The William F. Cody Archive: Documenting the life and times of Buffalo Bill

The Pacific Railroad bill lately passed by Congress, presents to our Kansas friends the most encouraging prospects for the future of their State, if they but use their advantage well. To the Leavenworth and Pawnee Railroad is given the connection with the great national highway and the Pacific Railroad of this State, and it is the evident duty and interest of the Legislature and people of Kansas, to give this road and connections their utmost aid and assistance. Our reason for thus saying, we will briefly give: No discerning man can deny that the true interest of the Legislature and people of Kansas, to give this road and connections their utmost aid and assistance. Our reason for thus saying, we will briefly give: No Discerning man can deny that the true interest of Kansas lies in encouraging the building of that road that will add most to her own strength and resources and that road must be the most central possible, so as to make all branches tributary to her interest. Congress made a grant of land to the Leavenworth and Pawnee road, requiring it to connect at Kansas City with the Pacific Railroad, of Missouri. It also grants land to the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, for an extension via Atchison to the great Pacific at its point of departure on the one hundredth parallel, between the Republican fork of Kansas on the south and the Nebraska or Platte on the north. This road would unite with the Leavenworth and Pawnee Railroad, and thus become tributary to it in part, because using part of its track.

So that the interests of the Atchison extension of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad would not conflict with those of the Leavenworth and Pawnee Railroad. But Mr. Henderson procured the insertion of a proviso that, with the consent of the Legislature of Kansas, the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad might extent its own road due west from its present terminus towards the great road at its starting point on the one hundredth parallel.

We can scarcely bring our minds to believe that the Legislature of our sister State could be guilty of an error so fatal as to grant such permission to the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, and thus be robbed of the benefits of the grant of Congress. Let us look at it in a practical light,with the map of the country before us, and see what the facts are, and what is the lesson they teach us. Latitude forty degrees is the dividing line between Kansas and Nebraska, and St. Joseph is about twenty miles south of that parallel, consequently the direct extension westward of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad would be entirely within the most northern section of Kansas, and as advantageous to Nebraska as to Kansas, and very shortly after leaving St. Joseph it would strike northward into Nebraska and become a Nebraska road, and tributary to Nebraska interests. But the connection via Atchison will commence twenty miles still farther south, and the extension westward would, at about the parallel of ninety-seven or ninety-eight degrees west longitude, connect with the Leavenworth and Pacific Railroad, and thus its interests would be united with the Kansas roads.

It is in the interest of Kansas that the great Pacific highway should connect with the Missouri river at the most other point possible; for the reason that thus it will be most central to the whole state, and will draw a larger trade and business from both South and North. By a glance at the map it will be seen that if the great highway follows the Republican Fork of Kansas, the Leavenworth connection becomes completely central, and thus become itself a part of the great high road, instead of a merely additional branch, and thus Kansas reaps the benefit of the mighty traffic that must roll through this great artery of trade, and branches from both North and South must pour their business into it, whereas the Hannibal and St. Joseph direct western extension will take all this trade from Central Kansas and give it to Northern Kansas and the St. Joseph road will draw off the traffic from Kansas, making her merely tributary to themselves.

We cannot believe that either money or promise can so blind the people of Kansas, as to induce them to consent to allow the Hannibal and St. Joseph road to avoid the connection via Atchison, and to run due west for a connection. It will be sacrificing all the interests of Kansas and of the Leavenworth and Pawnee Railroad as the grand central route for the State. -Missouri Democrat.