered with timber, full of other resources, and traversed by numerous navigable streams, facilities which, as everybody knows, do not exist upon the U. P. R. R , the Central P. R. R., of California, the Kansas P. R R , or the railroad on the 32d degree. Again, the U. P. and the Central (forming one line) pass over mouutain ranges 8 000 feet above the level of the sea, and have to be "shedded" against snow slides, while there is no point where the Northern Pacific will pass a height more than 3,500 feet above the level of the sea This advantage in favor of the Northern route is inestimable. As to the obstruction from snow along the Northern line, the testimony is conclusive that it will not be greater than on the roads through New England and Pennsylvania. The further you go West, on the same parallel of latitude, the milder the tem- perature becomes. This is physically proved by years of careful observation on the part of scientific men who have for long years wintered and summered in those regions. Why, Mr. Flanders, the RAILROAD CONTENTION. 13 recent delegate from Washington Territory, who resides on lati- tude between 46 and 47 in that Territory, told me, last session, that the peach, plum, cherry, Indian corp, and other products of the 41st x to the 42d degree, all grow and mature in that climate as finely as in any other part of the world. I don't foresee much obstruction from snow and ice on that line — very little. From Shanghai, in China, to Chicago, that route will be 500 miles shorter than by way of San Francisco. What a saving in transportation is here ! Again, Puget Sound, the western terminus of the road, is the best harbor in the world. Any number of ships can take shelter there, no matter what their draft of water. And, with the exception of San Francisco, it is the only harbor worthy of the name from San Diego, the southern extremity of California, to Sitka, in Alaska. But time would fail me to go into all the considerations to show the importance of this route to the Pacific, and I must close by expressing the conviction that within a few years it will be ap- parent to the whole world that it is the best route to the Pacific and to the East Indies across the continent. The opinions which the Convention may enunciate will have great weight, and will, for good or evil, bear powerfully upon the pecun- iary interests of that Company. They should be well considered, therefore, and founded upon firm data. It is not to be denied that the States more immediately inter- ested in this great work are Northern States — all New England, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Ne- braska. The Territories of Dakotah, Montana, Idaho, Washing- ton, all have a deep interest in the enterprise These communities are at least something in the scale of commerce and political power, and their voice, in both respects, is potent. Yours truly, Hon. John F. Drigos. J. M. HOWARD. Detroit, Nov. 21, 1869. Dear Sir: Your answer to my former letter came early to hand. What I said about cash subsidies to railroads was advanced simply as my own opinion as to the future action of Congress, not as indicating what my own vote would be in a proper case. I ever thought, and still think, that the Northern Pacific Railroad is as deserving of such a subsidy as any line that has received it, and have labored hard, heretofore, to secure it for that road. If I could have my way in the matter, I certainly should extend the credit of the Government to that work, while I am not prepared to say the same of any other line that has been recently projected. I mean the lines named (with that line) in the Senate "Omnibus bill ,> of last session, because I see that the Northern route is to be, one day. the great route to the Pacific and the East Indies, and to give the people of this country a decided advantage even of the Suez Canal. 14 NORTHERN* PACIFIC. You are, of course, at liberty to make such use of my letters ag you think best. I should be very glad to attend the Conveation y but as my children are all from home, and I am preparing to start for Wash- ington, I find it extremely difficult to do so. Very truly yours, Hon. John F. Drious. J M. HOWARD. LETTER FROM GOVERNOR BALDWIN. Exec 'Utivb Office. i Detroit, November 22, 1869. \ Hon. John F. Driggs, East Saginaw. Dear Sir : I am in receipt of your favor of Nov. 19, inviting me to attend a Railroad Convention at East Saginaw, on Tuesday, the 23d inst. I should certainly endeavor to be with you on that occasion but for the meeting of the various State Boards, at Lan- sing, on the morning of the 24th, which requires my presence at the capital at that time. No other class of public improvements has done so much for the growth, advancement and prosperity of the country as the con- struction of railroads. I am not, however, one of those who advo- cate the building of railroads without regard to the character and value of the country from which they are to derive their support. The natural advantages of Michigan are unsurpassed by those of any other State. I have for many years felt the im portance of, and have advocated the construction of, a railroad through the center of the Lower Peninsula to the Straits of Mackinac, with east and west branches, from the vicinity of Houghton Lake to the Grand Traverse country on the west, and Thunder Bay on the east. Such a road would traverse a country of unsurpassed fertil- ity of soil, and covered with a variety of timber of untold value. Yet the very fact of its being heavily timbered has thus far retard- ed such improvements in that section of the State, because of the somewhat increased cost of construction, and of the greater diffi- culty in bringing immediately into a state of cultivation land cov- ered with a heavy growth of wood. Other causes have also operated to keep back the construction of railroads in the northern portion of our State ; these, however, are now being done away. At the present time railroads are being built in almost every portion of the State, some of which are stretching out their arms towards the north. The southern portion of the Lower Peninsula has, for a long time, had its three great lines running east and west — the Michigan Southern, the Michigan Central, and the Detroit & Milwaukee. From each of these are lines diverging both north and south to a reater or less extent. RAILROAD CONTENTION, 15 Without pretending to name the many roads in operation, in process of construction, or projected, tending to the development of the State, there are some great trunk lines partially finished, in operation, and in progress of completion, which have a direct bearing upon the suhject, to consider which the Convention has been specially called The Flint & Pere Marquette, with its initial or starting point at Holly, on the Detroit & Milwaukee, on the eastern side of the State, already opened to Midland and to Bay City, and soon to be completed to Pere Marquette, or some other point on Lake Michigan — the Jackson, Lansing & Saginaw road, with its starting point at Jackson, in the center, already in operation to Saginaw and Wenona, and taking measures to continue its line to Houghton Lake and beyond— the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, on the west, from the southern line of the State at Sturgis, already opened from Orand Rapids forty miles north, and steadily progressing towards Grand Traverse or the Straits of Mackinaw — these three great and most valuable lines of roads are steadily going forward. From the vicinity of Houghton Lake north to the Straits of Mackinaw there should be but one road. Could all interests be united, and, with this union of strength, a single road be construct- ed from Houghton Lake to the Straits, with lateral branches to Lake Huron on the east and Traverse Bay on the west, it could not fail to result in the rapid development of the northern part of the State; population would flow in with a rapidity hitherto un- known, enriching the State and at the same time furnishing a large local traffic for the road. So far I have alluded to the development of the southern penin- sula only, hut we should not overlook the resources of the northern peninsula, rich, almost beyond calculation, in its mineral wealth of iron and copper. Most wisely, in my judgment, the Constitution prohibits the State from being interested in any work of internal improvement, or carrying on any such work, except in the expendi- ture of grants to the State of lands or other property. It is not necessary, to secure the construction of these roads, that the State should undertake the work. Congress has made large appriations of lands for this purpose. These lands, already valuable, will greatly appreciate by the construction of the roads. Our country is yet in its infancy. Population is flowing to us, from every part of the world, with wonderful rapidity. One great line of railway already unites the Atlantic with the Pacific. Another shorter and better line, the Northern Pacific, is also to be constructed. It is simply a question of time, and no people can be more deeply interested in the adoption of this line than the citizens of Michigan It is not necessary to oppose connections between the Northern Pacific road and Chicago, but, whatever may be its connection with other lines around the south end of Lake Michigau, it should be the policy of the Government to make the line, as far as possible, through the undeveloped portions of the country, and 16 NORTHERN PACIFIC especially so if that country is, as in this case, of valuable charac- ter and capable of sustaining a large and dense population ; and still further, when such line would shorten the distance to the large manufacturing States of New England, and to Europe from the sea-board. Every consideration would seem to favor the construction of a road through Northern Michigan, and making that road a part of the line of the great Northern Pacific. I trust that the deliberations of the convention will tend to hasten the construction of the road through both peninsulas of our noble commonwealth, and to further the undertaking and comple- tion of the great practical northern line to the Pacific coast. Sincerely regretting my inability to participate with you in the proceedings of the convention, I am, Very respectfully yours, H P. BALDWIN. letter from hon. john a. poor. Portland, Nov. 18, 1869. Hon. Jas. L. Ketcham, Mayor of East Saginaw, and others. Gentlemen : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your invitation to attend a convention, at your city, on the 23d inst., of those friendly to the contemplated line of the Northern Pacific Railroad " from the head of Lake Superior, by the way of the Straits of Mackinac " and across the State of Michigan, to a point of connection with the line of the proposed trans-continental railway from the St. Clair river to Portland, Halifax, and the most eastern shore of Newfoundland, and regret that prior indispensable engagements compel me to forego the pleasure of a visit, at this time, to your interesting section of the country. In this connection it gives me pleasure to infoim you that a sec- tion of the European and North American Railway, 80 miles in length, between the River St. Johns, at St. Johns city, and the River ^t. Croix, the eastern boundary of the United States, is to be formally opened for business on the 1st of December — at which opening I hope to be present — leaving but 56 miles of unfinished line, now in rapid progress, between Bangor and St. Johns city, the entire line from Halifax to Bangor being all in progress, to be opened'through, 600 miles from Portland to Halifax, during the year 1870. Portland and Saginaw are upon the same parallel of latitude, and the deflection from an air line to Portland, which you are com- pelled to make to pass Lake Huron, is scarcely sufficient to be taken intot account in projecting a great line of railway to the sea-board. We all recognize Chicago as the present great commercial point in the Northwest, but any one must perceive, on reference to a map, the extraordinary advantages for a great city at the head of RAILROAD CONVENTION. 17 Lake Superior, and it is apparent to any one that, from the head of Lake Superior to the foot of Lake Huron, the shortest practicable route will be found by the Straits of Mackinac, resorting to a ferry to connect the two sections of such a line. The interesting manner in which the claims of the enterprise were presented to the Oswego convention by its President, the Hon. John F. Driggs, for many years your able and honored Represen- tative in Congress, with the aid of the great map present at that convention, produced a decided and profound impression, and while the call for the Oswego convention looked mainly for a line from Portland to Chicago, we could not fail to see that the great North- west, lying far above Chicago, was ultimately to be reached from the Atlantic sea-board, by the direct line contemplated by your call, to the head of Lake Superior by the Straits of Mackinac. I will not attempt to describe the present value or the mighty future of the vast interior, which will naturally connect itself by rail with the head of Lake Superior, lying upon both sides of the boundary line. But there is a vast, unoccupied region, destined in the future to sustain as dense a population as that which now in- habits the same latitudes on the Eastern Continent, in Northern Europe and Asia, and the testimony shows that wheat can be raised as far north as the 60th degree of latitude, and Indian corn over a, portion of this region of the vast and well watered table lands west and northwest of Lake Superior. I had occasion, in a memorial to the Legislature of Canada, in 1854, to say " that from the shore of the Atlantic ocean, at Port- land, to the head waters of the Missouri river, every portion of the country presents the greatest possible attractions to invite immi- gration ; that a mild climate t healthy at all seasons of the year, a soil of abundant fertility for the production of food, with rich mines and luxuriant forests, are here found for the hundreds of miles beyond the head of Lake Superior, if not to the base of the Rocky Mountains. " If the waters of these mighty rivers could be turned into' Lake Superior, and be at the same time made navigable to the sea, we might form some idea of the value and importance of a railroad from Portland to the head of Lake Superior, and to the region of country beyond it. u The distance from the great bend of the Missouri, by railway, to the Atlantic ocean, at Portland, would be hundreds of miles less than by following the Mississippi and Missouri rivers to their mouth at New Orleans." Engaged as you are in the carrying out of a most important sec- tion of a great national and international work, I cannot fail to express my hearty sympathy in your labors, and my wishes for its abundant success. Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, JOHN A. POORE. 18 NORTHERN PACIFIC lett br from tiik vice-president of the r,, w. & o. r. r. Rome, Watbrtown & Oodensbuko Railroad, } Vice-President's Office, S New York, Not. 16th, 1869. ) Hon. John F. Driggs, Dear Sir : I received, a few days since, a circular letter, under your frank, inviting me to attend a Railroad Convention to.be held at East Saginaw on the 23d. I have delayed answering till now, that I might be able to state definitely whether it would be possible for me to be present, and am now obliged to say that I must forego that pleasure. From the number and variety of topics to be presented for consideration, I conclude that the meeting is for the discussion of railroad exten- sion generally; doubtless, however, intended to have a special reference to a few particular projects named in the circular. The general question of railroad extension is one in which I feel a deep interest. Taking the large view, and not being confined to those projects that are in, or tending in, the direction of the road with which I am connected, I have had an opportunity to observe some very marked instances of roads which have been undertaken, and finally completed under great difliculties, into new sections, where the construction of a road, at all, was regarded by many as impracticable, and by others as premature, but I have lived to see the immense benefits, at first confined to the country traversed by the road, in a very few years reflected back again to the road, and the capital employed in its construction returned with good interest As far as I am informed, I am inclined to believe the route in which you are, I think, particularly interested, is not dissimilar from the instances named, with this advantage in its favor : That to local earnings, which must be large, derived from the whole of Northern Michigan, now only needing such an inlet and outlet to make it equal to any other section of the State, — to this will be added a large through traific from the Superior region, and espe- cially from the head of that lake and proximate to it, already be- coming the greatest wheat producing region in the West, and also from the connections that will be made with other roads, and especially with the " Northern Pacific," which may be counted upon, with great certainty, to be constructed within a very few years. For myself, I regard the inducements to the capitalist, and to the General Government to undertake this work, as far greater, in every point of view, than was the case in regard to the Pacific road, already built, when it was projected. Great and extended as our American railway system has already become, it is but the beginning of that which we shall behold in the near future. We shall also witness equally great changes in the adaptation not only of the roads themselves, but of the equipment and management of the same, tending to a more general use of this system. It is now rapidly overcoming, and soon to defy, competi- RAILROAD CONVENTION. 19 tion with any and all other means of transportation of property, as it has already done in the conveyance of persons. It cannot be doubted, so far as the area of land is concerned, as well as the perfect adaptation of soil and climate, that we are now able to supply the world with bread and the other elements of food dependant on the soil for production. The only obstacle that can be discerned to our doing so is the one contingent upon the cost of transportation from the field to the points of distribution. That this is to be accomplished by the roads built, and to be built, can- not be doubted Every other question affecting the future growth, greatness and prosperity of our great "Empire of the West 1 ' sinks into utter insignificance as compared with this, which applies equal- ly to the districts in which cotton, sugar, tobacco and rice, the great American staple*, are produced. I must not ask your attention longer to what might be added upon a question of such interest ; and again regretting that I can- not meet yourself and other railroad men at the convention, which, I trust, may result in accomplishing all that is expected, I am very truly yours, etc., MARCELLUS MASSEY. LETTER FROM HON. JOHN NEAL. Portland, Maine, l3th Nov., 1869. To James L. Ketcham, Esq., Mayor of East Saginaw, and his Associates of the Common Council. Gentlemen : I have delayed answering your invitation till to-day, hoping so to arrange my business that I could be with you and assist in your deliberations ; but as I find now that I caunot do this, allow me to send you a few words of congratulation and encouragement. On looking at the map, to which you call our attention, I find unquestionable indications of that same providential foresight which buried all the treasures of earth at the beginning — all our precious metals, our gems, our anthracite, our bituminous coal and our peat, as well as our iron, our lead, our zinc and our marbles — at a depth exactly corresponding to our necessities, our growth and our energy, obliging us to inquire after them and to dtg for them, just as our agricultural riches have to be dug for, and are always found just where and when they are most needed. Just so has it ever been, and is now, with our magnificent rail- road enterprises. When they are wanted, they are always found. The signs are all along our pathway, and are always cropping out, like our mineral treasures, only to be overlooked till they are wanted. And what is more, when we go to the map, after due consideration, we find our boldest undertakings foreshadowed there by the very lay of the land, so that we begin to wonder why they have never been thought of before. 20 NORTHERN PACIFIC The mountains and rivers testify for your encouragement, just as in Maryland and Pennsylvania; iron and coal, and lime for the flux, with sand for the furnace, are found lying side by side, for hundreds of miles upon a stretch, overhung by a wilderness of growing charcoal, and all to be had, if not for the asking, certainly for the digging and chopping, the burning and blasting. Under this view, the map you refer to is of itself a prophecy. You find a way left open to you from the beginning of the world ; a pathway for nations over seas and continents. Ten years ago the road you have in view was not wanted. Had your magnificent scheme been projected then, it would have been a dead failure, not for a season, only, but perhaps for generations. And why ? Because it was not then needed, and being attempted too early, the failure would have discouraged your posterity — like the enterprise of Darien ; it would have been postponed indefinitely, as being both visionary and preposterous. Fifty years ago the golden treasure-house of California would not have been reached, though dug for. The time had not arrived. But now, when all the long-buried riches of our earth are honestly wanted, and whole communities are bestirring themselves, they are found cropping out everywhere along the highways of commerce, and always just where they are most needed and are most faith- fully and steadfastly inquired after and dug for. Just so will it be with your projected railway from Puget Sound to the harbor of Portland, Maine It is now wanted, and the want is felt, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, as a great necessity, alike unappeasable and active. Can there be a doubt, then, of its tri- umphant and early success ? Look at the map once more, and see if you do not find there all the encouragement you need. I have called it a prophecy. It is more ; it is a poem, a magnificent epic, where the machinery of two worlds must soon be employed. You may see all this, if so disposed, in the evident provision therein made for the fulfilment of the vast undertaking you have now entered upon. But you, gentlemen, are business men ; you have come together for business — you mean business ; and I have only to add that, in my judgment, the future is full of promise for you, and that the sooner you sink your shafts, and the sooner your furnaces are in blast for smelting the ore committed to your charge^ the sooner you will understand what the Builder of the Universe had in view when He laid out this magnificent highway for you$ through moun- tain ranges and over rivers — over seas and continents, rather — for such it will be in time, and long before this generation has been gathered to its fathers. Wishing you the success you so well deserve, and I ould not well say more, I am, gentlemen, your friend and fellow-laborer, JOHN NEAL. RAILROAD CONTENTION. 21 letter from hon. t. w. ferry. Grand Haven, Nov. 17, 1869. G-entlembn : I with pleasure acknowledge the receipt of a printed call and letter inviting attention to, and presence at, a con- vention to be held at East Saginaw on the 23d inst., looking to a speedy completion of the Northern Pacific and Michigan Short .Line Railroad. Unavoidable public duties, I regret to say, will prevent the possibility of my being present. The call has been published in the papers of this city, and the attention of the Common Council thereof invited to the subject I need not say that the project meets my cordial approval, for no one identified with the growth and prosperity of Michigan could lend other than hearty co-operation. Trusting that the convention, in the consideration of the vast interests involved, may arrive at some possible plan by which it will be made to appear that the trans-continental railroad, vm the Northern Pacific and Straits of Mackinac route, is not only the shortest one from the Pacific to the Atlantic sea-boards, but a route thoroughly practicable, I join you in lively hopes for the comple- tion of this great national highway. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, Your obedient servant, T. W. FERRY. Hon. James L. Ketcham, Mayor , and others. letter from l. kendrick, esq. Dryden, Lapeer Co., Mich., ) Nov. 28th, 1869. \ Hon. John F. Djuggs, East Saginaw, Mich. Dear Sir : Your note of invitation, and circular, is received* and contents noted. The object of the convention, as set forth in your circular, is one of vital importance to the people of this State, and more partic- ularly to those of the Upper Peninsula and that portion of the State you had the honor to represent in the Congress of the United States. I have conversed with quite a number of the leading men in the eastern part of our county, and their voice is as that of one man. They regard the enterprise as second to no one of its kind in the nation, and one that must, from the very nature of circumstances, be ultimately a success. One thing is morally certain — that the Saginaw Valley will be on the line of the proposed road, and whether Detroit or Port Huron should be the next point of importance in the State touched by this great national artery, the result will be about the same, so 22 NORTHERN FACIFIC far as benefiting Northern Michigan Still the people in this local- ity would be more directly interested in * road that would make Detroit one of its objective point*. I regret very much that circumstances beyond my control forbid my being present at the convention. We shall look forward, with a great deal of interest r to the result of this very important gathering in your city, and with a hope based upon the best of reasons, shall look forward to the ultimate and final triumph of all you propose. I am y dear sir, Yours, very respectfully, L. KENDKICK. letter from hon. wbi. e, dickinson. Michigan Exchange, > Detroit, Nov. 9th, 1869. £ Hon. John F. Drtggs, East Saginaw. Dear Sir : As I passed through Milwaukee yesterday P. M., I noticed that it was intended to call a Railroad Convention in your city in regard to railroads in Upper Michigan. Will you please send a circular of the proposed meeting to Robert H. Larnborn, Esq., Secretary Lake Superior & Mississippi Railroad, Fifth and Library streets, Philadelphia, Pa. I shall try and be present myself. With kindest regards to yourself, Truly yours, WM. E. DICKINSON, 54 William street, (Room 26,) New York. letter prom edgar conkl1ng, esq. Detroit, Michigan, Nov. 15, 1869. Hon. Joinr F. Driggs : Dear Sir : I am now on my way to Sheboygan, Michigan) where I shall be for the present and until I can build at Mackinaw City the coming spring. I went to Ohio in 1829, and to Cincin- nati in 1841, and now come to your State to reside for the balance of my life, and propose developing my property at the Straits of Mackinaw, of some 35,000 acres, in accordance with the plan set forth in my pamphlet sent you. But for the lateness of the season, I would gladly attend your coming Railroad Convention, on the 23d, at Saginaw, of great interest to your State and whole country. I began to urge the construction of railroads to and from the Straits, on either side, in all directions, in 1853, and then secured Old Mackinaw, foreseeing the day would come when there would RAILROAD CONTENTION* 23 be an important union of rail and water lines of commerce, I have fully posted myself in regard to all that* country, and I challenge the refutation of my assertion that there is no point on the north- ern lakes surrounded with so many elements of manufacturing, and that its agricultural capabilities are greatly underrated, and that the construction of railroads through that section of country to Superior City will develop more latent wealth, in a few years, than that of the settled portion of the southern peninsula of Michigan. No such agricultural and mineral country, with such cheap facili- ties of transportation for distribution, while on the high road of the most important line between Europe and Asia x can fail tobecome a populous and wealthy country — much more so than other sections now being settled, much less favored with such elements and prox- imity to market. The Northern Pacific Railroad will need all the outlets possible to get, whether by water from Superior City, or by railroad via 8t. Paul and Chicago, or Detroit via Mackinaw. No selfish ideas should be allowed in this great national highway. All sections of the country contributing to its aid should equally share in its ben- efits. The short time limited for its construction suggests the greatest harmony in prosecuting the work and in securing needed legislation. For one, I shall seek to present Northern Michigan to the public in a manner that will invite greater attention to its many superior advantages for manufacturing and commerce. Yours respectfully, EDGAR CONKLING. letter from henry stephens, esq. Almont, Nov. 20, 1869. Mr. A. P. Brewer, East Saginaw. Dear Sir : I understand there is to be a Railroad Convention at your city on the 22d. I do not think any of our people will be there, and therefore have been requested to write some one who will take the trouble to inform those interested that we, the towns of Almont and Dryden, wish to be on the route adopted to reach the Michigan Air Line Railroad, as we have been informed it is one of the objects of the convention to take measures to organize a com- pany to make such connection, and we would suggest if the road goes to Lapeer, that as Armada is the most northern point on the Michigan Air Line, and the topography of the country between Lapeer and Armada is very level, and no streams to cross, of any size, that this route, being direct, is no doubt the cheapest to build, and can and will raise the greatest amount of aid. I am confident that Almont and Dryden would by vote and subscription raise $100,000 to $150,000, and we want to have the chance to do it. Try and advocate our claims, and you will have our thanks. 24 NORTHERN PACIFIC. Perhaps the best way would be to place this letter in the hands of those who are active and influential in this enterprise, and you can vouch for the writer, I trust, and can also give any information, as to feasibility of route. Very truly yours, HENRY STEPHENS. At the conclusion of the reading of the letters, the President said : If it is the pleasure of the Convention, I will occupy some of it? time now in reading a paper that I have prepared myself, more especially with reference to the wealth and probable advantages to be secured to a line in the northern portion of our State. I have prepared the paper at the request of gentlemen of the committee, and I do not wish to intrude upon the Convention now, unless it is their pleasure. A motion was made and carried that the President proceed now with his report, as proposed. Mr. I)riggs then read the following: PAPER READ BY MR. DRIGGS. Gtentlemebt op the Convention i Within the last few years we have witnessed the marvelously rapid construction of one railroad line from ocean to ocean, across the center of the United States. This road was commenced during the rebellion, was prosecuted through a terrible war for its suppression, and completed soon after its close ; an achievement, under the circumstances, which no other nation ever equalled ; a triumph, within the time, of engineering, of labor, and perseverance, to which the history of the world fur- nishes no parallel. The present needs two more Pacific railroads, a Northern and a Southern road ; and the rapidly approaching future tvt'll have them. What has been done, under more favorable circumstances, certainly can be done again. The Government made very large grants of land to the Union and Central roads, and also to the Northern Pacific — the charter to which grants forty sections to the mile from the western boundary of Minnesota, and twenty sections east of that line to the head of Lake Superior. In a letter from the Hon. J. M. Howard, U. S. Senator, he computes this grant to be equal in extent to the State of New York ; being a strip across the continent nearly forty miles wide. The greater portion of this vast area of land is unsurpassed in richness of soil, timber and minerals, and highly favored by the even mildness of its ctimate ; yet, without access by means of a railroad, is comparatively without value. Most of it would remain undisposed of at $1 25 per acre, and unoccupied under the home- stead or pre-emption laws for many years in the future. But build the road, and all the arable lands within the limits, and other por- RAILROAD CONTENTION. 25 tions valuable for minerals and timber, would be rapidly taken up by actual settlers, and considered cheap at ten times their present value. The land grant to the Union and Central Pacific roads is believed to be far less valuable than the Northern Pacific grant, by reason of the extended barren plains, the wider mountain ranges of much greater altitude, the deeper winter snows, and the inferiority and severity of the climate on the line over which the roads pass. It cannot be denied, however, that these roads are (for the immediate present) compensated for this deficiency by the fact that their western terminus is at the present populous Pacific metropolis, San Francisco, and that they pass through many intermediate towns and settlements, thus securing an immediate large amount of local traffic and travel. Portions of their lands, however, since the roads are built, are very valuable, while before the consummation of the great work they were entirely insufficient to secure the build- ing of the roads, and might have remained so for fifty years to come A Government subsidy, then, was necessary to secure the accom- plishment of the work. The aid was given, and now the iron horse steams his way in seven days (one-eighth of the distance around the globe) from ocean to ocean, across a continent, over rivers and streams, through valleys and gorges, and over mountain tops eight thousand feet above the level of the sea. If these roads were a necessity, and if the Government acted wisely in extending its aid beyond that afforded by the land grant to the Central and Union Pacific, may it not be wise, also, to extend it to the Northern Pacific, and even to a Southern Pacific road ? From Shanghai to London, via Puget Sound, Lake Superior, Mackinaw and Portland, it is considerably nearer than via San Francisco and New York, with a much lighter grade ; the highest point reached by the Northern Pacific road being, I believe, according to recent surveys, only about 3,500 feet above the level of the sea ; while, as before remarked, the other road passes over an elevation of 8,000 feet. 