PREFACE

The author wishes to express his indebtedness to the inspiration received from Prof. F. J. Turner, to the advice of Prof. Richard T. Ely and of Prof. B. H. Meyer, and to the faithful help of his wife.

Upon the work of Mr. R. J. Usher in the Congressional documents partly depends the accuracy of the foot-note references and the exhaustiveness of the material.

Iowa City, Ia.

February 18, 1908.

LEWIS H. HANEY.

Transport.

Transpiron
Library

HE
1061
.H23

CONTENTS

BOOK I.-RISE OF THE RAILWAY QUESTION

CHAPTER I.-THE RAILWAY ENTERS CONGRESS: PLANS AND

PROJECTS

The beginning of the movement for Railways - Latrobe's Re-

port - Oliver Evans and his Open Letter to Congress

Dearborn's Petition - Roger's Marine Railway - John

Stevens; Government experiments proposed - Strickland's

Report to the Pennsylvania Society for the promotion of

Internal Improvements - The first commercial railways:
The South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company.......

PAGE

181

CHAPTER II.-THE RAILWAY ENTERS CONGRESS: EARLY IDEAS

CONCERNING STRUCTURE AND UTILITY

Track, description and cost of kinds proposed by Stevens, Evans,
Strickland, Charleston and Hamburg, etc.- "The American
System" of construction - Locomotives, Speed, Cars, Gen-
eral Utility and Future, Conclusion....

CHAPTER III.-COST OF TRANSPORTATION AND RATES OF TOLL

Estimates of cost-Actual rates - Maximum rates - Maxi-

mum rates of significance - Rates to be based on cost..

CHAPTER IV.-RAILWAYS VERSUS CANALS: 1830-1840

Railways did not find a clear field - The House inquires: 1825

-Congress experiments: 1830--B. & O. versus C. & O.

-The controversy typical of the times - Movement from

canals to railways - Exceptions - The railway predomi-

nant -- Summary of arguments for and against railways

195

206

216

CHAPTER V.-RAILWAYS SUPERSEDE ROADS AS A NATIONAL IM-

PROVEMENT

-

Roads or Railways? - Steam on common roads - (Note on

steam carriages) — The Buffalo-New Orleans Road Bill -

Movement to change Cumberland Road to a railway (de-

bate and vote) - Railways supersede turnpikes in the mail

service-General summary and conclusion....

CHAPTER VI.- THE RAILWAY AND SOCIETY

Railways different from canals and turnpikes in economic ef-

fects - Railways monopolistic - The Camden & Amboy -

Railways undemocratic - Not regarded as subject to same

economic laws as turnpikes - Railways and the Union....

CHAPTER VII.- THE RAILWAY AND THE GOVERNMENT

Agitation for government construction - Construction not to

include ownership or operation -- About 1822 government

ownership and operation became a political impossibility --

Railways regarded as a possible investment -- Movement

for government ownership: Pacific Railways -- The Move-
ment not general -- Government regulation, six grounds
for it-- Chronological Summary.....

PAGE

223

241

251

BOOK II.-AID TO RAILWAYS

CHAPTER VIII.-- GENERAL INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT FUNDS

The year 1825, factors for making internal improvements -- Bills

and resolutions for an internal improvement fund -- (1) Rail-

ways not specifically mentioned (2) Railways specifically

mentioned - National Internal Improvements lose favor...

-

CHAPTER IX.-GOVERNMENT SURVEYS

The General Survey Bill: 1824-The first railway route sur-

veyed: 1825-26-Surveys become frequent-Charges of

corruption - The Act of 1821 repealed: 1837-38- Discus-

sion of the various surveys -(Appendix containing a list

of surveys made or proposed under act of 1821)..

268

275

PAGE

CHAPTER X.-MONETARY AID

Different relationships involved in stock subscriptions and di-

rect monetary donations-Early stock subscriptions in

works of internal improvement -The movement for stock

subscriptions to railways - Early appropriations donated

to internal improvements - Proposed donations to rail-

ways - Summary and conclusion...

CHAPTER XI.-IMPORT DUTIES AND RAILWAY IRON

Early import duties on iron-Condition of the iron industry,

importance of iron imports to railways - The movement

for free railway iron: 1826-1832- Debates of 1827-28-

Drawback of 1830-Free railway iron bill passes: 1832 -

Conditions between 1832 and 1841..

CHAPTER XII.-IMPORT DUTIES AND RAILWAY IRON (Con-

TINUED)

The act of 1832 repealed - The tariff act of 1842-Conditions
between 1842 and 1846: rails versus railways - The railway
lobby develops - The tariff of 1846 — Report on Memphis
Convention's memorial-Summary and conclusions ....

CHAPTER XIII.- THE MAIL SERVICE AND AID TO RAILWAYS

An important point of contact between government and

railways - Relations of regulation and aid - Analysis of

latter An account of the movement for a system of con-

tracts By 1850 the free mail service idea abandoned.....

CHAPTER XIV.-LAND GRANTS: INTRODUCTORY AND EARLY

HISTORY

A concise account of developments down to 1830, the idea being
to account for political conditions which confronted the
early railways....

CHAPTER XV.- LAND GRANTS: RIGHTS OF WAY THROUGH

PUBLIC LANDS

Early grants- General grants proposed: 1834-37 — First right
of way granted General law: 1852 - Significance of
grants of rights of way to railways..

-

289

298

308

318

327

334

CHAPTER XVI.- LAND GRANTS: PRE-EMPTION RIGHTS

No pre-emption bill passed - Proposals most numerous: 1835-

36-Vote on Mt. Carmel and New Albany pre-emption bill

--

- Senate report favors Selma-Tennessee bill - General pre-

emption bill fails: 1848-49- The "New" States-Signifi-

cance of pre-emption rights.....

PAGE

312

CHAPTER XVII.-LAND GRANTS: CERTAIN PERCENTAGES OF THE

PROCEEDS OF LAND SALES

Early grants for roads and canals: 1802-1820- -No grants: 1820-

1836-Some proposals - States seek possession of 2 per

cent funds - Five per cent of certain funds granted to

Mississippi and Alabama: 1836- Debate over giving 2

per cent fund to Mississippi - Bill for Alabama passes

Senate-2 per cent funds granted to Mississippi and Ala-
bama: 1841-Five per cent to Iowa on admission - Resolu-
tions of Arkansas and Missouri...

348

CHAPTER XVIII.-LAND GRANTS. DONATIONS OF LAND OTHER

THAN RIGHTS OF WAY

-

The Mt. Carmel and New Albany, chronological account of
the efforts to obtain a donation - Conclusions from this
account Early proposals for donations to railways -The
first donation authorized for a railway: 1833-Movement
for donations grows in volume: 1833-40 - The Pre-emption
Act of 1841 - Break in the movement - Revives and in-
creases-Illinois Central donation: 1850-Discussion of
economic forces, and conclusions concerning the general
movement, illustrated by chart showing number of miles
of line constructed each year and receipts from land sales

CHAPTER XIX.-THE CONGRESSIONAL PHILOSOPHY OF LAND

GRANTS TO RAILWAYS

Arguments of 1836 versus those of 1846 - The proprietor argu-

ment-The homestead idea - Land Grant and Homestead

policies not in conflict- Arguments against land grants

and answers: 1848- The influence of sectional interests—

(1) Internal improvements and railways-(2) The public

domain....

354

369