As The Contest Proceeded, Public Interest Increased

Many Of The Railroad Evils Were Inherent In The Situation; They Were Explained By The Fact That Both Managers And Public Were Dealing With A New Agency Whose Laws They Did Not Completely Understand

Yet, In 1850 Nearly All The Railroads In The United States Lay East Of The Mississippi River, And All Of Them, Even When They Were Physically Mere Extensions Of One Another, Were Separately Owned And Separately Managed.

Farmers, Merchants, Manufacturers, And The Traveling Public Have All Had Their Troubles With The Transportation Lines, And The Difficulties To Which These Struggles Have Given Rise Have Produced That Problem Which Is Even Now Apparently Far From Solution.

The Close Relationship Between Railroad Expansion And The Genera Development And Prosperity Of The Country Is Nowhere Brought More Distinctly Into Relief Than In Connection With The Construction Of The Pacific Railroads.

The States Which Form The Northern Border Of The United States Westward From The Great Lakes To The Pacific Coast Include An Area Several Times Larger Than France And Could Contain Ten Englands And Still Have Room To Spare.