THE RESOURCES OF IHISSOURi AND THE NATURAL ADAPTATION OP mi 3^o«js TO IKON MANUFACTUKES. BY SYLVESTER WATERHOUSE, ST. LOUIS. SECOND ENLARGED EDITION. ST. LOUIS, MO. STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY AUG. WIEBUSOH A SON. 1869. F 466 .U33 Copy 2 \ THE RESOURCES OF MISSOURI. S. WATEEHOUSE, ST. LOUIS. EDITION, 20,000 COPIES. A ST. LOUIS, MO., STEREOTYPED A5D PRINTED BY AUG. WIEBDSCH 4 SON. 1867. \ ^ f c/^" .^ CORRESPONDENCE. The origin aud design of this pamphlet on the Eesourcee of Missouri are explained by the following letters. To the Editor of the N. Y. Tribune. Sir : At the request of the State Board of Immigration, of Avhich I am President, Professor Waterhouse has prepared the accompany- ing papers for publication. They will serve to answer thousands of inquiries made from every part of the United States. The pub- lic interest manifested in the subject of these papers justifies me in asking their publication in your paper. I am, very respectfully. Your obedient servant, THOS. C. FLETCHEE. Jefferson City, Mo. Gov, Thos, C. Fletcher, Dear Sir :, The accompanying papers are hasty and informal expositions of the advantages which Missouri offers to the immigrant. In many instances, it has been, found impossible to illustrate the resources of this State by recent statistics. For the last six years, no full record of industrial products has been kept. The civil war materially deranged every branch of business. So largely did it interrupt the operations of agriculture, mining and commerce, that the statistics of these departments during the rebellion would, even if they were accessible, convey an altogether erroneous and inadequate impi-ession of the capabilities of Missouri. But time does not impair the force of a fact. If freshness adds to its interest, age does not detract from its truth. A decade of years has not deprived the statistics upon the minerals of Missouri of their power of producing conviction. And, though the facts which are familiar to our citizens may be new to Eastern and 3 4 European einigrante, the only vital point is the efficacy of these facts to impress upon the public mind a full comprehension of the resources of Missouri. Hoping that a general knowledge of our economic advantages M'ill convert many emigrants from other States and countries into immigrants and citizens of Missouri, I am, with high regard, yours truly, S. WATEEHOITSE. St. Louis. This series of papers has been revised and enlarged. It is hoped that the errors which have escaped correction are not suffi- ciently grave to weaken the force of the general conclusions. In some instances, from the impossibility of obtaining trustworthy statistics, approximate estimates have been given ; but these estimates express the best judgments of men practically conversant with the subjects under discussion. These articles are mere "advertisements" of the material re- sources of Missouri. The very object of the series precluded any thorough treatment of the several topics. A fuller discussion Avould have made a pamphlet too large for general circulation. The very kind and gTatifying reception which a generous pub- lic has already given these articles induces the hope that a further indulgence will be granted to sincere efforts for the material growth and mental culture of our noble State. S. W. Washington University, June Ist, 1867. GENERAL ADVANTAGES OF MISSOUPvI. January 11, 1S65, was the most eventful date in the history of MisBOuri. It was the bii'thday of liberty. It ushered Missouri into the sisterhood of free States. The act of that day Avill bless Mis- souri through all coming time. It will invigorate every form of business life, and stir the State to an early achievement of material greatness. Slavery benumbed the faculties of Missouri. States quickened by the incentives of freedom displayed a readier intelligence and prompter solutions of the problems of political economy. With all its superior advantages, Missouri, paralyzed by the torpor of servile institutions, was subjected to the humiliation of seeing itself far sui'- passed in rapidity of growth by younger and smaller States. The tables of the census are registers of its comparative poverty. Such figures are not liable to the suspicion of rhetorical exaggeration. Slavery degraded labor, palsied enterprise, created injust social dis- tinctions, fostered a dangerous aristocracy'', retarded the progress of industry, and finally plunged Missouri into the horrors of civil war. No free State conspired against the life of the nation. Slavery sowed the seed which has riper.ed into so fruitful a harvest of death. By its insurrection against lawful authority, it forced the nation — un- willing to submit to assassination, or to commit suicide at the re- commendation of traitors — to the ordeal of arms. Missouri bought her freedom with the costly treasure which is coined in the mint of battle. Her trial was severe. Desolate homes and biirned villages are the monuments of her fraternal strife. Agricultural labor was interrupted, commerce was prostrated, life and property wore in- secure, turbulence and carnage reigned supreme. But patriotism has triumphed. The devoted gallantry of our Federal soldiery has vanquished the assailants of republican libertj-. Victory has re- stored to the Nation unity and the possibility of greatness. Missouri will enjoy a liberal share in the splendor and rewards of triumph. Eedemption from slavery, and a free ])articipation in the prosperity which Avill flow from the re-establishment of the Union, are benefits of priceless value. Such gains will more than compensate for the losses of Avar. The advance in the price of real estate already re- quites Missouri for the enfranchisement of her slaves. The Ordin- ance of Emancipation has inaugurated a better era. The State already begins to feel the generous impulses of freedom. A new life is invigorating the bod}'' politic. Enterprise, commerce and manufactures are stimulated. Capital is flowing into the State. 5 6 Corporations are forming for the development of our internal re- sources, and factories are rising for the fabrication of domestic materials. The unsunned wealth of our mines is coming to the light in larger quantities. The pleased earth is yielding to the hands of free labor a richer store of golden grain. Processions of immigrant wagons are moving along all our highways. It is estimated that there was during last August and September an accession of 25,000 people to the population of the State. There is a fresh vitality in the very air of Missouri. The domain w^hich the Ordinance of Emancipation has restored to freedom is imperial. Missouri contains more than 67,000 square miles. It is half as large again as New York, and more than eight times the size of Massachusetts. It would make a score of German principalities. Larger than England and Wales, or Scotland and Ireland, it is equal to one-third of the area of France. The State is 318 miles long by 280 broad. Of its 43,000,000 acres, at least 35,000,000 are valuable for the purposes of agriculture or mining. The geogTaphical advantages of Missouri are peerless. The State lies not only in the center of the Mississippi Valley, but near the heart of the continent. Its metropolis, lying uj)on the Pacific Railroad, will be the half-way station between the oceans, and the great central emporium for the distribution of the productions of the Mississippi Valley. That destiny is inevitable. It is the glor- ious necessity of physical geograph}' . Missouri, lying between the parallels of 36 deg. 30 min. and 40 deg. 36 min. north latitude, en- joys the golden mean of the temperate zone. The salubrity of its climate is proverbial. Its chief defect is a liability to sudden changes. The summers are long and warm. The winters are gen- erally short and mild. On the parallel of St. Louis, the fall of snow is seldom more than two or three inches deep, and rarely I'emains on the ground a week. Sleigh-rides are infrequent and unsatisfact- ory. They illustrate the pursuit of pleasure under difficulty. The balmy airs of the Indian summer temper to delightful softness the tardy approach of winter. The average temperature of November, 1865, was 46 deg. 39 min. ; in 1866, it was 45 deg. and 6 min.* Semi-tropic fruits mature in Southern Missouri, Nvhile the productions of a higher latitude flourish in the northern portions of the State. The soil of the river bottoms and rolling praii'ie is inexhaustibly fertile, and even the mining regions are capable of supporting a largo agricultural population. The surface of Missouri is varied and undulating. Hills and mountains diversify and intersect the State. The copious streams which flow from these elevations fertilize the valleys, and afford a motive power which the level prairie can never supply. Missouri invites manufacturei's to her borders with the off'er of rich facilities. If natural adaptation is any index of des- tiny, then this State will iiltimately become the workshop of the Mississippi Valley. * The result of observations made on the northern front of Washington University, at 9 A. M. If it had been a southern exposure, or a later hour, the average would, of course, have been appreciably higher. According to another record, the mean tempera- ture was above 47 degrees. Missouri is heavily wooded. Hei* forests contain fuel and tim- ber amply sufficient to meet the wants of a population of 10,000,000. The mineral wealth of the State is illimitable. Probably no equal area on the face of the globe surpasses Missouri in the rich- ness and variety of her minerals. Her vaults are stored with almost every kind of ore which the arts of man require. The key to all this "wealth is a spade. The lock which secures this treasure is earth — any man can pick it. During the rebellion Missouri was cruelly vexed with evil spirits. But these have at length been cast out, and now the State, though rent and scarred by convulsions, is restored to sanity and health. It is now ready to commence an unobstructed career of development. The motives of freedom, fertility of soil, salubrity of climate, wealth of minerals, facilities for commerce and manu- factures, and ease of railroad and river transportation are the mat- erial advantages which invite the capitalist, the tradesman and the artisan of every clime and nationality to a home in Missouri, to a co-operation in the development of its measureless resources, and to an enriching participation in its prosperity. AGRICULTURE OF MISSOURI. Missouri presents to the farmer those conditions of climate which are most favorable to husbandry. The cold of the Northera latitudes restricts variety of production and blockades communica- tion with icy barriers. The heat of the South enervates energy and invites to indolence. Missouri enjoys the genial mean which per- mits the widest range of products and the full exercise of physical powers. The thermometrieal record kept at Jefferson Barracks — latitude 38 deg. 28 min., elevation 472 feet— shows that the mean annual temperature for twenty-six years, is 55.46 deg. The highest monthly average is 85.80 deg., and the lowest 18.54 deg. The mean annual rain-fall is 37.83 inches. The thermal and hydral averages of the season are : Spring, 56 15 deg. 10.56 inches Summer, 76 19 " 12.88 " Autumn, 55 63 « 8.02 '' Winter, 33 85 " 6.37 " It seems as though it would only be neccessary to advertise these advantages of climate to induce agricultural emigrants to avail themselves of such a genial co-operation of nature. Of the 35,000,000 acres of arable land in Missouri, 2,000,000 are- the alluvial margins of rivers, and 20,000,000 high rolling prairie. or 3 — — * 2 or 3 25 — 40 40 50 — 40 — 50 50 100 125 100 100 100 — — . — 300 150 800 — 2000 1200 800 2200 1500 1500 1300 1200 The richrieRS of the soil is practically inexhaustible. In bottoms the mold is sometimes six feet deep. Some farms, after bearing with- out artificial fertilization twenty five successive crops, have yet failed to show any very great decrease in productiveness. The strength of the land and the length of the season permit two har- vests to be gathered from the same field every year. Winter wheat or oats can always be succeeded by a crop of corn fodder, or Hun- garian grass, from the same ground. This is an advantage of mat- erial importance to small farmers. The composition of the soil varies with the geological formation. But the main elements — clay, lime, sand and vegetable mold — commixed in dift'erent proportions, form a rich marl or loam which the facts of harvest prove to be highly fruitful. The following statistics, which are given by Mr. Parker, may in some instances largely exceed the average yield, but still they illustrate the possible productiveness of the soil : Counties .....,.., Lnfayptt?. Holt. Howard. Saline. Pettis. Hay, tons Wheat, bushel per acre Oats, '< " Corn, " " Potatoes, " " Tobacco, lbs " Hemp, " " These counties are not selected on account of superior fertility; they are taken as samples for the simple reason that I have not been able to procure recent returns from other counties. In some of these products, the figures indicate a productiveness which is below the average of the richest districts. The table refers to special harvests and farms, and does not aim to express the mean fertility of the several counties or of other years. The average yield of wheat in Missouri is from 15 to 25 bushels an acre. Little facts are often suggestive of the fruitfulness of the soil. Sweet potatoes have been raised in Missouri which weighed ten pounds apiece. Apples and turnips have been exhibited at our fairs which measured respectively six and eight inches in diameter. Melons and pumpkins have been produced which attained the rela- tive w^eights of 40 and 100 pounds. Corn sometimes reaches as high as sixteen feet, and sorghum twenty feet. In good seasons, farm- ers occasionally cut four tons of hay to the acre. In all these cases, the average is of course much below these figures. These ex- ceptional instances are cited to show what vegetable monsters the richness of the soil sometimes brings forth. Yet, notwithstanding this wonderful wealth of soil, more than 25,000,000 acres of land in Missouri are suffered to lie fallow. There are to-day 4,000,000 acres of unentered land in this State. ^Nearly all of this land is rich in agricultural or mineral resources. Under the Homestead Law, 160 acres can be purchased for §18. Improved farms, can be bought at from f5 to SoO an acre. * Timothy 3 — Clover 4 — Hungarian Grass 5 tons. According to a recent estimate of the x\gricultural Bureau, the average price of farm labor in Missouri is $18.00 a month with board, and $26.75 without it. The water of Missouri is abundant and healthful. Perennial springs and copious streams are found in every part of the State. The alluvium which the Mississippi holds in solution does not impair the salutary quality of its waters. The undulating surface of Mis- souri affords advantages of drainage and water-power which are denied to level prairies. This is an important consideration. The necessity of thorough drainage to highly successful husbandry has been established, and the emigrant who would prefer the plains of other States to the gentle inequalities of Missouri, would betray a costly ignorance of his own interests. The products which thrive in Missouri are too numerous for separate enumeration. The list would be an inventory of the pro- ductions of the temperate zone. All the cereals grow with rank luxuriance. The soil is rich in the chemical elements of which the different grains are composed. Cotton is produced in the Southern portion of the State. The amount per acre varies from 200 to 400 pounds. During the war, it was a very profitable crop. The soil of Missouri is suited to the culture of Sorghum and Imphee. Their rank growth and great productiveness strongly recommend a more general cultivation of these vegetables. No portion of them is worthless. The juice is refined into excellent sugar and syrup, the leaves make good fodder, and the fiber of the stalk is manufactured into paper. Hemp and tobacco are two of the main staples of Missouri. Equal to the best growth of Kentucky and Virginia, they are a vast source of wealth to the State. Few crops yield a larger profit. Missouri produces more than forty-five per cent, of the hemp of the United States. Missouri is admirably adapted to the cultivation of fruit. Apples, pears, peaches, plums, cherries, currants, strawberries, blackberries, quinces, apricots and nectarines, reach a rare size and delicacy of flavor. Trees and vines grow rapidly and bear largely. In south- ern Missouri, the winters are so mild that fruit trees are seldom injured by inclemency of the weather. The season, which even in northern Missouri permits plowing hy the middle of March, cannot be very severe or protracted. In open winters, farmers have not infrequently done their plowing in December and January. In th« genial climate of Missouri, the farmers may enjoy from May t-o November an uninterrupted succession of fresh fruits. Apples can be produced in illimitable quantities. The trees mature at least five yeai-8 earlier than they do in New England. Peach trees continue to bear from fifteen to twenty years, and apple trees from twenty- five to thirty years. Two thousand bushels of peaches have been gathered from a single acre. Fruit culture is one of the most lucra- tive branches of husbandry in Missouri. Unless the prophecies of scientific men are false and the obvious intentions of nature are thwarted, Missouri is destined to be the 10 vineyard of America. There has been no elaborate investigation since the geological survey of Professor Swallow. But the familiar- ity of the facts which his researches developed does not diminish their truthfulness. It is estimated that there are in Southern Mis- souri 15,000,000 acres adapted to the culture of the grape. This land is situated 1,000 or 1,500 feet above the level of the ocean. Nature has, in many localities, moulded the surface into terraces, as if on purpose to facilitate the labors of the vine-dresser. The composition of the soil is remarkably like that of the celebrated vine lands of Germany and France. Chemical analysis shows that the soil abounds in lime, soda, potash, magnesia, and phosphoric acid; and these are the principal elements which enter into the structure of the vine. The soil is dry and light, the air equable and comparatively vaporless; the water abundant and pure. These are the identical conditions under which the luscious vintages of the Old World attain their jDerfection. The success of our vineyards has been seriously diminished by the inexperience of our vine-dressers. Unfamiliarity with the best methods of treatment, and ignorance of the varieties best suited to our conditions of climate and soil, have materially lessened the profits of grape-growing in Missouri. Yet the following averages, based upon the statistics of Mr. HusMANN, in his excellent treatise on ^'Grapes and Wine," show that, even under the existing disadvantages, the culture of the vine has been highly lucrative. The approximate exj^ense of preparing a vineyard is indicated below. Variety of Grape. Cost per Acre. Delaware 6875.00 Norton's Virginia 660.00 Herbemont 625.00 Catawba 465.00 Concord 410.00 The mean results per acre of one of Mr. Husmann's vineyards, from 1849 to 1865 inclusive, are as follow: No. Vines. No. Gal. Price per Gal. Gross Value. Net Profit. 3276. 529. $1.50 $253.00 $163.00 The cost of 2| acres, planted in 1861, was: 1700 Norton's Virginia, at $20 per 100 $340.00 400 Concord, " 25 " " 100.00 350 Delaware, " 50 " " 175.00 150 Herbemont, " 25 " '' 37.50 50 Cunningham, " 50 " « ; 25.00 Other assorted varieties 100.00 Expense of preparing land, $50 per acre 125.00 Erection of trellis, $150 per acre 375.00 Interest on capital 1 00. 00 Total $1,377.50 11 The products of this vineyard were : Fii-st year^ layers and cuttings $339.00 Second" "" « " 1,200.00 Third " " '' " 2,500.00 Fourth" " " " 4,000.00 Third " 2,000 lbs Concord gi-apes at 16 cts. net. . 320.00 Fourth " 2,040 " " " " 24 " " . . 489.60 Fifth " 1,030 gal. Concord, at ^2.50 per gal. 2,575.00 1,300 " Nort. Virg. " 4.00 « " 5,200.00 125 " Herbemont " 3.00 " " 375.00 40 " Delaware " 6.00 '< " 240.00 30 « Cunningham" 4.00 " " 120.00 10 " Clinton " 3.00 " " 30.00 50 " Other kinds " 3.00 " " 150.00 336 lbs Hartford Prolific, at 20 cts. per lb 67. 20 57,000 plants at $100 per 1000 5,700.00 Gross value $23,305.80 Deduct the interest on capital at 5 per cent $500. " cost of plants, trellis &c 1,277. " " labor for the Ist year 150. " " " « 2nd " 300. " " " " 3rd " 400. " " " " 4th " 500. « " " " 5th " 500.— $3,627.00 Ket profit $19,^78.80 The following exhibit shows the annual returns of Mr. M. Pob- schel's new vineyard : Year. Aren. Gross profits. 1863 2i acres $3,900.00 1864 5 " ..- 5,450.00 1865 7i " ...14,237.50 Total .$23,587.50 The averages of Mr. Poeschel's old vineyard, from 1847 to 1863 inclusive, were : AcreB. Gal. per acre. Price por gal. 4.4 986 $1.54 The statistics of Mr. Wm. Poeschel's vineyard are : Year. Area. Gross profit?. 1857 11 acres $1,402.50 1858 „ 1| " 275.00 1859 1| " 375.00 1860 2 " 1,846.80 1861 2 " 783.50 1862 2 " 1,742.12 18?3 24 " 2,512.00 1864 .2\ " 630.00 1865. . ■ 5 " 8,290.00 9 years 20| acres .$17,856.92 12 Untler favorable circumrstaiices, two r.cres of vines yielded the following results : No. Variety. Gallims. Price per Gal. Amount. 350 Delaware 40 $6.00 $240.00 100 Ilerhemont 125 3.00 y75.00 500 Concord 1,030 2.50 2,575.00 1,200 ...Norton 1,300 4.00 5,200.00 Other vines 307.20 Cuttings ■...5,700.00 Total value 114,457.20 Deduction of cost, labor and interest... 1,000.00 Net profit of two acres in one year $13,457.20 These figures exhibit a profit which is certainly araple enough to satisfy every reasonable expectation of gain. In 1865, the value of the grape crop in the vicinity of Hermann was appraised at ^150,000. If we may be guided in our estimates by European statistics, the vinelands of Missouri are able to afford a pleasant and remunerative occupation to a population triple the present census of the State, and to yield an annual vintage of at least 1,000,000,000 gallons of wine. The physical structure of Southern Missouri is a prophecy of' rich and delicious vintages, which the sagacious enterprise of our citizens should speedily fulfil. Almost all the valuable varieties ot forest trees abound in Mis- souri. The pine, oak, ash, elm, walnut, hickory, maple, gum, overcup, Cottonwood, cypress, chestnut, sycamore, linn, beech, catalpa, and tupelo are found in different portions of the State. The following table, taken from Mr. Parker's suggestive volume, shows the magnitude which some of these trees occasionally reach : Coiiuty. Tree. Circuin. in feet. Height. Dunklin Catalpa 10 90 Cape Girardeau Sweet Gum 15 130 " " White Ash 18 110 Pemiscot Elm 22 100 « Cvpress 29 125 Howard White Oak 28 100 Stoddard Beech 18 120 " Tupelo 30 120 Mississippi Spanish Oak 28 110 " Sycamore 43 — The magnitude of these statements excites distrust. But I have no means of verifying them. If there is no error in the figures, the existence of such vegetable giants demonstrates a marvelous opulence of soil. Large districts of southern Missouri are heavily covered with timber. For the purposes of ship-building, the live oak of this State is unsurpassed by any that grows in the Mississippi Valley. In the southern counties, there are millions of acres of valuable yellow pine which the band of man has not touched. Some of these are four feet in diameter, and shoot up to a height of ninety feet. Energy might easily coin this timber into a fortune. 13 Last year about S50,000 worth of tar, roBin and turpentine was brought to St. Louis from these pineries and sold at a large advance upon the cost of manufacture. The cultivation of grass brings the farmer liberal profits. Clover, timothy, red-top, Hungarian and herds-grass grow with spontaneous exuberance. The yield varies from one and a half to three tons an acre. In the culture of this crop, improved machin- ery enables the farmer to secure lai-ge returns for a slight outlay of labor. The richness of the herbage is favorable to stock-raising. Cattle occasionally graze all winter. It is seldom necessary to feed them more than two months and a half. The luxuriant verdure of our alluvial bottoms and loamy uplands would fatten cattle enough to supply the markets of the country. The farmer has the advant- age of the open prairie — his herds can feed at will upon its verdant pasturage. The stock raiser adjacent to a prairie can make a profit- able use of its vast commons. The hill}- region of southern Missouri is admirably adapted to sheep grazing. A moderate use of Mis- souri's ability to raise sheep would remove the necessity of import- ing into this country 100,000,000 poinds of wool annually. The alpaca of Peru is a hardy animal, and thrives upon the scantiest pasturage. Our national Bureau of x\griculture has re- commended the naturalization of this animal in the United States. The hardihood of the alpaca and its abundant yield of wool justify the attempt. Southern Missouri atfords the finest opportunities for the trial of this experiment. Our farmers may find in the introduction of this new breed a rich reward for their enterprise. In this way, portions of the State too uneven or stei'ile for the purposes of agriculture may be reclaimed to profitable uses. At all events, the experiment is worthy of a trial. The mulberry tree grows wild in Missouri. It is hardy and rank. With cultivation, it would answer every want of the silk-groAver. The Chinese silk worm, which has been imported from France and naturalized in this country, would find in the abundant foliage of the ailanthus tree rich materials for its glossy fabric. The softness of the climate is peculiarly favorable to the health and industry of this little manufacturer. The castor bean richly repays the labor of cultivation. An acre will yield from fifteen to twenty-five bushels. During the last four years the price has varied, in consequence of competition, from 82.50 to $5.50 a bushel. The oil factories of St. Louis alone are able to express 200,000 bushels of castor beans annually. At the present price of castor oil, the manufacturers can aiford to pay from $2.50 to $3 a bushel. Flax is a qu,ick crop. In three months from the time of sowing, the farmer can receive the profits of his industry. The yield of an acre is from fifteen to twenty-two bushels of flaxseed; or, when flax and barley ai'e sown together, from ten to fifteen bushels of flaxseed, and from sixteen to twenty-two bushels of barley. The average weight of straw to the acre is from one and a half to two tons. The crop is unfailing. Its certainty is a strong recommendation. 14 The annual capacity of our St. Louis mills for the manufacture of linseed oil is 250,000 bushels. For the last three years, the seed has been worth §2.50 a bushel. The millions of dollars which this country is now pa^'ing for impoi'ted castor and linseed oil ought to enrich American producers. The culture of flaxseed and the castor bean challenges the favorable attention of the farmers of Missouri. The cultivation of the beet may yet expand into an important branch of Western agriculture. The enormous productiveness of this vegetable may enable it to enter into a profitable competition with cane in the manufacture of sugar. The necessary brevity of this article precludes a fuller discussion of the agricultural interests of Missouri. Our limits only permit the mention of our leading staples. But this brief enumeration of our principal products or capabilities suffices to show the rare adaptation of Missouri to the uses of agriculture. The Agricultural Bureau at Washington is efficiently jiromoting the interests of American husbandry. It is intelligently exploring the productions of the world, determining their value and testing their adaptation to the needs of American agriculture. Our farmers ought to avail themselves of every judicious and practical suggestion Avhich emanates from this Bureau. They cannot afford to neglect the results of scientific investigation. The liberality of the general Cxovernment has given to Missouri 330,000 acres of public lands. This gift is sufficient for the organization and partial endowment of an Agricultural University. Such an institution, organized upon a practical basis, might render an important service to the farming interests of Missouri. It would elevate agriculture to a science, and promote alike the cultivation of the mind and the soil. It would diffuse throughout the State the latest results of scientific inquiry and experiment. It would suggest new, less expensive and more profitable processes of culture. It would liberalise the mind bj" broader views and nobler conceptions of the independence and dignity of the farmer's life. The husbandry which is prompt to take the hints derived from chemical analysis and actual trial, will always produce the most fruitful harvest. Our soil and climate are favorable to every staple of the temp- erate zone. In every direction, there are unopened avenues lead- ing to wealth. Eich lands and certain competency are the prizes which the intelligent immigrant will draw. For the prudent and industrious settler there are no blanks. In this State, agriculture will assuredly bless its skilful follower with independence and worldly store. St. Louis, easily accessible by river or rail, fumiishes a ready and unfailing market for every production of the husbandman. The exuberant West invites the farmers of the Old World and of i^ew England to forsake their ungrateful wastes for a soil which will show a richer appreciation of their tillage. 15 MINERALS OF MISSOURI. * Missouri may safely challenge the world to produce its superior in the number^ extent and value of its minerals. The immensity of its mineral wealth subjects even a truthful exposition to a sus- picion of exaggeration. The sober calculations of geology seem to be mere figures of rhetoric. The imperfect explorations which have been made have disclosed the superiority, but not the full mag- nitude, of the metallic resources of Missouri. Some of the vaults of nature's bank have been opened, but the treasure is too vast to be counted. The earth has hoarded in its coffers an unminted and incalculable wealth. The inventory of the mineral resources of Missouri enumerates springs — whose waters are impregnated with salt, sulphur, iron and petroleum — jasper, agate, chalcedony, litho- graphic stone, vitreous sand, granite, marble, limestone, plastic and fire-clays, metallic paints, hydraulic cements, mill and grind-stones, fire-rock, kaolin, emoiy, plumbago, nickel, cobalt, zinc, copper, sil- ver, gold, lead, coal and iron. Most of these minerals occur in quantities that are literally inexhaustible. In case of many of these articles, the mines and quarries of Missouri could easily supply the market of the world. If an incomplete geologic survey and the rude efforts of unscientific miners, who have as yet scarcely touched the vast deposits of the State, have disclosed such results, we may justly expect far richer developments when an exhaustive investi- gation has been made, and systematic mining been extensively pros- ecuted. Of silver and gold, traces only have been discovered. Cohalt and nickel exist in profusion. Zinc is very abundant. Its masses have often retarded the mining of more valuable oi'cs. Thousands of tons of this metal, thrown away by the lead miners as a vexatious and worthless im- pediment to their progress, might be with a profitable cheapness reclaimed to the uses of commerce. The oi'e is very pure. Copper has been found in 15 counties. At Hinch's Mine, 800 pounds of ore gave 272 pounds of good copper. In this locality, the gangue is red clay, chert and magnesian limestone. At Eives' Mine, the ore lies only 20 feet below the surface. The deposit is several feet thick, and contains a rich proportion of copper. The copper Hill Mine has yielded 100,000 pounds. The ore from the Stanton Mines gives, according to two analyses, 48.41 per cent of pure copper. The ore is usually a sulphuret or carbonate. But very little attention has been paid to the zink and copper mines of Missouri. The larger profits of other kinds of mining have diverted public enterprise from a fair trial and full develop- ment of these ores. The success of the copper works at Frederick- * The materials of this article are almost exclusively derived from the able Reports ef Professors Swallow and Litton in the Geological Survey of the State of Missouri. 16 town woiild justify more extended operations in this neglected branch of mining. Lead has been discovered in more than 500 localities. Its purple reins run through 20 counties and intersect an area of more than 0,000 square miles. The richness of these mines is exhibited by the following statistics : Poniida of Ijcad, Total yield of Perry's mine to 1854 12,000,000 '' " VallVs " 13,000,000 " " Franklin's" from 1824 to 1854 20,000,000 Tield of Shibboleth mine in 1811 3,000,000 *' Washington and St. Francois Counties from 1841 to 1854 50,000,000 Annual yield of Washington county 3,000,000 Total " Virginia mine 10,000,000* Yield of Williams' mine in 9 months of 1854 145,000* " Frazer'e " 1 month 100,000* " " " week 50,000* Shipped from Selma alone from 1834 to 1854 70,000,000 Annual average of all mines from 1840 to 1854 4,000,000 At the mine of Price, Bray & Co., 2,000 lbs. of Galena have been taken from a shaft which is only 10 feet deep. The ore at 3Iineral Point is in some places 18 inches thick. The lead is mostly sulphuret. Out of 120 specimens of ore, 113 were sulphuret, 6 sulphuret and carbonate, and 1 sulphate. From 60 to 85 per cent, of the ore is pure lead. The gangue is generally sulphate of baryta. The ore is often found in mag- nesian limestone, or red clay interspersed with brown hematite, pyrites and ochre. The mines which have been worked are mostly shallow. The shaft of Williams' mine was from 25 to 75 feet deep. " " Shibboleth " " 16 " 60 " " " Price's " 10 " At Granby, the lead comes to the very surface of the ground. In Kovember, 1865, Mr. Eutter, the Superintendent of the St. Louis White Lead Factory, made a careful examination of Mine la Motte. His report to Mr. Banker, then President of the Lead and Oil Compan}-, embraces the following interesting facts : The ore, which is almost exclusively a sulphuret, contains from 60 to 66 per cent, of pure lead. It is found in a limestone formation, at a depth of from 22 to 30 feet below the surface. The earth which ©verlies the limestone varies from 6 to 12 feet in depth. Horizontal sheets of almost pure galena, varying from 1 to 12 inches in thick- ness, cover the beds of minei'al ; beneath them lies a less productive sulphuret, which extends downwai'd from 4 to 6 feet. The mean ■fahickness is 8 inches. The weight of a square foot of lead, 1 inch thick, is 40 pounds. " " « « 8 inches '' 320 " * Pounds of Ore. 17 Sometimes a single drill yields 100 of these nearly cubic feet in a month. But an average of 50 feet gives, as the product of one drill, 615 pounds a day, or 16,000 pounds a month.^ The daily expense of each drill is $7.50. Each furnace smelts' from 40 to 80 pigs of lead a day. An average product of 50 pigs, or 3,700 pounds, requires the reduction of 6,166 pounds of ore. The cost of smelting is $37 a daj'. Ten drills are necessary to keep one furnace in blast. We are now ready for a summary of results : 3,700 lbs. lead at $5,712, the average price in this market for the five years previous to 1861 . . . $211.51 Deduct freight to St. Louis ic per lb $18.50 " commission for selling, 1 per cent. on $211.51 ...^ 2.11 " costof mining, ten drills at $7.50 each 75.00 <' cost of smelting 37.00 132.61 Profit of one furnace per day $ 78.90 " " " " month 2,051.40 « « " " year 24,616.80 At this rate 100 drills, a number not exceeding the capacity of a large company, would yield an average revenue of $359,252. During the first year, large operations would involve a heavy outlay for shafts, drainage and machinery. But the cost of repairs and improvements could hardly exceed 30 per cent, of the year's earnings. The preceding estimates are based upon present facts, and not upon theoretical possibilities. They are founded upon the practical results of recent mining. An enlargement of present operations and a more extended use of existing facilities are all that is neces- sary to secure the success which the foregoing figures indicate. Doubtless a treatment by the economic methods of science would give a measureably higher percentage of profit. Perfectly pure galena contains 13.34 per cent, of sulphur and 86.66 per cent, of lead. An uncrystalizod specimen from Mine la Motte, analyzed by Dr. Litton, gave — together with traces of iron, copper and nickel — 13.50 per cent, of sulphur and 84.50 per cent, of lead. Under our present wasteful processes, the sulphurets of Mine- la Motte sometimes yield 77.7 per cent, of pure lead. Except the slave labor of three proprietors, and scarcely 200 men have ever been employed at one time in the mines of Missouri. The operations have commonly been desultory and the methods un- scientific. Miners have chiefly sought superficial deposits in soft cla}'', where the ore could easily be reached with the spade. Mining, by the systematic process which science teaches, will probably de- velop far richer deposits than any yet found. Coal underlies a large portion of Missouri. It has already been discovered in 30 counties. Beds of cannel coal, 45 feet thick, have been found. There are 160 square miles of coal in St. Louis 2 18 eounty. The amount of coal in Cooper county has been estimated at 60,000,000 tons. Under every acre of Boone county there is supposed to be at least SI, 000 Avorth of coal. The deposits in the vicinity ot' Boonoville cover an area of 2,000 square miles. The strata have a mean thickness of three feet, and are calculated to contain 60,000,000 tons of coal. The following estimates are based upon the survey of Pro- fessor Swallow : Ctmiities. Square miles. Mean thickness. TonsofC->ii>. Guiiiiv-l>ags. Pounds. Yards of Giiiiny-clotli Ponmla. Total Weiglit. 1856 6,423,200 12,846,400 23,358,000 49,635,750 62,482,150 1857 4,669,650 9,339,300 15,003,570 31,882,586 41,221,886 1858 4,562,327 9,124,654 19,170,000 40,736,250 49,860,904 1859 4,266,400 8,532,800 25,489,020 54,164,168 62,696,968 1860 3,294,945 6,589,890 26,631,180 56,591,259 63,181,149 1861 3,208,725 6,417,450 8,517,060 18,098,753 24,516,203 1862 3,376,786 6,753,572 6,896,100 14,654,212 21,407,784 1863 3,703,000 7,406,000 669,600 1,422,900 8,828,900 1864 2,676,300 5,352,600 392,400 833,850 0,186,450 1865 6,875,215 13,750,430 1,834,920 3,899,205 17,649,635 In 1865, 305,166 bales of jute were imported into the United States. It is important to notice the immediate source of these importations. From India, raw material 8,641,200 pounds. " Great Britain, " " 3,000,000 « « " manufactured goods.... 24,000,000 " ^< India " " 5.5,908,600 " Total 91,549,800 The Commissioner very justly thinks that the 24,000,000 pounds of Indian fabrics which are imported from England should be man- ufactured in this country. The raw material should be brought directly from the land which produces it, and wrought into gunny- bags and burlaps in our own factories. This would not only secure to "the United States the profits of manufacture, but cheapen the product and enlarge our trade with India. But perhaps it is pos- sible for us to obviate the necessity of importing jute. It is thought that some of our own lands are suited to the production of Indian hemp. An experiment whose success would increase the agricul- tural and manufacturing prosperity of the country ought to be subjected to an early and exhaustive trial. It may be found that the lands of Southern Missouri are fit for the growth of this staple. The successful culture of Indian hemp in this state would confer upon St. Louis a new facility for the distribution of the products of the Mississippi Valley. Flour ought to be one of our largest products. Our streams furnish a cheap motive power and the means of transportation. Our brands are the best in the Eastern Markets. Yet, in 1860, the product of our flour mills was less than half the quantity made in Illinois. The annual cost of imported paper is millions of dollars. Paper factoi'ies w^ould not only save our citizens this great expense, but convert our refuse cotton, flax, straw and sorghum into sources of wealth. The Spanish atocha or esparto — 50,000 tons of which are annually imported into England for the manufacture of paper — would doubtless thrive on the sterile slopes of the Ozark range, and become an important industrial interest. 24 After the completion of the Pacific Railroad, St. Louis will become au entrepot of the precious metals exti'actod from the mines of the Rocky Mountains. Then, if the interests of the West are consulted, the National Government will establish in this city a branch mint, and individual enterprise will erect factories in which silver and gold will be fashioned into articles of use and ornament. In the manufacture of watches, this country has already declared its independence of Europe, and it is very strange if American ingenuity and taste cannot equal the artistic skill of the Old World in the production of jewelry. The granites of Missouri are coarse and strong. They would make an excellent building material for stores and public edifices, but thus far the quarries have been left almost untouched. Marble has been brought to St. Louis from Yermout, and yet there are in this State numerous beds of compact, fine-grained, durable marble. The colors arc various; white, blue, and yellow marbles are common. Other varieties are clouded, mottled Avith pink and purple, veined Avith spar, and capable of high polish. A fine lithographic stone is found in Macon county. A native specimen which is an excellent substitute for the foreign article has recently been exhibited in this city. Bavaria may find a rival in Missouri. If the rest of the quarry pi'OA^es to be as good as the Hample, it will be a valuable element in the resources of the State. Lithographic stone is now selling in this market at from 10 to 30 cents a pound. Large blocks are very expensive. Missouri ought to manufacture her own paints. The material is abundant. Blue, pink, purple, red, yellow and white paints can he made from the mineral which our own soil contains. A\^hite lead and the oxjd of zinc can be made in illimitable quantities from our own materials. The supply of ochres, barytes, m-anium, manganese, cobalt, red chalk, China clay and terra di Siena exceeds any prob- able demand for the manufacture of paints. Fire-clay, rivaling the best deposits of Europe, is found within four miles of the St. Louis Court House. The bed is fifteen feet thick, and very extensive. An analysis shoAvs the folloAving elements : Silica 53,94 Alumina, Avith some peroxide of iron 33,73 Lime 1,17 Magnesia a trace Water 10,94 Total " 99,78 Fire-brick made of this clay is capable of resisting very high temperatures. The excellence of the material recommends it for retorts, alembics, crucibles, and furnaces. The kilns of this man- ufacture ought to be far more numerous. Formerly fire-rock was brought from remote States for the bloomaries at Ironton. This fire-rock, imported at a very heaA^y expense, seldom lasted more than five months. But a few years ago, a geological examination discovered a superior quarry in the 25 immodiate Ticinity of Ironton. This fire-rock is very refractory, aud often resists the heat of the furnaces for 17 months. Missouri is adapted to the manufacture of furniture and agricul- tural implements. Lumber and transportation are cheap. St. Louis should be the factory and emporium of every kind of wood-work which the house and the farm requii'e. It should manufacture everything from a chair to a piano — from a hand-rake to a patent reaper — from a wagon to a rail-car. In 1860, the value of the fur- niture and agricultural machinery produced in Missouri, Illinois, and New York, was respectively $483,000, ^3,425,000, and §10,600,000. This branch of manufactures, which is destined to be a prominent industry in Missouri, will yet increase the capital of the State by an annual product of millions of dollars. Adepts consider the plastic clay which is found at Commerce fully equal to that of Devonshire. It is as fine and almost as white as flour. The best potter's clay and kaolin exist in quantities that preclude the idea of exhaustion. All this State needs to become famous for its crockery and queen's ware is skilful labor from the potteries of Europe. The materials and capital for the manufacture of earthen wai'e and porcelain are abundant. Art alone is reqixisite. Near Ste. Grenovieve there is a bank of saccharoidal sand which is twenty feet in height, and miles in extent. The mass is inex- haustible. Two analyses give the following result : Silica 98,81 90,02 Lime 0,92 0,98 The sand is very friable and nearly as white as ^now. It is not oxydized or discolored by heat, and the glass made from it is clear and unstained. One firm in this city has annually exported more than 3,500 tons of this sand to the glass manufactories of Wheeling, Steuben ville and Pittsburg. The possible benefit which this industry might confer upon St. Louis may be inferred from the statistics of the glass manii factories of Pittsburg. In 1866, in the exclusive manufacture of bottles and window panes, The number of men and boys employed was 1,800 " " ^' tons of silica consunied 242,000 " amount of anuual wages $1,396,500 " value of annual product $2,160,000 There are also 19 manufactories of flint glass in which The number of workmen is 2,300 " amount of weekly Avages S19,000 " value of the factories $1,298,000 " number of bushels of coal 2,095,800 " worth of yearly product $2,000,000 There are in all 35 glass-works, employing a capital of $6,800,000 A large portion of the silica used in the glass-factories of Pitts- burg is carried from Missouri. Instead of incurring the expense of two transportations and paying to distant establishments the cost of production, our OAvn factories ought to meet all our domestic wants and supply the markets of the West. 26 There have been repeated inBtances of the importation of lead from New York into MiBsoiiri. While the earth heneath our feet is rich with incalculable masses of galena, we satisfy the demarxis of our internal commerce by importations from the Atlantic frontier. There is no article made of lead that ought not to be pro- duced in our own factories. It is a reproach to our State that the orders of our lead market should bo tilled one thousand miles from its own metropolis. The few manufacturers who are converting our native ore into the commodities of commerce are rapidly enriching themselves. Our iron manufactures are altogether inadequate to meet the wants of Missoui'i. AYith three mountains of 'iron in our midst, we import almost all our hardware. Ore yielding 56 per cent, of pure iron can be bought at Pilot Knob for :^1.50 per ton. At St. Louis, the price is $3.50 a ton. This ore is carried to Pittsburg, manu- factured into nails, reshipped to our market, and sold, exclusive of freight, for $125 a ton. A ton of pig iron is sold to a Boston manufacturer for $65. It is shipped to its destination by way of New Orleaiis. At the Eastern factory it is wrought into tiles and then sent back to the starting point. One-half of the material is lost in the process of manufacture, but the half-ton of files costs the St. Louis merchant more than $1,000. St. Louis imports railroad iron from Cambria, Pa. The cost at the works is $85 a ton : the freight to St. Louis is $20 a ton. Hence our merchants are paying more than $100 a ton for railroad iron which home manufactories ought to supply at one-third of this cost. The Union Pacific has already expended $2,200,000 for rails. Two years ago, this Company paid for rails, delivered at their destina- tion, $140 a ton. The present price is $120 a ton. It is estimated that the railroads of Missouri will need, during the year 1867, 50,000 tons of railroad iron. This will cost, at the low average of $100 a ton, $5,000,000. The expenditure of so large a sum in our own foundries would save freight, pay the price of manufacture to our own machinists, foster domestic industries, and invigorate the business activities of the city. These are only representative facts. Hundreds of such illustrations might be presented. Our iron-mills ought to be equal to our resources. With coal and wood abundant and cheap, with masses of ore which centuries cannot exhaust, St. Louis, or its vicinity, ought to be the great central machine-shop of the West. Our iron-works should rival those of Pittsburg, Birmingham, and Sheffield. The importation of iron manufactures into Missouri should speedily cease. Every kind of tools and machinery, every article of iron or steel, from the hair spring of a watch to the largest engine, from a nail to a 20-inch columbiad, should be fashioned in our own establishments. Sugar, if not a necessity, is one of the prime luxuries of life. The quantity of sugar consumed in the United States in 1865 was about 800,000,000 pounds. New York, whose refineries exceed in capacity of production those of all the rest of the country, compels the other States to pay tribute to her enterprise. But in this branch of manufacture; St. Louis has made creditable progress. Under 27 prudent and sagacious management, the St. Louis Eefinery — to whose able President I am indebted for the subsequent facts — has expanded into an establishment whose annual transactions amount to more than 83,000,000. In 1866, it refined 22,000,000 pounds of raw sugar. The cost of the sugar imported into the United States in 1866 was — exclusive of the import of three cents a pound payable in coin — $40,000,000 in gold. Missouri will doubtless be able to co-operate with the ISTorth "\Vest in preventing this large export of treasure. France and Germany manufacture most of the sugar which they use from beets of domestic growth. This sugar enjoys no immunities. It is secured against foreign competition by no pro- tective tariflT. It is subject to the same duties as the product of the tropic cane. And yet it not only sustains itself, but successfully competes with the sugars of Cuba and Java. Of the present crop, 100,000,000 pounds will be exported from France to England. There is no need of going to Havana for our sugars. Our Western prairies can equal the saccharine riches of the Indies. They yield as fruitful crops of the sugar beet as France or Germany. Anal- yses made at Chicago, and at "Washington by the Agricultural Bureau, show that the American beet contains as large a percentage of pure sugar as the European beet. It has also been ascertained that the American beet can, in high latitudes, be preserved through the winter uninjured. A company, with a capital of ^160,000 has purchased 2,000 acres of land in ISTorthern Illinois for the purpose of raising beets and manufacturing sugar. The experiment will certainly succeed, if the managers are careful to procure proper machinery, skilful labor and scientific supervision. The quantity of beet sugar which the West is capable of producing may be calcu- lated from the estimated crop of foreign countries in 1865 : Holland 10,000,000 pounds. Poland and Sweden 30,000,000 " Belgium 55,000,000 " Eus^sia 100,000,000 " Austria 190,000,000 " Zoll Verein 370,000.000 '' France 510,000,000 " The aggregate 1,265,000,000 " is more than one-third of the annual consumption of luirope. In 1866, the sugar crop of France was 540,000,000 pounds. A cultivation of the sugar beet commensurate with the area adapted to its growth would add hundreds of millions of dollars annually to the wealth of the West. In the development of this now growth, Missouri ought actively to participate. The mildness of our climate is the only obstacle to success. The temperature must be sufficiently cold to prevent germination during the winter months. If the beet sprouts, it becomes unfit for the manufacture of sugar. Our low latitude does not preclude the raising, of the beet, and if our Winters are unfavorable to its saccharine qualities, 28 the crop can bo shipped to manufactories further North. Appar- ently notliing can prevent the culture of the beet from becoming one of the most profitable resou.rceB of Missouri. Beet sugar of domestic manufacture is not subject to any excise. Last jear, a company of Germans, in Livingston county Illinois, engaged in the manufacture of beet sugar. Mr. Bender gives the following results of the experiment. More than 4,000 tons of beets were raised from 400 acres of land. The cost of cultivation was less than $4 a ton. The varieties of beet were the ''Imperial" and ''White Silesian". The juice contained from 9 to 13^ per cent, of sugar. The beets yielded 7 J per cent, of superior raw sugar, or 5^ per cent, of a qual- ity fully equal to the refined "B" sugars of New York brand. If better processes of manufacture had been used, this crop of beets would have produced 450,000 pounds of refined sugar. The period of granulation varied from 27 to 72 hours. This experi- ment, conducted under grave difficulties, justifies sanguine hopes of American success in the manufacture of beet sugar. The French, who make 850,000,000 worth of beet sugar annually, claim that the yield of beets is less fluctuating and more profitable than that of sugar cane. Sorghum, toD, is rich in saccharine elements. From its easy cultivation and great productiveness, this vegetable may yet become one of our most fruitful sources of domestic sugars. The yield is from 120 to 350 gallons of juice per acre. By the aid of late chemical discoveries, the saccharine matter can now be economi- cally granulated. Sugar and syrup, refined by the Clough process, are destitute of the peculiar acrid taste which distinguishes sorghum. If sugar can be manufactured from this material as cheaply as from cane or beet, then sorghum will at once become one of the heaviest and most valuable staples of the State. The quantity of sorghum which Missouri can produce is almost illimitable. By an improved process of recent discovery, an excellent syrup can be profitably made from corn. A bushel of corn yields three gallons of syrup. The residuum is useful for fodder. If the chemist could only convert starch into sugar, he could transmute our cereals into a wealth surpassing the golden miracles of Midas. Coni woidd no longer be used for fuel. But sugar can be made from the juice of the cornstalk. There is now- a specimen of this kind of sugar in the Laboratory of Washington L"^niversity. It is not grape but genuine cane sugar. The discoveries of chemistry may yet render this an extensive and lucrative manufacture. But, at "present, there is no probability that corn will supplant the cane and beet in the production of sugar. An exclusively agricultural State never reaches the. highest material prosperity. The wealth of nations is largely dependent upon variety of industries. A diversity of occupations creates a higher social intelligence, a more rapid interchange of ideas among the members of a community, better markets, a quicker circulation of money, greater economy of materiel, and ampler internal re- sources, " The superintendent of the Cambria Iron Works, at 29 Johnstown, Pa., recently communicated to tlie CommiHsionor of Internal Eeveniie some very significant and illustrative statistics. The quantity of food annually consumed by the population dependent upon the company is : Beef cattle 2,000 head Sheep 8,000 „ Swine 4,000 head Flour 20,000 bbls. Johnstown furnishes a ready market for all kinds of agricul- tural products. The supply of butter, eggs, fruits and vegetables is not equal to the demand. Large quantities ai-e imported from the neighboring markets. Unimproved land within seven miles of the Cambria furnaces is worth from $150 to 300 per acre. Similar land, lying beyond the influence of the Iron Works, is worth but S20 per acre. The effect of this manufactory upon the value of real estate is perceptible for fifty miles. In 1864 and 1865, this establishment paid to its workmen $2,995,270. As the earnings of a manual laborer are mostly expended upon the means of living, a large proportion of this gi'eat aggregate must have gone into the pockets of the adjacent farmers. This instance may be taken as a general illustration of the influence of any kind of manufactory upon a neighborhood. Real estate and the products of the farm are always lowest where manu- factories do not exist. Hence the people of Missouri are buying the manufactures of other States at the highest prices, and paying for them with agricultural productions at the lowest rates. It does not require a very profound study of political economy to ascertain that it is not an enriching process to purchase costly foreign fabrics with cheap domestic harvests. With an abundance of raw material at home, we are paying external manufacturers high prices for their goods and incui*ring the heavy expense of transportation. St. Louis annually imports from Boston alone about $5,000,000 worth of boots and shoes. Instead of this outlay, other communities ought to be tributary to our own shoe factories. We are now paying out what other States ought to pay in. The great value which industry adds to material is all lost to us. The cost of production impoverishes us in just the proportion in which it enriches others. Different kinds of manufactories utilize the various raw mate- rial of the State. At present, only the leading staples can bear the cost of transportation. Many articles of economic value are wasted, simply because there is no home consumption. It does not pay to send them to a remote market — the freight consumes all the profit. Missouri loses millions of dollars every year by this waste of avail- able material. In a community where manufactories are numerous and varied, no commodity is lost. Every kind of raw material which has a commercial value commands its price and is fabricated into articles for the use of man. A thousand substances which home manufactories could transform into useful products now perish unused and w^orthless. The gravest arguments of political economy urge Missom*i to beoome a manufacturing State. By the adoption of this policy, w© should enhance the value of real estate, raise the price of farm 30 products, furnish employment to th.ouB.ands of artizanH, utilize all our raw material, coin into "wealth the labor of production, pay to our own workmen the cost of fabrication, save the expense of transportation from remote manufactories, improve our own markets, secure the golden patronage of neighboring States, enlarge the amount and quicken the activity of capital, increase the operations and profits of agriculture and commerce, diffuse a knowl- edge of the arts, and promote intercourse, exchange of ideas, and the progi-ess of Missouri to material greatness. ST. LOUIS THE COMMEKCIAL CENTRE OF NORTH AMERICA, St. Louis is ordained by the decrees of phj^sical nature to become the great inland metropolis of this continent. It can not escape the magnificence of its destiny. Greatness is the necessity of its position. New York may be the head, but St. Louis will be the heart of America. The stream of traffic which must flow through this mart will enrich it with alluvial deposits of gold. Its central location and facilities of communication unmistakably indicate the leading part which this city will take in the exchange and distrib- ution of the products of the Mississippi Valley. St. Louis is situated upon the west bank of the Mississippi, at an altitude of 400 feet above the level of the sea. It is far above the highest floods that ever swell the Father of waters. Its latitude is 08 deg. 37 min. 28 sec. north, and its longitude 90 deg. 15 min. 16 sec. west. It is 20 miles below the mouth of the Missouri, and 200 above the con- fluence of the Ohio. Miles. Distance by river from St. Louis to Keokuk is 200 '< " " Burlington 260 " " « Eock Island 350 " " " Dubuque 470 " « « St. Paul 800 « « « Cairo 200 " " " Memphis 440 " « " Vicksburg 830 " " " New Orleans 1,240 " « " Louisville 580 « " '' Cincinnati 720 " « " Pittsburgh 1,200 " " " Leavenworth 500 '< « « Omaha 800 « « « Sioux City 1,000 " « « Fort Benton 3,100 31 Fnstance by rail from St. Louis to Indianapolis 200 " " " " Chicago 280 " " " Cincinnati 340 " " " Cleveland 470 " " " Pittsburgh 650 " « « Buffalo 650 « " " New York 1,000 " " " Lawi'ence o20 " « " Denver 880 " " '' Salt Lake 1,300 « " " Virginia City 1,900 « " " San Francisco 2,300 St. Louis very nearl}'^ bisects the direct distance of 1,400 miles between Superior City and the Balize. It is the geographical centre of a valle}' which embraces 1,200,000 square miles. In its course of 3,200 miles, the Mississippi borders upon Missouri 470 miles. Of the 3,000 miles of the Missouri, 500 lie within the limits of our own State. St. Louis is mistress of more than 16,500 miles of river navigation. This metropolis, though in the infancy of its greatness, is already a large city. Its length is about eight miles, and its width three. Suburban residences, the outposts of the grand advance, are now stationed six or seven miles from the river.. The present population of St. Louis is 204,300. In 1865, the real and personal property of the city was assessed at ^100,000,000, and in 1866 at ^126,877,000. St. Louis is a well built city, but its architecture is rather sub- stantial than showy. The wide, well paved streets, the spacious levee, and commodious warehouses; the mills, machine shops, and manufactories; the fine hotels, churches, and public buildings; the universities, charitable institutions, public schools and libraries, constitute an array of excellences and attractions of which any city may justly be proud. The Lindell and Southern Hotels are two of the largest and most magnificent structures which the world has ever dedicated to public hospitality. The Lindell is itself a village."^ The appearance of St. Louis from the eastern bank of the Mississippi is impressive. At East St. Louis, the eye sometimes commands a view of 100 steamboats lying at our levee. Not- withstanding the departure of more than 40 boats for Montana, there are at this date 70 steamers in the port of St. Louis. A mile and a half of steamboats is a spectacle Avhich naturally inspires large views of commercial greatness. The sight of our levee, thronged with busy merchants and covered with the commodities of every clime, from the peltries of the Rocky Mountains to the teas of China, does not tend to lessen the mag- nitude of the impression. *0n the 80th of Last March, this superb edifice was burned to the ground. But the public-spirited citizens of St. Louis have forninlly resolved to restore it in all its original magnificence. More than $300,000 have already been raised for this object. 32 The growth of St. Louis, though greatly retarded by social institutions, has been rapid. The population of the city was in 1769 891 1795 925 1810 1,400 1820 4,928 1828 5,000 1880 5,852 1833 6,397 1885 8,316 1887 12,040 1840 16,469 1844 34,140 1850 74,489 1852 94,000 1856 125,200 1859 185,587 1866 204,827 In 1866, 1,400 buildings, worth $3,500,000, were erected in St. Louis. The total number of structures in the city is now about 20,000, and their approximate value is ^50,000,000. " At the present rate of decennial increase, St. Louis in 1900 would contain more than 1,000,000 inhabitants. This number cei'- tainly seems to exceed the present probability of realization, but the future growth of St. Louis, vitalized by the mightiest forces of a free civilization and quickened by the exchanges of a continental commerce, ought to surpass the rapidity of its past development. The Eeal Estate in St. Louis was in 1859 assessed at 1860 '' " 1861 " " 1862 " " S69,846,845 73,765,670 57,537,415 40,240,450 1863 assessed at. 1864 " '' . 1865 « " . 1866 " " . 849,409,030 53,205,820 78,960,700 81,961,610 Li 1866, the valuation of the Real and Personal property in vSt. Louis on which the State and Military taxes were levied was §126,877,000. The amount of Duties collected at the St. Louis Custom House was in 1861 $30,183.96 1862 20,404.70 1863 36,622.09 1864 §76,448.43 1865 586,407.47 1866 785,652.30 The amount of imposts paid at the port of Chicago during the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 1866, was $509,643.39 in coin. The duties collected during the same period at this port amounted to $60,176.45 in currency, and 780,706.97 in gold. Only about one-tifth of the customs levied on goods imported into St. Louis are collected at this point. St. Louis is only a Port of Delivery. The imposts upon our foreign merchandise are chiefly paid at the Ports of Entry. The present system of foreign importation is unfavorable to the commercial interests of St. Louis. This city should be made a Port of Entry. The goods of St. Louis importers are now subjected to great delay and expense at New Orleans. The municipal author- ities do not permit the merchandise to lie on the landing more than five days. If the requisite papers are not made out within that time, the goods are sent to bonded warehouses. This contingency not unfreqnently occurs. The press of business or official slowness often delays the issue of the Custom House pass beyond the spec- 33 ified time, and tlieu the western importer is subject to the serious expense which the di'tiyage to the warehouse, loss of time, and fre- quent damage to the goods involve. The gravity of this embarrass- ment forces many of our merchants to pay the duties at New Orleans. This course saves delay and expense. The Eevenue laws recognise no distinction between the actual payment of duties and the trans- portation bond. But practically there is an important difference. In case the impost is paid at NeAV Orleans, the goods are almost always forwarded within five days; but when the naerchandise is shipped under a transportation bond, the detention is \erj frequently ten days, and sometimes a month. In the former instance, any package can be forwarded as soon as the duty is paid; but, in the latter case, the imports cannot be dispatched to their destination till the entire shipment has passed the inspection of the Custom House. In consequence of these injust discriminations against St. Louis, many of our largest importers, notwithstanding the inconvenience of keeping gold on deposit at New Orleans, prefer to pay the duties on their foreign goods at the Port of Entry. An excessive and unnecessary delay at the ISTew Orleans Custom House recently subjected one of our merchants to a loss of $S a ton on a shipment of iron. Last season, another of our importers ordered a large stock of Christmas goods. The articles reached New Orleans in season, but were detained there till after the holidays. They must now be kept, with loss and deterioration, for another year; and before next Christmas, they may become comparatively worthless by changes of mode and new directions of public taste. These examples illustrate the importance of time in com- mercial transactions. The Government could easily obviate all the difficulties which our importers now expei'ience by making St. Louis a Port of Entry. The commercial embarrassments of the present system need imme- diate removal. In the event of the proposed change, frauds upon the Government could be prevented by reshipping the goods at New Orleans under the eye of the Custom House authorities, keeping them during the voyage under lock and key, and, if neces- sary, subjecting them on the passage to the surveillance of a Eevenue officer. During the rebellion, the shipments of merchandise to southern ports were placed under similar supervision. The satisfactory operation of this system, amid all the liabilities to abuse which exist in times of civil turbulence, warrants the convic- tion that the proposed plan would, in a period of peace, prove eminently successful. If Congress respects commercial rights, St. Louis will soon become a Port of Entry. From the records of the United States Assessor, it appears that in 18G5 the sales of 612 St. Louis firms amounted to 6140,688,856. For the same year, the imports of this city reached an aggregate of 1:235,873,875. Tiie manufactures of St. Louis constitute an important element in our commercial transactions. In 1860, the capital invested in 3 34 marmfactiTres was $9,205^205, and the value of the product was 821,772,323. In 1866, the mills of this city made 820,000 barrels of flour. In 1 865, our receipts of grain, including flour, were 17,657,250 bushels. " 1866, '' " " " 20,855,280 " " 1865, exports " " 13,427,000 '' " 1866, '^ " " 18,680,500 '' St. Louis, though the eighth city in the United States in popu- lation, ranks as seventh in the importance of its manufactures. Missouri might profitably imitate the activity of its metropolis. The extent of our social and commercial intercourse with the rest of the world may be inferred from the postal statistics of this department. In 1865, the number of letters which passed through the St. Louis Post Office for distribution, m.ail, or delivery, was about 11,000,000. In 1866, the total sum of postage collected, including the sale of stamps, was more than 0195,000; and the amount of money orders paid was S145,000. In postal importance, St. Louis is the fifth city of the Union. The earnings of our railroads indirectly exhibit the magnitude of our trade. For the fiscal year of- 1865, the total receipts of the Iron Mountain were $424,700; North Missouri $1,013,000; Missouri Pacific and Southwest Branch, $1,939,000; Hannibal and St. Joseph, $2,000,000. In 1866, the earnings of the Missouri Pacific were 82,670,000. The returns of the Union Pacific for JSTovember 1866 were $77,869. The Dii^ectors estimate their monthly receipts for 1867 at $100,000. In 1865, the total number of passengers, by river or rail, w^ho made St. Louis their destination, or a point of transit, amounted to 1,180,000; and, in 1866, 1,250,000. In 1866, the number of houses and firms doing business in St. Louis was 5,500, and the number of commercial licenses issued -during the same year was 4,800. The tonnage owned and enrolled in the district of St. Louis in 1865 was 97,000 tons. On the first of January 1867, the amount of our steam tonnage, exclusive of a large number of barges and ■canal boats which made occasional trips, was 106,600 tons, with a carrying capacity of 186,000 tons, and a value of 10,376,000. Our commerce is aided by ample banking facilities. There are in St. Louis, in addition to 20 private banks, 38 Insurance Companies, 31 incorporated banking institutions, with an actual capital of $15,000,000. The character of our banks stands deserv- edly high in the financial world. The development of the territories •is bringing large deposits to our banks, creating new demands for capital, and extending the channels of circulation. Our trade with the mountains is large and rapidly increasing. In 1865, 20 boats set out from this port for Fort Benton — which is more than 3,000 miles from St. Louis — with a total freight of 6,000,000 pounds. In 1866, 50 boats sailed for Fort Benton, with an aggregate tonnage of 10,284 tons. In three instances the cost of assorted goods was as follows : 35 13 tone of moi'chandise $12,000 35 '' " 40,000 40 '' " 65,000 Mean cost pei- ton , 1,300 The agent who furnishes these fticte feels authorized by his experience in the trade of the Upper Missouri to appraise a ton of Montana merchandise at $1,000. The following table is an approximate estimate, based upon the preceding data, of our commerce with Montana, for the year 1866 : Number of boats 50 " " passengers 2,500 Pounds of freight 13,000,000 Value of merchandise §6,500,000 The trade across the plains is of still greater magnitude. The overland freight from Atchison alone has increased from 3,000,000 pounds in 1861 to 21,500,000 in 1865. The Overland Dispatch Company have courteously furnished me with estimates, founded upon their own transactions, of our total commerce with the territories in 1865. These figures do not include the Fort Benton trade. Number of passengers east and west by overland coaches 4,800 " u a <( jjy trains and pri- vate conveyancea 50,000 Number of wagons 8,000 " " cattle and mules 100,000 Pounds of freight to Plattsmouth 3,000,000 " " Leavenworth City 6,000,000 " « Santa Fe 8,000,000 " " St. Joseph 10,000,000 " « Nebraska City 15,000,000 " " Atchison 25,000,000 Government freight 50,000,000 Total number of pounds 117,000,000 Amount of treasure carried by express ^3,000,000 " '' " by private conveyance 30,000,000 The Overland Express charge 3 percent, for the traneportation of bullion. This high comraission and the hostility of the Indian tribes induced many miners to send their gold East by the way of San Francisco to Panama. In 1866, the total assav of bullion in the United States was $81,389,540. Of this aggregate, $73,032,800 came from the Pacific and Eocky Mountain mines. Upon the usual estimate that 25 per cent, of the gold and silver escapes assay, the entire product of the country in 1866 was $100,000,000. The increase of population in the gold regions, the richness of recent discoveries, and greater activity in mining operations indicate a still larger aggregate in 1867. In 1866, the westward traffic of Leavenworth amounted to $50,000,000. This aggregate includes the Santa F6 trade, whose value last j-ear was about S35,000;000. The Western trade of Nebraska City was in 1863 16,800,000 pounds. 1864 23,000,000 " 1865 44,000,000 " 1866 ; 30,000,000 " The freightage from this point across the Plains required, in 1865, 11,739 men, 10,311 wagons, 10,123 mules, and 76,596 oxen. So great is the length of the overland routes that the trains are able to make but two through trips a year. The Union Pacific Eailroad already extends to Fort Harker. This materially shortens the extent of overland fx'eightage. Distance from St. Louis to Fort Harker 508 miles. " " Fort Harker to Denver 372 " " " " " Salt Lake City 800 " " " " " Yirginia City 1432 ", The length of these lines of transportation, the slowness of our present means of communication, and the magnitude of our tento- rial population and trade, forcibly illustrate the necessity of a Pacific Eailraod. The foregoing summaries exhibit the commerce of the Missis- sippi Valley with the mountains. But while St. Louis does not monopolize the trade of the gold regions, it yet sends to the terri- tories by far the largest portion of their supplies. Even in cases where merchandise has been procured at intermediate points, it is probable that the goods were originally purchased at St. Louis. During the rebellion, the commercial transactions of Cincinnati and Chicago doubtless exceeded those of St. Louis. The very events which prostrated our trade stimulated theirs into an un- natural activity. Their sales were enlarged by the traffic which was wont to seek this market. Our loss was their gain. The Southern trade of St. Louis was utterly destroyed by the blockade of the Mississippi. The disruption by civil commotions of our commercial intercourse with the interior of Missouri was nearly complete. The trade of the aSTorthern States, bordering upon the Mississippi, was still unobstructed. But the merchants of St. Louis could not afford to biiy commodities which they were unable to sell, and country dealers would not purchase their goods where they could not dispose of their produce. Thus St. Louis, with every market wholly closed or greatly restricted, was smitten with a commercial paralysis. The prostration of business was general and disastrous. No comparison of claims can be just which ignores the circumstances that, during the rebellion, retarded the com- mercial growth of St. Louis, yet fostered that of rival cities. Nothing more clearly demonstrates the geographical superior- ity of St. Louis than the action of the Government during the war. Notwithstanding the strenous competition of other cities, our facil- ities for distribution and a due regard for its own interests com- pelled the Government to make St. Louis the Western base of sup- plies and transportation. During the rebellion, the transactions of 37 the Government at this point were verj- large. General Parsons, Chief of Transportation in the Mississippi Valley, snbmits the following as an approximate summary of the operations in his department from 1860 to 1865: Amount of Transportation. Cannon and Caissons 800 Wagons 13,000 Cattle 80,000 Horses and Mules 250,000 Troops 1,000,000 Pounds of Military Stores 1,950,000,000 General Parsons thinks that full one half of all the trans- portation employed by the Government on the Mississippi and its tributaries was furnished by St. Louis. From September 1, 1861, to December 31, 1865, General Haines^ Chief Commissary of this department, expended at St. Louis, for the purchase of subsistence stores, §50,700,000. During the war. General Myers, Chief Quartermaster of this department, disbursed at this city, for supplies, transportation and incidental expenses, 8180,000,000." The Kational exigencies forced the Government to select the best point of distribution. The choice of the Federal authorities is a conclusive proof of the commercial superiority of St. Louis. The conquest of treason has restored to this mart the use of its natural facilities. Trade is rapidly regaining its old channels. On its errands of exchange, it penetrates every State and Territory in the Mississippi Valley, from Alabama and ]S;ew Mexico to Minne- sota and Montana. It navigates every stream that pours its trib- utary waters into the Mississippi. It visits the islands of the sea, traverses the ocean, and explores foreign lands. Before the war, almost all the Western trade in coifee and sugar was carried on by way of New Orleans. The interruption of traffic, by the blockade of the Mississippi Eiver, changed the channels of commerce. By the necessities of the country, trade was forced into unnatural courses. New York, by its limitless capital and enterprise, has obtained a brief control over a trade that right- fully belongs to the West. As soon as the country regains its normal condition and commerce resumes its natural flow, the West will inevitably assert its former and legitimate ascendency in this branch of business. Most of the coffee used in the West is brought from Pdo Janeiro. Water carriage is always the cheapest means of transportation. The rail from New York cannot compete with the river from New Orleans. Besides, the Gulf route is the shortest distance between St. Louis and Eio Janeiro. The cost, then, of im- porting Eio Coffee to this point is much less by New Orleans than by New York. An urgent necessity exists for the establishment of lines of steamers between New Orleans and South American ports. A direct trade with the West Indies and South America would, from our superior facilities of transportation, not only place the control of the grocery business of the Northwest in our hands, 38 but also greatly enlarge our exportations. The Wef>t couHumos far more coffee proportionately than the East. South America uses large quantities of Western flour. There would then he a steady and growing interchange of commodities hetween these countries. Missouri flour is the best in the American market. This is an important advantage in favor of St. Louis. It is a well-ascertained fact that the flour made from grain grown in this latitude bears the voyage to South American ports better than any other. The ex- perience of exporters verifies this assertion. Our flour is then not only the finest in the United States for home consumption, but also the best for exportation to tropical countries. St. Louis ought to cultivate more intimate commercial relations with Brazil. Prior to our acquisition of Russian America, the area of this country was 500,000 square miles larger than that of the United States. Its present population is nearly 10,000,000. Of its principal maritime cities, Para contains 30,000 inhabitants. Pernambuco 80,000 " Bahia 130,000 " ' Rio Janeiro 400,000 " The exports of Brazil are coffee, hides, sugar, caoutchouc, rose- wood, mahogany, Brazil wood, cinchona, logwood, cotton, rice, sarsaparilla, sassafras, ipecacuanha, cacao, vanilla, cloves, cinna- mon, and tamarinds. In 1856, the value of the commodities imported from Brazil into the United States was Brazil wood $32,000 " nuts 43,000 . Rosewood 81,460 Hair 138,240 Sugar 513,450 India rubber 771,320 Raw hides 1,930,220 Coffee 16,091,700 In 1857, this country imported from Brazil 197,000,000 pounds of coffee, worth $17,980^000. In the same year, Brazil exported to foreign markets 256,000,000 pounds of sugar. In exchange for these valuable commodities, Brazil needs lard, pork, hams, flour, pine lumber, agricultural implements, textile tabi'ics, and other manufactures. These articles are the chief staples of western growth and production. The Mississippi Valley is able to supply most of the commercial wants of Brazil. St. Louis, as the main distributing point of the West, ought to take the lead in this grand system of mercantile exchanges. A vast commerce must soon spring up between the metropolis of this Valley and the ports of South America. But, at present, our exports to Brazil are entirely disproportioned to our ability to meet the commercial wants of that country. In 1854—55, the trade of England with South America was five times as large as that of tlie United States. In 1860, the value of our American imports from Brazil was $20,000,000 a u u exports to " " 6,000,000 39 These figures show that this country is not asucccasful cornpet- itor for the rich trade of South America. More energetic rivals are enriching themselves with the opulence of this commerce. The wants of the United States and Brazil are complementary. Each country needs the productions of the other. The West is the fruitful and main source of those commodities which South America requires. St. Louis, as the chief emporium of the Mississippi Valley, is ahle, by the vast e,\'pansion which it can cause in this tropic trade, to turn the commercial balance in favor of the United States and itself become the central distributing point of Bi'azilian staples. But St. Louis can never realize its splendid possibilities without effort. The trade of the vast domain lying east of the Eocky Mountains and south of the Missouri river is naturally tributary to this mart. St. Louis, by the exei'cise of forecast and vigor, can easily control the commerce of 1,000,000 square miles. But there is urgent need of exertion. Chicago is an energetic rival. Its lines of railroad pierce every portion of the ISTorthwest. It draws an immense commerce by its network of railways. The meshes which so closely interlace all the adjacent country gather rich treas- ures from the tides of commerce. Chicago is vigorously extending its lines of road across Iowa to the Missouri river. The completion of these roads will inevitably divert a portion of the Montana trade from this city to Chicago. The energy of an unlineal competitor may usurp the legitimate honors of the imperial heir. St. Louis can not afford to continue the masterly inactivit}" of the old regime. A traditional and passive trust in the efficacy of natural advantages will no longer be a safe policy. St. Louis must make exertions equal to its strength and worthy of its opportunities. It must not only form great plans of commercial empire, but must execute them with an energy defiant of failure. It must complete its projected railroads to the mountains, and span the Mississippi at St. Louis with a bridge whose solidity of masonry shall equal the massiveness of Roman architecture, and whose grandeur shall be commensurate with the future greatness of the Mississippi Yalley. The structure whose arches will bear the transit of a continental commerce should vie with the great works of all time, and be a monument to distant ages of the triumph of civil engineering and the material glory of the Great liepublic. Since these sentences were written, a company, composed of men of large means and sterling integrity, has been incorporated for the purpose of erecting a bridge across the Mississippi at this point. The executive and financial ability of its members is a guarantee of efficient action and an early accomplishment of this great work. The length of the bridge, together with its approaches, will be about 3500 "feet, and the probable cost $5,000,000. The material of the structure will be steel. Chas. K. Dickson is Pres- ident of the Company, and James B. Bads, the distinguished inventor, is Chief Engineer. 40 The initial steps for the erection of a bridge across the Missouri at St. Charles have already been taken. The work should be pushed forward with untiring energy to its consummation. The iron, stone and timber necessar}' for these structures can be obtained within a few miles of St. Louis, and the greater part of the material can be transported by water. The construction of public works whose cost would be millions of dollars Avould aiiord employment to thousands of laborers, and give fresh impulse to the prosperity of St. Louis. A full and persistent presentation of the superior claims of Carondelet ought to induce the Government to establish a naval station at that point. The supply of labor and materiel which a navy yard would require would be another source of wealth to Missouii and its metropolis. The effect of improvements upon the business of the city may be illustrated by the operations of our city elevator. The elevator cost $450,000, and has a capacity of 1,250,000 bushels. It is able to handle 100,000 bushels a day. It began to receive grain in October 1865. Before the first of January 1866, its receipts amounted to 600,000 bushels, 200,000 of which ivere brovght directly from Chicago, The total receipts at the elevator in 1866 were 1,376,700 bushels. Grain can now be shipped, by way of St. Louis and New Orleans, to New York and Europe twenty cents a bushel cheaper than it can be carried to the Atlantic by rail. The facilities which oiir elevator affords for the movement of cei'eals have given rise to a new system of transportation. The Mississippi Valley Transportation Company has been organized for the conveyance of grain to New Orleans in barges. Steam tugs of immense strength have been built for the use of the company. They carry no freight. They are simply the motive power. They save delay by taking fuel for the round trip. Landing only at the large cities, they stop barely long enough to attach a loaded barge. By this economy of time and steady movement, they equal the speed of steamboats. The Mohawk made its first trip from St. Louis to New Orleans in six days, with ten barges in tow. The manage- ment of the barges is precisely like that of freight cars. The barges are loaded in the absence of the tug. The tug arrives, leaves a train of barges, takes another and proceeds. The tug itself is always at work. It does not lie at the levee while the barges, are loading. Its longest stoppage is made for fuel. The power of these boats is enormous. The tugs plying on the Minnesota river some- times tow 30,000 bushels of wheat tipiece. The freight of a single trip would fill 85 railroad cars. Steamboats are obliged to remain in port two or three days for the shipment of freight. The heavy expense which this delay and the necessity for large crews involve is a grave objection to the old system of transportation. The service of the steam tug requires but few men, and the cost of running is relatively light. _ The advantages which are claimed for the barge system are exhibited bv the folio will a; table: 41 Tug and liarges. Steamboats. Stoppage at intermediate points 2 hours 6 hours. " " terminal " 24 " 48 " Crew 15 50 Tonnage 25,000 tons 1,500 tons. Daily expense $200 $1,000 Original cost 175,000 $100,000 In addition to the ordinary precautions against fire, the harges have this unmistakable advantage over steamboats, they can be cut adrift from each other, and the fire restricted to the narrowest limits. The greater safety of barges ought to secure for them loAver rates of insurance. The barges are very strongly built, and have water tight compartments for the movement of grain in bulk. The transportation of grain from Minnesota to New Orleans by water costs no more than the freightage from the same point to Chicago. After the erection of a floating elevator at JSTew Orleans, a boat load of grain from St. Paul will not be handled again till it reaches the Crescent City. At that port, it will be transferred by steam to the vessel which will convey it to New York or Europe. The possible magnitude of this trade may be inferred from the fact, that in 1865 Minnesota alone raised 10,000,000 bushels of wheat. Three quarters of this harvest could have been exported, if facilities of cheap transportation had offered adequate inducement. In 1866, higher prices — which produced the same practical result as cheaper freightage — led to the exportation of 8,000,000 bushels. Some of this grain belonged to the crop of the pi-eceding year. But this fact does not at all affect the question of carriage. From the 1st of May to the 25th of December 1866, the tow boats of this city transported 120,000 tons of freight. This new scheme of conveying freight by barges bids fair to revolutionize the whole carrying trade of our Western waters. It will materially lessen the expense of heavy transit, and augment the commerce of the Mississippi Eiver in proportion to the reduction it effects in the cost of transportation. The improvement which facilitates the carriage of our cereals to market, and makes it more profitable for the farmer to sell his grain than to burn it, is a national benefit. This enterprise, which may yet change the channel of cereal trans- portation, shows what great results a spirit of progressive euei'gy may accomplish. The mercantile interests of the "West imperatively demand the improvement of the Mississippi and its main tributaries. This is a work of such prime and transcendent importance to the commerce of the countiy, that it challenges the co-operation of the Government. A commercial marine which annually transfers tens of millions of passengers, and cargoes w^hose value is hundreds of millions, ought not to encounter obstructions which human effort can remove. The yearly loss of property, from the interruption of communication and wreck of boats, reaches a startling aggregate. For the accomplishment of an undertaking so vital to its muni- cipal interests, St. Louis should exert its mightiest energies. The 42 prize for which competition Btrivos is too splendid to be lost by default. The Queen City of the West should not voluntarily abdicate its commercial sovereignty. If the enaigrant merchants of America and Europe, who re- cognize in the geographical position of St. Louis the guarantee of mercantile supremacy, will become citizens of this metropolis, they will aid in bringing to a speedier fulfilment the prophecies of its greatness. The current of Western trade must flow through the heart of this valley. In the march of progress, St. Louis will keep equal step with the West. Located at the intersection of the river which traverses zones, and the railway which belts the continent, with divergent roads from this center to the circumference of the country, St. Louis enjoys commercial advantages which must inevitably make it the greatest inland emporium of America. The movement of our vast harvests and the distribution of the domestic and foreign merchand- ise required by the myriad thousands who will, in the near future, throng this valley, will develop St. Louis to .a size proportioned to the vastness of the commeme it will transact. This metropolis will not only be the center of Western exchanges, but also, if ever the seat of Government is transferred from its present locality, the capital of the nation. St. Louis, strong with the energies of youthful freedom, and active in the larger and more genial labors of peace, will greet the merchants of other States and lands with a friendly welcome, afford them the opportunities of fortune, and honor their services in the achievement of its greatness. KAILROADS OF MlSSOUlil. The railroad system of Missouri is exhibited in the followiBg tabular statement : K:iilr..Mds. Milea. Cairo and Fulton 37 Missouri Valley 52 Atlantic and Pacific 88 Iron Mountain 87 JSTorth Missouri 168 Hannibal and St. Joseph 233 Missouri Pacific 283 Total length of railroads in operation within the State 948 A vast enlargement of our iHiilroad facilities is contemplated. More than 10,000 miles of new lines have been projected on the west side of the Mississippi. A quarter of a century may elapse before the completion of these extensions ; yet the veiy conception of them shows that the public mind is alive to the importance of 43 ampler ineans of communication with the States and Territories of the far West. Most of these roads have received grants of land from the Government, and upon some of the lines the "work is already far advanced. The terminal points of the most import- ant roads are : Superior City and N'ow Orleans, via vSt. Paul, St. Louis and Memphis. St. Louis and San Francisco, via Kansas City and Salt Lake. Kansas City and Fort Benton, via Omaha. Leavenworth and Galveston, via Lawrence. St. Louis and San Francisco, via Albuquerque. HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH RAILROAD. This road is 233 miles long. It traverses one of the finest sections of the State. It gives an outlet to a region rich in agri- cultural productions. It is of prime importance not only to local business, but to that through trade with the far West whose initial point lies north of St. Louis. It is an incalculable advantage to North Missouri. Without it, the products of the interior would lose much of their value. This road has received a large grant of public lands. The tract still owned by the company contains nearly 500,000 acres. These lands are rich in agricultural and mineral wealth. They are situated in a temperate and healthful climate. They are accessible and cheap. The price varies from 82.40 to $15.00 an acre. To the settler who is unable to pay cash, a credit of two or even ten years is granted. Ko defect of title impairs the value of these lands. The act of Congress, vesting in this company the right of ownership, is an absolute guarantee of title. The fare of immigrants who pass over the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad in quest of a location is re- funded in the event of their buying lands of the Company. The liberality of the terms of payment, as well as the essential value of the property, ought to procure an early sale of these valuable freeholds. JSTorth Missouri is largely peopled Avith settlers from New England. Colonies of Eastern men are forming communities throughout this section of the State, and reproducing the institutions of New England upon the prairies of the West. Some large-minded and opulent Eastern gentlemen, who hold their wealth in trust for the accomplishment of beneficent objects, are generously fostering the growth of Western culture. Prominent among these is Nathaniel Thayer, Esq., of Boston. Several years ago, he endowed a Professorship in Washington Universit}-, and now, in liberal co-operation with other gentlemen, he has organized the "Thayer Institute" at the town of Kidder. It is the design of the founders to establish an institution of sound learning, and to insure its life by an ample endowment. The educational facilities which exist in the New England towns along the line of the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad are justly entitled to the consideration of Eastern men who are seeking homes in Missouri. NORTH MISSOURI RAILROAD. This road runs from St. Louis to Macon. The length is 168 miles. It was finished in 1859 and cost $7;638,195. It will be extended during the present year to the Iowa State line. The distance from Macon is 65 miles. The North Missouri Avill ultimately connect by means of the northern lines with all the large towns upon the upper Mississippi, and by its junction with the Cedar Rapids and Iowa Central railroads enjoy the advantage of a double connection with St. Paul. A branch of this road from Moberly to Leaven- worth is now imder construction. It is 147 miles long. It is to be completed next year. It will run through Bruns-wick, Richmond, Kansas City and Leavenworth; and connect, b}' the extension of the Missouri Valley railroad with Council Bluffs and Sioux City. Another branch running from Centralia to Columbia — a distance of 22 miles — will be finished by the middle of next J uly. This road lies Avholly within the limits of Boone County. The North Missouri is now dependent for its Western con- nections upon the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad. But after the completion of the West Branch from Moberly, it will have a contin- uous independent line to Leavenworth. With its extensions, it will be the longest railroad in Missouri. There are no richer lands in the State than those which this road traverses. The railroad bridge at St. Charles is now in process of erection. Its length will be 1500 feet, and its ultimate cost $500,000. It will be finished in 1868. The gauge of the North Missouri is now 5 feet 6 inches. During the present summer the gauge will be changed to 4 feet 8| inches. This is the width of the Hannibal and St. Joseph track, of the Union Pacific, and of all the railroads in Iowa. After this alteration is made, the North Missouri can make all its northern and western connections without change. The same train can run from St. Louis to Leavenworth. The 18 new engines which the Company are now putting on the road increase the number of their locomotives to 42. On the main line to Macon, the amount of private and municipal subscription was $2,137,400, and the loan of State credit $4,350,000. By subsequent legislation, the State released its lien upon the road for the $4,350,000, and permitted the Company to issue first mortgage bonds for $6,000,000. The holders of these bonds now possess the first lien on the completed road, and are still further secured by a first mortgage on the extension to the Iowa State line, on the new West Branch, and on the St. Charles bridge. By the terms of the law, the $6,000,000 are appropriated to specific objects : For the erection of the St. Charles Bridge $500,000 " " extension to the Iowa State line 1,500,000 " " construction of the West Branch 4,500,000 When all the extensions now under contract are completed, the North Missouri will have the followino' lenii;th of line : 45 From St. Louis to Macon 168 miles " Moberly to Leavenworth 141 " " Macon to Iowa line 65 " " Kansas City to Leavenworth 22 " " Centralia to Columbia 22 " Total length of the main line and branches 418 " The estimated cost of these extensions will be : From Moberly to Leavenworth $4,000,000 " Macon to Iowa State line 1,266,000 " Centralia to Columbia 500,000 St. Charles Bridge 500,000 Total cost $6,266,000 To meet these expenses; the North Missouri has the following resources : First mortgage 7 per cent, bonds $6,000,000 County and private subscriptions 1,841,000 25,000 acres of land in Chariton county 250,000 Other property . 231,000 Total resources .$8,322,000 Whole cost and assets of the road $15,960,195 The inequalities of a railroad impair its efficiency. They squander motive power. They augment the cost of transportation. The carrying capacity of the North Missouri is greatly enlarged by the lightness of its grades. The advantage of its comparatively level track is distinctlj^ visible in the economy of freightage and of effective power. From its extent and location, the North Missouri will not only facilitate trade and travel, but actively promote a denser settlement of the fertile lands through which it runs. PACIFIC RAILROAD.* The Pacific railroad will be prominent among the public works of all time. It will be the longest railway in the world. The main line will be 2300 miles long, and its branches 1000 miles more. A continuous track, 3400 miles in length, will unite New York and San Francisco. The cost of the rails alone will be more than $30,000,000, and the expense of the completed road will be about $150,000,000. A force of 20,000 pioneers is leveling this high- way for a royal progress of the Great Eepublic. The road is noAv advancing at the rate of 300 miles a j^ear. Upon the Pacific slope, the work is pi'osecuted with great vigor. From Sacramento, the line already extends eastward 114 miles. It is now crossing the heights of the Sierra Nevada. The passage of this range encounters great obstacles and exhibits grand triumphs of civil engineering. * This and the "Union Pacific Railroad" are titles which do not strictly fall within the scope of an article on the ''Railroads of Missouri." But the Pacific Railroad is so intimately connected with the prosperity and development of Missouri, that the temp- tation to discuss it was too great for successful resistance. 4G The road spans profound chasms, creeps along the dizzy verge of precipices, and pierces the solid buttresses of the mountains. The sublimities of this region are scarcely inferior to the grandeurs of the Yoseraite Valley. Some of the mountains along whose base this road runs are said to be 12,000 feet in height. A recent article in the 'Nevf York Woi'ld furnishes some very interesting statistics of the Central Pacific railway. This road was begun in 1863. The initial point is Sacramento. This city stands at the head of navigation on the Sacramento river. The ease of communication afforded by a navi- gable stream obviated the necessity of beginning at San Francisco. But, under a charter authorising the construction of a railway be- tween these two cities, 97 miles of road have been already built. The central Pacific is now finished to the crest of the Sierra Nevada. The Company intend to complete the road from Sacramento to Yirginia City 156 miles in 1867 '' " Austin 320 '' " 1868 " " Salt Lake City 585 " "1870 The estimated cost and equipment of the road from Sacramento to the state line of California are estimated at 814,000,000. For 15 miles, the pathway up the ascent of the Sierra Nevada has been cut in solid granite. During the progi-ess of the work, the daily consumption of powder was 350 kegs, worth §1400. During the fall 1866, the working force was 8,000 Chinese. The number of horses and mules employed upon the road was 1200. This spring the Company intend to increase their industrial force to 12,000 or 15,000 men. In 1866, the earnings of the Central Pacific were : From Sacramento to Colfax, 62 miles, May, $65,000 " " " « June, 67,000 " " Alta, 69 " July, 85,000 " " " " August, 112,000 " " " " Sep'tember, 114,000 " « « « October, 127,000 From Sacramento to Cisco, the tarif of rates is S9,50 for pas- sengers, and S14.00 a ton for freight. But even at these high prices, there is a saving of 20 per cent, on the former cost of carriage. The Express Company of Wells and Fargo charge on freight From San Francisco to Austin, 320 miles, 50 cents in gold per pound. " " Salt Lake, 710 " 75 " " " In Nevada, green fire wood is $13 a cord in gold, and the timber necessary for mining purposes costs from $30 to $45 per hundred. The quantity of lumber requisite for this use may be inferred from the alleged fact that the mine of Gould and Curry contains as much timber as Virginia city, a wood-built town of 15,000 inhabitants. Yet, notwithstanding the great expense of material and transportation, some of the mines of Nevada pay a monthly dividend of 2 to 5 per cent. The Gould and Curry Mining Company think that they could have saved in 1864, by the relative economy of railroad carriage, $2,000,000 in gold. The annual cost 47 of transportation to Nevada is S10,000,000. In 186G, tlie freight on ,^0,000,000 from the East to Montana was §2,000,000. These facts disclose the grave difficulties which retard the growth of our Territories, and prompt the utmost vigor in the prosecution of the Pacific railroad. Official assurance is given that the entire line will be finished m 1871. The terms of the charter require its completion by the first of July 1876. The glory of this great achievement will chiefly belong to St. Louis. The conception of the enterprize originated in this city. The first capital was advanced by our own merchants. With rare foresight and an honorable faith in the ultimate success of their great undertaking, our public-spirited citizens persevered in despite of every discouragement and opposition, till at last popular favor and financial prosperity have crowned their efforts. . The prophecy of Benton is rapidly approaching its fulfilment. Soon the Atlantic and Pacific will be bound together b}' railroad ties. This colossal work will be a proud monument of American energy. Its consummation will inaugurate a new era in the history of commerce. In anticipation of its completion a New York company, Avith a capital of 130,000,000, has just established a regular monthly line of steamers between San Francisco and China. The Colorado made its first voyage from San Francisco to Hong Kong in 27| days. The mail from Japan now reaches the Pacific coast in three weeks. The journey from New York to Hong Kong, by way of London and Suez, takes 56 days ; but by the Pacific Railway, the time will be only 35 days. This inter-oceanic railroad will doubtless become the highway of travel between Europe and the Orient. Between the termini of the Pacific Eailroads, there is an interval of about 750 miles. Conveyance by stage over this long and difficult line is relatively slow. Yet, notwithstanding this great impediment, England has already sent its China mail across this Continent. The economy of distance and time, the personal comfort of a passage lying wholly in the tempei'ate zone, and the avoidance of the heat and perils of tropic seas will secure to this route the main patronage of the travel between the maritime frontiers of Europe and Asia. Time, too, is often an important element in commercial transactions. The Pacific Railroad will afford the quickest transit between the opposite borders of the Eastern hemisphere. The interchanges of merchandise of small bulk and great value will be carried on over this road. Commodities liable to be injured by the temperature of the tropics will seek the safety of this northern line of transportation. The temperate calm of Pacific waters in the latitude of San Francisco and Shanghai is an additional safeguard of life and cargo. The Pacific railroad will be a mighty agency in the development of that vast tract of country which lies between the Eocky Mount- ains and the Sierra Nevada. The discovery of gold and silver in the canons of these mountains gave the initial impulse to population — the Pacific railway will accelerate the movement. While the acquisition of wealth will still be the chief motive, the facility of 48 reaching the mountains by means of this road will strengthen the prime incentive. Populous States and well ordered governments now exist in regions which but few years ago w^ere only trackless solitudes. The presence of gold in the Rocky Mountains has sud- denly adorned their slopes Avith a flourishing civilization. The lure of I'iches and the convenience of the railroad will people these fastnesses, and add new members to the sisterhood of States. Under the action of these twofold motives, new communities will arise. Happy homes, social order, and public wealth will soon be found in the recent wilderness. The development of the mountain region will swell our national resources with ingots of precious metal, and probably require, for the accommodation of local travel and commerce, the construction of other roads to the Pacific. ■ MISSOURI PACIFIC RAILROAD. This road runs from St. Louis to Kansas Citj^. It is 283 miles long. The initial steps having been taken in 1849, active work was begun Aug. 2, 1851, and the last rail was laid Sept. 19, 1865. The cost of coustruction was $11,418,794 " " roUingstock 2,049,674 Total cost of the road 813,468,468 From the inception to the completion of this road, every step of progress was retarded by difficulties of the gravest character. Financial embarrassments, disastrous accidents, and rebel raids have severely tested the ability and resources of the Company. In the fall of 1864, the Missouri Pacific suflPered terribly from the devast- ations of civil war. The rebels, besides inflicting other extensive injuries upon the road, destroyed 11 bridges whose total length was more than 3250 feet. The aggregate damage from this incursion was $500,000. Yet the magnitude of these losses and impediments has but increased the honor of ultimate success. The dauntless purpose and administrative skill which surmounted so great ob- stacles are worthy of public and grateful remembrance. The funds which enabled the Directors to complete the road were derived from the following sources : State Bonds $7,000,000 County subscriptions 2,845,630 Missouri Pacific Eailroad Bonds 1,500,000 Private subscriptions 764,000 St. Louis County Bonds 700,000 Some of these loans were effected with the greatest difficulty. Aid was at times granted only when it became apparent that, in the event of refusal, the enterprise would have to be abandoned. The reluctance of the Legislature to pledge the public credit for the completion of the road did not arise from unfriendliness, but from the fiscal embarrassments of the State. Only a resolution undis- mayed by disaster and an ability resourceful in difficulties could have carried the road successful!}^ through these financial omerg^sncies. 49 During the rebellion, the main line and the Southwest Branch wei'o of incalculable importance to the country. The extent of this service may be inferred from the fact, that, in 1863, '04 and '65, the net receipts for Government transportation were ^758,550. The terrible ravages of the rebel armies would have been much worse, had it not been for the facilities of rapid movement and sud- den concentration which these roads afforded to the national forces. The present equipment of the Missouri Pacific is : Mail cars '' Baggage and Express cars IT Caboose cars 29 Passenger cars 41 Locomotives 47 Freight cars 641 The total quantity of iron rails used in the construction and repair of this road is 27,600 tons. The service of the line requires a constant force of 1500 men. The Company is purposing, at an early day, to change the width of the track to 4 feet 8i inches. The road will then have the same gauge as that of the Union Pacific. When the contemplated change has been made, this road will form an unbroken and uniform part of that magnificent line which will soon stretch to the Pacific shore. The road is now doing an immense and steadily increasing business. The success and general utility of the Missouri Pacific long since justified the action of the Legislature in granting the loan of the public credit. The issue of State bonds, ensuring the capital necessary to the completion of the road, was an act of legislative wisdom. The influence of this railway upon the prosperity of Mis- souri has been signally beneficial. We hope that public honor and private wealth will reward the energetic and farsighted men who, tinder such grave discouragements, carried forward this road to a successful consummatiiOn. UNION- PACIFIC RAILROAD, EASTERN DIVISION. The State of Missouri has a deep and permanent intoi-est in the Union Pacific railway. This line was contemplated in the Pacific Eailroad Act of 1862. In the original bill, it constituted the St. Louis connection of the Union Pacific railroad, whose initial point was the 100th meridian of longitude. By later legislation in 1864 and 1866, the junction of the "Northern or Omaha" road and the "Kansas or Smoky Hill" road was changed to a point "fifty miles west of the meridian of Denver" in Colorado. The Union Pacific railway, with its connections, is the shortest line between the mountains and the Mississippi river. It lies 200 miles south of the Omaha Branch, and w^ill be comparatively free from the snows which will obstruct the Northern line. In its entire length, it crosses no navigable stream. It must inevitably become the trunk line across the continent. This road is a contin- uation of the great central chain of railways running west from the 4 50 Atlantic metropolis. From New York to Ran Francisco, the main road deviates but little from the base line of the fortieth parallel. The work npon the Union Pacific railway, Eastern Division, Avas begun in 1863, but owing to the war and various legal difficult- ies was not vigorously prosecuted until July li'Go, when the present organization assumed control. The following data in regard to the road have been furnished by one of the officers of the Company. The line of the Union Pacific railway, as located under the pres- ent law, starts from the Missouri river at the western terminus of the Pacific railroad of Missouri and runs almost due Avest up the rich valleys of the Kansas and Smoky Hill rivers, and from the head-waters of the latter across the plains to Denver, and thence along the base of the mountains to the point of junction with the JTorthern Branch. The length of this Division is about 700 miles. Of this distance, 225 miles have been completed, fully equipped, and accepted by the United States Government. A continuous railway now extends 508 miles west from St. Louis. A branch road, 31 miles long, has also been built from Lawrence to Leavenworth. The Union Pacific Company contemplate the construction of a railroad to Santa Fe. They purpose to begin the preliminary survey at an early date. The initial point is Filley, a toAvn 200 miles east of Denver. The distance to Santa Fe is about 400 miles. This road would give an outlet to the productions of New Mexico, open the territory to the invasion of enterprise, bring its resources within the reach of eommei'ce, and attract a lich trade to St. Louis. It is the design of the Company ultimately to extend this road through Arizona and Southern California to the Pacific. The same grave considerations of public econom}'', self-defence, and material develop- ment which led the Government to lend its credit to the central road should induce it to grant subsidies to this Southern line. Contracts have been made to complete the main road to the 385 mile-post west of the Missouri river by December 31, 1867. 225 miles of track, extending from Kansas City to Fort Darker, are now laid. Be\'ond the present terminus, 90 miles of graded road are ready for the rails. The ci'oss-ties of the Pacific Eailroad, Eastern Division, are made xii' hard Avood. The rails Aveigh 56 pounds per lineal yard, and are -all of American manufacture. 22,000 tons of bars have been already used in the construction of this road, and 14,000 more are noAv on their way. By the first of June, this road Avill have the folloAving equipment : Baggage and Express cars 5 Passenger cars 14 Locomotive engines 25 Freight cars 418 The earnings of the road for the quarter ending December 31, 1866, exceeded §2(>0,000. It is belie\'ed that the receipts during 1867 will average $100,000 per month. 51 Tho siibwdies with which the Government aids the couBtructioii of this portion of the Pacific raih-oad are : let. A h)an of S1G,000 for each mile of riiih'oad and telegi'aph line, to be delivered to the company as each section of 20 miles is completed and accepted by the government. It consists of 80 years, U. S. 6 per cent, bonds, secured by a second lien. The interest and principal are guaranteed by the Ujiited States. The law per- mits the company to issue bonds of an equal amount per mile, secared by a first mortgage having priority over tho government lien. 2ud. A grant of 12,800 acres of land per mile of finished road. It gives alternate sections extending 20 miles on each side of the road. The Bonds issued to this division of the Pacific railroad mature in 30 years. The interest on these Bonds is paid by the U. S. Government. To secure the repayment of this interest, the Government deducts and retains one half of the cost of its own transportations over the road. The amount of mails, troops, munitions of war, and Indian supplies, carried over this line, is very large. Before the close of the coming summer, 27,000,000 pounds of Government freight w-ill be shipped by this route to the territories. The total amount of interest which the Government has paid on the bonds of this road, up to March 1, 1867, is $97,000. The cost of Government transportation, from Oct. 15, 1866, to March 1, 1867, is 655,000. Of this sum, the Government has reserved §27,000. This amount is more than 30 per cent, of all the interest which the Government has paid on the Bonds of the road. After the present year, the transportation of Government supplies will probably retund to the national treasury all the money advanced for the jpayment of the interest on these Bonds. An examination of the business of the road discloses the unexpected and gratifying fact, that this great national work will be accomplished without cost or embarrassment to the Government. In the event of an Indian war, or of an invasion of the Pacific coast, this railroad would be invaluable to the financial interests and military success of the nation. It would lessen the expenses, and facilitate the prosecution, of a frontier w^ar. It would give strong material guarantees for the perpetuity of the Union. The completion of this national highway will strengthen the alliance of the States with iron bands, and develop our Western Avilderness into populous common- wealths. In addition to the grant of public lands, the company has bought from the Delaware and Pottawatamie tribes of Indians about 600,000 acres in the heavily timl)ered regions o£ Eastern Kansas. This purchase comprises some of the finest farming lands in the State. Nearly 1,000,000 acres of valuable lands, all lying east of Fort Eiley, are now off'ered by this company for sale to actual settlers. The progress of the* Pacific railroad and the natural attractions of Kansas have exerted so marked an influence upon immigration, that the actual increase in the population of that State, dui'ing the year 1866, was, according to the estimate of Gov. Crawford, 50,000 people. 52 Those princoly subsidies from the Government and the financial strength and executive energy of this corporation justify the expectation that the work will be completed in the time prescribed by law. ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC RAILROAD. This road was formerly called the Southwest Branchy but its ownership and title have recently been changed. It runs from Franklin — a town on the Missouri Pacific, 37 miles west of St. Louis — to the Gasconade river. The length of the independent line is 88 miles. The extension of the Atlantic and Pacific is making rapid progress. A bridge nearly 800 feet long will soon span the Gas- conade. A force of 1500 men is now at work upon th6 continuation of the road. The distance from the Gasconade river to the Arkansas line is about 200 miles. The cost of extending the road to the borders of the State is estimated at $6,000,000. The amount which the development of the mineral resources of- Southwestern Missouri would add to our common wealth cannot be calculated, but the rise in the value of real estate which the completion of this road would cause has been appraised at $25,000,000. The extension of this line from its present terminus merely to the southwest corner of Missouri would be an incalculable benefit. The trade of the North western roads may be partially diverted from St. Louis by the construction of rival lines. But the Atlantic and Pacific, by its advantages of situation, will compel all connecting lines to be subsidiary to itself; and its commerce, constantly swelled by the trafiic of tributary roads, must necessarilj' flow to St. Louis, The extension of this road would open to settlement vast tracts of valu- able land, and by the impulse of cheap transportation lead to an extended development of the rich mines of Southwestern Missouri. ST. LOUIS AND IRON MOUNTAIN RAILROAD. " The St. Louis and L'on Mountain" and " The Cairo and Ful- ton" railroads have recently been sold by order of the Governor of Missouri for the redemption of funds which the State advanced them. The amount of State loan to the former road is $3,501,000 " " " latter " 650,000 " interest for six years, to Jan. 1st 1867 .... 1,494,360 Total indebtedness to the State $5,645,360 The State bought these roads Sept. 27, 1866, and in November following sold them through Commissioners to Messrs. McKay, Peed and Co. of Pittsburg for $900,000, payable in Missouri Bonds. The deeds wei'e made by the State Jan. 9, 1867 ; and, on the 12th of the same month, the purchasers sold the roads to Hon. Thomas Allen of St. Louis, for $1,275,000. The Iron Mountain railroad, running from St. Louis to Pilot Knob, is 87 miles long ; and cost, exclusive of discount, interest and commissions, $4,356,800. The quantity of rails used in the con- 53 f=itrnetion ot this road is about 10,000 tons. Its freight is mostly iron ore, pig metal, lead, barytes, lumber, and wood. In 1865, its eai'nings were $424,700 j and, in 1866, they were probably still larger. The Cairo and Fulton railroad begins at Bird's Point on the Mississippi, and will eventually terminate on Red River in the Southwest corner of Arkansas. But 26 miles of the road are now finished. It cost, exclusive of incidental expenses, 8680,300. It has a land gi-ant of about 500,000 acres. The country through which it runs produces a rich gTowth of timber, corn, and cotton. It is estimated that, in 1866, 60,000 bales of cotton — including prob- ably some shi})ments from contiguous counties in Arkansas — were brought from Southeast Missouri. The present proprietor of these two roads will consolidate them under the style of " The St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Southern Railway", and make an unbroken line from St. Louis to Belmont, opposite the terminus of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. The con- ditions of the purchase exact the completion of this road within five years ; but Mr. Allen feels confident of his ability to finish it in less than half of that time. The cost of the road will be about $4,500,000. An ultimate extension of this line to Helena is contemplated. In fact, the initial steps have already been taken. The Legislature of Ai-kansas has recently revised the original charter of the road, and granted ampler privileges. The liberality of these franchises has led to the organization of a company, and the subscription of $1,000,000 in capital and materiel. The estimated expense of this road is $5,000,000. The distance from Ironton to Helena is 230 miles. The country through which the projected line passes is pi*o- ductive, well-watered, and generally level. Even where inequalities exist, the grades are relatively light. The completion of this road to Helena is highly important to St. Louis. It would greatly enhance our municipal prosperity. Vast commercial interests depend upon the success of this under- taking. Between St. Louis and Helena, navigation in the summer season is sometimes embarrassed by low water and sandbars; and, in the winter-time, it is fi-equently obstructed by floating ice. Though the intervals of interruption are temporary, yet the briefest sus- pension of our Southern -communications inflicts a serious injuiy upon the mercantile interests of St. Louis. The continuation of the Iron Mountain road to Helena would open an avenue to a point below which navigation is never impeded by ice or low water. An outlet to the great markets of the South, direct, available, and always free from obstructions, would soon develop our winter trade into summer proportions. f)4 EDUCATIOiN. No treatment of the material interests of a State can be com- plete, withoiit Bome discussion of the spiritual forces which vitalize them. Public wealth is often a cause of national decay. Genuine prosperity implies the guidance of intelligence and morality. No community can greatly flourish where ignorance and dishonesty prevail. The political economy which ignores the intellectual and moral forces of society discards the prime essentials of public welfare. The commonwealth is only supremely great when it is actuated by enlightened motives and imbued with the spirit of a Christian civili- zation. During the war, domestic turbulence greatly impaired the efficiency of our common schools. In some of the rural districts, the shock of arms or the distempered condition of the public mind led to a temporary suspension of the schools. But now, since the civil strife which disorganized our educational system has ceased, our schools are resuming their activity. Under the old regime, indifference to public culture was a prominent trait. A social system which rested on unjust distinctions of caste and fostered civil in- equality would naturally look with disfavor upon the cause of popular education. An aristocracy based upon wrong has an instinctive dread of intelligence. There is a deathless hostility between them. Ignorance is the helpless victim of oppression, but popular enlighten- ment is the divine victor of injustice. Now, since the feudal impediment to our progress has been removed, we shall advance with a freer movement. A fresh energy invigorates our public polity. A spirit of freedom and progress imparts a neAv life to our educational system. The people of Missouri are actively re- organizing their jjublic schools. They are striving with a zealous co-operation of individual and legislative efforts, to extend and improve their institutions of learning. The public schools of St, Louis were organized in 1833, and went into practical opei'ation in 1839. They are now an honor to Western culture. Improved by the best results of experience, taught by an accomplished corps of instructors, and aided with the resources of valuable Public Libi'aries, they afford to the youth of this metropolis the means of a thorough popular education. The grades of our public schools are based upon a system of rigid class- ification. They culminate in the High School. Students enter this institution only through the ordeal of a competitive examination. Admittance, therefore, implies exemplary deportment and success- ful scholarship. The discipline of the High School embraces the higher branches of an English education and the Academic course of Classic culture. The scholarly training of this institution qualifiea its graduates for the duties of life or the pursuit of polite learning. The Normal School in this city affords excellent opportunities for professional discipline. It teaches the philosophy of education as well as the best processes of practical instruction. The profes- 55 eional success of its graduates shows the effect of trained skill and systematic teaching. In addition to its public schools, St. Louis has endowed Universities whose excellence obviates the necessity of sending Western youth to Eastern institutions for a liberal education. In one of these Universities, the mathematical course is as full and exhaustive as at West Point, and the standard of scholarship, in the chief departments of study, is scarcely inferior to that of Harvard or Yale. St. Louis also possesses excellent seminaries for the education of young women. The Mary Institute is virtually a College. To students pursuing the extended Course, it offers the main advantages of a liberal culture. It opens to young women fields of study and sources of refined enjoyment from which they have been too long excluded. Such institutions exert a beneficent influence upon society. They add to wealth the graces of polite culture, invest poverty with honorable means of self-support, and enrich ©very fireside with ampler resources of happiness. The Polytechnic Institute of St. Louis is a noble monument of private munificence and public usefulness. The building is one of the most expensive and superb structures in the United States. The cost of erection, together with the value of the grounds, was more than §400,000. The edifice is worthy of its use. It will be devoted to the service .of practical science. Here the philosophy of the industrial arts will be taught. In these halls, artisans will receive gratuitous instruction in those scientific principles which underlie every mechanical pursuit. The processes which mere experience can but imperfectly discover at the close of a business life may here be accurately learned at the beginning. The apprentice and artificer can here acquire briefer solutions of mechanical prob- lems, cheaper methods of manufacture, and the latest appliances of ehemical science to the industrial arts. Poverty will debar no student from the halls of this institution. The instruction is free. A mastery of the practical principles taught in the Polytechnic Institute is a strong guarantee of business success. There is no reason why St. Louis, with its admirable system of public schools and higher institutions of learning, should not become the center of Western culture. The metropolis of the West should diffuse throughout this valley those principles of mental and moral enlightenment on which our republican civilization rests. The State University of Missouri, located at Columbia, was seriously injured by the ravages of civil war. Insurgent violence caused a suspension of the literary exercises and a partial destruction of the buildings. But the appropriation granted by the last Legis- lature will repair the injuries of the rebellion and restore the University to its former usefulness. The central location of thin institution adapts it to the convenience of the interior. Eeorganized on a broader basis and imbued with a progressive spirit, our State University will be capable of efficient service in the cause of educa- tion and freedom. 56 Active efforts are now making, with every probability of ultimate success, for the establishment of an Agricultural College in Missouri. The new institution will be an important addition to the educational facilities of the State. By teaching the economic processes of scientific husbandry, by determining the analysis and capacities of different soils, by explaining the philosophy of fertili- zation and the remedy for defects of essential elements, by exploring the cause and cure of vegetable diseases, by discovering the nature of injurious insects and the means of destroying them, by testing the adaptation of valuable foreign plants to our own lands, and by elevating the chief industry and reliance of the nation to the dignity of a science, an Agricultural College would actively promote the material and mental development of the State. The public school law of IVIissouri is liberal and equitable. It imposes upon the people of the State the duty of maintaining free schools. It provides for the education of all classes, w^ithout distinction of color. This law fully accords with the spirit of the age. Its provisions embody the soundest philosophy and the finest humanity of civil ethics. Missouri encourages immigrants by a just and generous care for the education of their children. Immigrants will find here not only rare opportunities for material success, but excellent facilities for the cultivation of those spiritual foi'ces which determine the destinies of men and the greatness of nations. SPECIAL INDUCEMENTS AND FACILITIES FOE IMMIGRATION TO MISSOURI. The provisions of the new Constitution of Missouri are highly favorable to immigrants. By the liberal terms of this Charter "Every white male citizen of the United States, and every white male person of foreign birth who may have declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States, according to law, not less than one year nor more than five years before he offers to vote, who is over the age of twentyone years, who is not disqualified by or under any of the provisions of this Constitution, and who shall have complied with its requirements, and have resided in the State one year next preceding any election, or next preceding his regis- tration as a voter, and during the last sixty days of that period shall have resided in the county, city or tOAvn where he ofters to vote, or seeks registration as a voter, shall be entitled to a vote at such elections for all officers, State, county or municipal, made elective by the people." There are hundreds of thousands of acres of valuable land in this State subject to entry under the homestead law. The conditions 57 of this law are generous: "Any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and is a citizen of the United States, or who shall have filed his intentions to become such, as required by the naturalization laws of the United States, and who has never borne arms against the United States Govei-n- luent, or given aid and comfort to its enemies shall, from and after the 1st of January, 1863, be entitled to enter one quarter section or less quantity of unappropriated public lands, upon which said person may have filed a pre-emption claim, or which may at the time the application is made be subject to pre-emption, at $1.25 or less per acre; or 80 acres or less of such unappropriated lands at $2.50 per acre, to be located in a body, in conformity to the legal sub- divisions of the public lands, and after the same shall have been surveyed : Provided, That any person owning and residing on land 7nay, under provisions of this act, enter other land lying contiguous to his or her said land, which shall not, with the land so already owned or occupied, exceed in the aggregate one hundred and sixty acres." The cost of entry at the land office is $14. After a residence of five years upon the land and the additional payment of $4, the title is complete, and a patent, vesting in the occupant the fee simple of the property, is issued. The humblest manual laborer can, by the earnings of a single month, purchase a farm of a hundred and sixty acres. By the liberality of our beneficent Government, the poor man can buy a homestead at less than twelve cents an acre. Any public lands in Missouri, contemplated by the terms of the act, can be entered under the homestead law. The Government accepts in payment for public lands cash, land warrants and agri- cultural scrip. By act of Congress passed July 2, 1862, "this scrip, when duly assigned and attested by two witnesses, under such authority of the said State as the act of the Legislature thereof may designate, maybe surrendered at any land office in satisfaction of a location of "one quarter of a section," or for any quantity in one legal subdivision less than one quarter section, where such location is taken in full for one quarter section — the location to be restricted to vacant public lands subject to entry at private sale at $1.25 per acre, mineral lands excluded, and whilst the aggregate location of all the claims under the said act may be taken in any of the territories without limitation as to the quantity located in any one of them, yet, in virtue of express limitation in the statute, not more than 1,000,000 acres of the total aggregate scrip-issue under said act can be located within the limits of any of the States." Agricultural scrip is now very cheap. It can be bought at sixty cents an acre ; in other words, 160 acres of land, which the Govern- ment values at $200, can be purchased by means of this scrip for $96. But one difficulty attends the location of land with College scrip. Under a 160 acre land warrant, the sole requision is that the forty acre subdivisions shall lie in contiguous tracts. But a location with scrip demands that the land shall constitute a "quarter section" in the technical sense of the law. Divide a "section" into four equi- lateral parts — 160 acres, if entered with scrip, must comprise one of 58 iiieso squareB. No other form will satisfy the requirements of the law. There are now three land districts in Missouri. A new division has recently been made. The Ironton district lies east of range 11 west, and south of township 38. The recording office is at Ironton. The Springfield district comprises that portion of the State which is situated west of range 10 west, and south of township 35. The registry is at Springfield. The Boonville district embraces all the rest of the State. The office of entry is located at Boonville. Letters of inquiry should be addressed to the "Register of Public Lands" in that district where the immigrant proposes to settle. Gratuitous information relative to the character and adapta- tions of lands in their several departments is promptly furnished by the land officers. The Graduation Act Avas I'epealed in 1862. The public lands are now in large demand. Thousands of im- migrants are now coming to Missouri. But the danger of exhausting our supply of lands is not im- minent. Official returns, just received from the registries, show that there are now in the Boonville District — 790,000 acres of unentered public lands. Ironton " 1,000,000 " " Springfield " 2,000,000 « " As in each of these cases the lowest estimate of the registers has been given, it is probable that there are now in this State more than 4,000,000 acres of land still subject to entry. The effect of freedom upon the material intoi'ests of Missouri is most palpable. When it is remembered that the ordinance of emancipation was passed .January 11, 1865, the following figures, recently derived from official sources, are aminently instructive : The entries in the Ironton District were in 1863 655 acres. '•' " " 1864 7,395 " " " " 1865 .21,709 " " " " 1866 60,131 " From 1860 to 1866 inclusive, 17,375 acres were entered under the Pre-emption Act ; and, in the years 1864, '65, and '66, 71,542 acres were registered under the Homestead Law. The statistics of the Boonville office are a still more signal illustration of the influence of universal liberty. For the year and three quarters preceding the passage of the Ordinance of Emancipation, the entries at the Boonville office were 38,496 acres — for the same period subsequent to the passage of that act, the entries were 607,145 acres. Of this vast quantity, 402,392 acres were entered duiing the last year, prior to the first of October. During the rebellion, the disturbed condition of the State greatly diminished the number of entries. Yet, after making every 59 just allowance for the decrease diio to civil disorder, our comparison still signally vindicates the superior prosperit}' of freedom. But even these facts do not fully indicate the extent of our im- migration. Thousands of immigrants have bought improved farms, but of course the land otKce keeps no record of such transfers of prop- erty. The effect of this large accession to our population has been to raise the price of improved lands. Though our cultivated farms can still be purchased at very low rates, yet Eastern men must no longer indulge the hope of buying our best lands at the prices which prevailed before the disenthralment of the State. JSTor must they expect to find amid the rude conditions of frontier life the social ad- vantages of older communities. A recollection of this obvious fact will prevent disappointment. The immigrant will find here an in- exhaustible richness of soil and mine. A wild, exuberant, fruitful nature lies before him. But his own energy must develope its re- sources, and his own art fashion abundant materials into a beautiful home. Nature furnishes the facilities, but man must use them. The intelligent forecast of our railroad and steamboat com- panies leads them to encourage immigration by special favors. They ofteji give to destitute immigrants free or reduced trans- portation. Their policy is sagacious. The generosity which immediately relieves the beneficiary will oventually enrich the benefactor. "The Board of Immigration of the State of Missouri" was organized under an act of the Legislature, approved Feb. 16, ISQd. The following sections, copied from the amended act, express the constitution, objects and resources of the Board. ''Be 'it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 3Iissovri as follows: "Section 1. There shall be a Board of Immigration, which shall he composed of five members, three of which are to be appointed by the Governor. "Sec. 2. The Governor and Secretary of State shall be ex-officio members of this board ; and it shall be its duty to do all and every- thing which may and will advance and encourage immigration to this State, either from the eastern States of the United States or from the eastern hemisphere. "Sec. 3, The members of this board shall, if they deem it advisable and proper for the encouragement of immigration, publish or cause to be published pamphlets, essays and articles treating on and describing, in a true light, the developed and undeveloped agricultural and mineral resources of the State of Missouri, our facilities for navigation, railroad connections, and our wide-spread, commei'ce, and to distribute them in such localities wherever, in their opinion, they may be useful, beneficial and of good for the promotion of immigration to our State. "Sec. 4. They also shall have power, whenever deemed exped- ient by them, to appoint an agent or agents, either for the eastern States of the United States or for Europe, for the purpose of aiding and advising immigration ; and such agent or agents shall act solely 60 under the instruction of the Board of Immigration, who shall also fix and allow their compensation for their services, to be paid out of the fund created as hereinafter provided. "Sec. 8. The sum of two thousand dollars, annually, is hereby appropriated out of any money in the Treasury of the State not otherwise appropriated, for the use of the Board of Immigration, to be expended by them as they think best and expedient for the interest of immigx'ation to the State of Missouri, which shall be in full of all other appropriations. ^^Sec. 9. The Board of Immigration is furthermore authorized and shall have power to open books and invite and solicit contribu- tions and endowments of money from corporations, manufacturers, merchants and all persons who are immediately and directly bene- fited by the flow of immigration ; which money so contributed shall also be under the control of and expended by the Board for the intents and purposes in the preceding section stated. "Sec. 12. It shall be the duty of said Board to co-operate with the Bureau of Immigration at Washington City, and to make regu- lar reports of their labors and proceedings to the General Assembly of the State, accompanied by such references, suggestions and statistics as may furnish good and reliable data and a proper basis for future legislation on the subject of immigration." The total receipts of the Board during 1865 and '06 were about ^10,500. A rigid economy has presided over all disbursements. But the unsufficiency of the present appropriation greatly restricts the usefulness of the Board. A legislative liberality, proportioned to the importance of the work, would enable the officers to enlarge the operations and secure the beneficial objects of the organization. The results already attained, in despite of limited means, evince the wisdom of the Legislature in creating the Board, and justify san- guine expectations of future utility. It is believed that 2000 families have been induced to settle in Missouri through the agency of this association. Thousands of letters of inquiry have been answered, and a large amount of valu- able information upon the resources of the State has been circulated. The first report of the Secretary is full of useful facts. The officers of the Missouri State Board of Immigration are : Gov. Thos. C. Fletcher, President, Jefferson City, Mo. F.EoDMAN, Secy, of State, YicePres., " " " Hon. Isidor Bush, Secretarj^, 322 Chestnut St., St. Louis. Hon. a. Yalle, Treasurer, " " " " Hon. F. Muench, German Correspondent, Augusta, Mo. Rev. Martin W. Willis, Gen. Agent, 309 Locust st., St. Louis. Office of State Board of Immigration " " " " The Secretary and Agent will cheerfully respond to all inquiries concerning Missouri, By the diffusion of free information and by the encouragement of personal assistance, the Board is actively fulfilling the object of its organization. The name of the " German Emigrant Aid Society" imports the aature of its services. The capital of this organization is now iibout So,000, and the prospect of an earlj eulargoment is hopeful. The efficiency of the society is greater by far than its means. Its benevolent activity is restricted to the relief of indigent Germans. The following statemeiit exhibits some of the labors of this society during the past year. ' Number of families forwarded to their destination 7 " " patients treated at the hospital 15 " " persons provided with board. 70 '- " " aided with money 78 " " " supplied with work 146 " " days' board furnished 181 Amount of pecuniary assistance $365 " recovered for lost baggage $524 " dispatched to immigrants $1,289 But perhaps the larger part of the labor of this society escapes the form of tabular expression. It has directed immigrants to those portions of the State best adapted to the exercise of their several vocations, recommended the cheapest lines of travel, negotiated loans, recovered delayed baggage, procured legal advice and com- pelled the fulfilment of contracts for transportation. Its services in cases of sickness, destitution and helplessness have been unre- mitting and effective. " The Mullanphy Emigrant Eelief Fund" is under the manage- ment of a Board of Commissioners composed of the Mayor of vSt. Louis and a member — elected by the Common Council — from each of the ten wards of the city. The amount of this fund is over $500,000. The property is mostly unproductive real estate. At fii'st, the title of the lands, was contested, and the Board was seriously embarrassed by suits at law. After the adjustment of the rights of possession, the improvements, so long deferred by litigation, were begun. In 1864 and '65, the Board spent $40,000 in the erection of buildings. During the present year, the rent of fifteen new houses will still fitrther enlarge the revenue of the fund. The net income from the estate is now $10,000 a year. It is the present policy of the Board to expend almost all of this sum in the improvement of the property. By this process the quickest increase of capital and the amplest means of future usefulness will be secured. In 1865, the almoner of the board dispensed $1,000 for the relief and assistance of foreign immigrants. The Commissioners are now erecting, at a cost of $25,000, a large building at the corner of Sixth and Gratiot streets. The structure will be 40 feet front, 120 feet deep, and 3 stories high. Its accommodations will be spacious. It will contain 75 bei'ths, and couches could be spread, upon an emergency, in the open spaces. It will comprise rooms for baggage, bathing, and cooking. An elevator and a safe will complete the conveniences of the establish- ment. The Board think that the accommodations of this building will be sufficiently large to meet the present wants of all that class of immigrants contemplated in the bequest. The friendly and judi- 62 cioTTS hospitalities of this institntion will not only relieve destitu- tion^ but also promote immigration. The followinc^ extract from the organic ordinance of the Common Council "fully explains the uses of the Mullanphy fund: "First. In order that relief front said fund shall be furnished to all poor im.migrants and travelers coming to St. Louis, on their way bona fide to "settle in the West, a building shall be erected upon a lot at some convenient point, a part of which shall be fitted up for lodging and boarding rooms, with a hall for use in the day ; and on the "lower floor, let 'there be kept the office of the Secretary of the Board and the business room, to which immigrants and travelers may first be taken. This plan is subject to such modifications by the Board of Commissioners as may be found convenient. This house shall have ample room for the deposit of baggage of the im- migrants, and for other necessary conveniences. An officer shall be'iippointed to be the Secretary and Business Agent of the Board. He shall collect all information needful for the benefit of immigrants and travelers, relating to climate, sod, character of land, &c., that will enable immigrants and travelers to learn, as far as practicable, all facts relating "to localities by which they may determine the best place for them'^to go, and he shall, by all means in his power, and in the manner required of him by the Board, keep up correct inform- ation upon all such subjects, an"d he shall use his best endeavors to procure and keep in his office all information needed for the pur- poses above named, and shall procure and keep registered, as far as practicable, a list of lands in diiferent localities which may be offered to settlers, with a note of all facts relating thereto. Second. There shall be appointed an Assistant Secretary by the Board. He shall visit all boats and trains of cars arriving with immigrants and travelers, make himself known to them and give them such information on the spot as they should have to enable them to pass safely through the city, and, where they need assistance, he shall, under regulations to be adopted by the Board, take them to the building with their baggage when necessary, and see that thej^ are safely placed within the charge of agents of the house. There they shall by him be furnished with all necessary information as to boats, routes and lands, so as to be thoroughly informed upon all points useful to them. Where immigrants are poor and needy, they shall be relieved under regulations to be prescribed by the Board. And it shall be the especial duty of this officer to protect immigrants and travelers from impositions and false information attempted by runners, and upon their departure this officer shad procure their tickets and superintend their shipment." After the full improvement of the Mullanphy estate, the princely revenue accruing from the rents wdl be exclusively donated to the assistance of needy immigrants. Many a friendless passenger will yet bless the memory of him who organized his generosity into a perpetual beneficence. Even a general description of the Counties of Missouri would far exceed the prescribed limits of this pamphlet. Emigrants desir- ing such fullness of practical detail must procure the Geological 63 Reports of the State, or wait till they reach St. Louis, where it will be easy to obtain all the information they need. Tmmi'^rants who have not already decided upon a location should buy through tickets to the farthest points which they purpose to explore. For, even in case they should not go quite to the proposed destination, the local rates are so high tJiat it would still be a matter of economy to pur- chase the through ticket. Parties who propose to settle in the West would do well to form colonies. Then they could at once command the advantages of organized communities. They could bear with them their household gods, and rear in their honor sacred and secular temples — the church and the school house. The institutions transplanted from a less genial clime might flourish in our fertile soil w-ith a richer growth and mature th"e fruitage of a still fairer civilization. Our limitless expanse of unsettled lands invites the occupancy of colonists. The population of Missouri is not proportioned to the magnitude of the State. In 1860, our census was 1,182,000. If this State was as densely peopled as England, Missouri would contain a population of 25,000,000. By the extent and diversity of its resources, Missouri is better able to support this vast number in f'orapetency and independence than England is to maintain its present population. Missouri needs able-bodied men. There is opulence i>n muscle. The physical energies of a healthful man in the prime of life are appraised at §1,000. Every robust immigrant, however unblessed with the goods of fortune, enriches the State with his wealth of sinew. Our broad acres need the labors of myriads of workmen. The suppression of the rebellion is an augury of peaceful thrift. The restoration of the Union is a guarantee of jSTational greatness. The Anierican people are now entering upon a career of material prosperity to which the annals of political economy present no parallel. It requires no gift of prophecy to fortell the thronging millions who will, within a score of years, people this vast valley. A simple calculation based upon the tables of the census is all the in- spiration which the prediction demands. The tidal waves of pop- ulation which follow the star of empire will not pause in their westward flow, till they break against the rocky barriers of the Sierra Nevada. The rich mineral deposits of the Rocky Mountains will lead to an early settlement of the surrounding country. Soon tens of millions will people the vast domain which lies on the "sun- set side of the Father of Waters." Cottages, hamlets, cities will spring up. Every resource of nature will be explored. Wealth will be developed. The industrial products of the country will reach aggregates which will startle the statistician. The Mississippi valley, whose annual yield of cereals now exceeds 1,000,000,000 bushels, will become the granary of the world. Metallurgy Avill utilize in sountless forms and uses the rich products of our mines. Our manufactories will create capital, economize material, natur- alize gokl, nationalize comfort, vindicate our industrial independence, and satisfy our American wants with domestic productions. The exchange of commodities, in obedience to the laws of demand and sup- u ply will freight our railroads with the merchandize of a vast internal trade. Our vessels, laden vs^ith richer cai'goes than the fabled freights of classic argosies, navigating every stream and traversing every main, will expand our inland and international commerce into still grander proportions. The restless energies of the Anglo- American character will achieve a greatness that will surpass precedent, and justify to mankind the soundness of our faith in the incentives, stability and excellence of republican institutions. In the accomplishment of this great national destiny, Missouri will do her full part. Emerging from her fierce conflict with treason, triumphant yet sorely wounded, she will not now, with her brow radiant with the new luster of freedom and her loins girt with the untarnished cincture of loyalty, yield to any of her sister States in the generous rivalries of peace. But her present industrial force is not equal to the development of her resources. She urgently solicits assistance. She seeks the co-operation of the self-reliant laborers of New England, and of the two hundred thousand sturdy immigrants who are annually landing at the port of New York. She promises a cordial welcome and liberal compensation to the higher classes of trained and skilful workmen. She especially needs educated labor. She appeals to an intelligent self-interest, and invites the potters, goldsmiths, watchmakers, vinedressers, silk- weavers, glassmakers and metallurgists of Europe to come to her heritage and better their condition. Free Missouri, instinct with the spirit of progress and loyal to the genius of republican liberty will welcome the immigrant to the enjoyment of her boundless advantages, and enrich his industry with generous recompense. Millions may accept the proifered hospitalities without exhausting the ample board which Missouri spreads upon her table lands. ^^^ THE NATURAL ADAPTATION OF aiitt Xanh TO IRON MANUFACTURES. BY S. WATERHOUSE, ST. LOUIS, MO. ST. LOUIS: A. WEEBUSCH & SON, STEAM BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS. 1869. Entered according to Act of Congress In the year 1869, by S. WATERHOUSE, in the Clerk's OfBce of the U. S. District Coart for the Eastern District of Missouri. j^i=>:PEnsriDix TO THE SECOND EDITION OF "THE RESOURCES OF MISSOURI." If the difficulty of altering stereotype plates did not prevent any change in the letter-press of the preceding pages, new and im- pressive proofs of the natural wealth and capabilities of Missouri could now be incorporated in this edition. Since the date of original publication, valuable statistics respecting the productions, growth, and resources of the State have been collected. But these facts only corroborate the foregoing statements with the emphasis of larger aggregates and stronger evidences of productive capacity. St. Louis is expanding with a steady and substantial growth. A report recently made under municipal authority shows that, at the beginning of the present year, more than 2000 buildings — almost all of them built of brick and many of them faced with stone — were either in process of erection or just finished. The present population of St. Louis is 240,000. The subscription by responsible parties of a capital stock of §3,000,000 ensures the completion of the St. Louis and Illinois Bridge. This bridge will cross the Mississippi on three arches. The distance between the extreme piers will be 1584 feet j but the length of the bridge, including the stone approaches, will be about 3700 feet. The central span will be 515 feet between abutments, and the other two will be 497 feet. The two mid-river piers will be respectively 175 and 200 feet high. The width of the bridge will permit side- walks for foot-passengers, a double track along the middle for street cars, and carriage-ways on either side for common vehicles. The double track for steam cars will lie directly below the ordinary road-bed. The bridge will be constructed of crucible cast steel. The company purposes to finish the work within three years. This structure, affording new and cheaper facilities for mercantile exchange, will give a powerful impulse to the commerce and prosper- 4 ity of St. Louis. It will also be, with its massive piers and grace- ful proportions, a beautiful and enduring proof of American skill in civil engineering. St. Loiiis will soon become a great grain mart. The diversion of cereal freight from the northern lines of eastward transportation has begun. Already large quantities of grain have been shipped from this port to New York and Europe by way of the Mississippi river. It has often been asserted that the cost per mile of trans- porting a ton of grain is by rail fifteen mills, by canal eight mills, and by the Mississippi one mill. If this statement is true, then noth- ing can long withhold from our majestic river the grain-carrying trade of this Valley. The Northern lines, with their immense cap- ital, efficient cooperation, and mechanical facilities, may delay this result, but they cannot ultimately defeat it. With the erection of elevators at the various points of shipment, with the extension of our system of barge transportation, with the deepening of the chan- nel at the Balize, and with the establishment of a line of grain- carrying steamers between New Orleans and New York, the cereal products of this Valley must inevitably seek eastern and foreign markets by way of the Mississippi river. The magnitude of this movement may be inferred from the fact, that the annual grain crop of the Mississippi Valley is now about 1,000,000,000 bushels. By sagacious, energetic and united action, the river towns can secure the early success of this undertaking and enrich themselves with an unwonted prosperity. Whenever this possibility is realised, St. Louis will become the central granary of the Mississippi Valley, The railroad system of Missouri is rapidly forming new con- nections. An air-line is now building from St. Louis to Terre Haute by way of Vandalia. This road, which will be in operation during the current year, will shorten the distance to New York 26 miles. The western branch of the North Missouri railroad, running from Moberly to Kansas City, a distance of 125 miles, is now finished. It is 271 miles by this line from St. Louis to Kansas City. The northern extension of the same road is now completed to the State line, 233 miles from St. Louis, and by the middle of next June will roach Ottumwa, 46 miles north of the Missouri border, where it will connect with the railroads of Iowa. In a year or two, there will be a direct railroad communication between St. Louis and St. Paul ; and within a few years, a railroad will certainly be built from Chillicothe or Macon to Omaha. Before next July, the Iron Mountain railroad will be finished to Belmont. At Columbus, on the opposite side of the Mississippi, this road will connect with 7000 miles of Southern railroad. Last December the gauge was changed to five feet, which is the uni- form width of Southern tracks. This change will permit the trans- portation of freight to any part of the South without re-shipment. A ferryboat, capable of carrying ten loaded freight cars, will ply between Belmont and Columbus. In addition to the commercial marine of New Orleans, a new line of steamers to run between Mobile and Havana is now organizing. This Iron Mountain road, reaching below the obstructions of ice and low water, communicat- ing with the whole railroad system of the South, and directly con- necting with the ports of New Orleans and Mobile, will enable St. Louis to evade the barriers of ice and sand, preserve an uninter- ruj)ted outlet to its trade, and regain its Southern, West Indian and South American commerce. A powerful company of eastern capitalists have j^urchased the South Pacific railroad and are pushing it forward with commend- able energy. It is already finished to Arlington, a distance of 126 miles from St. Louis. The company hope to finish the road to Springfield, 115 miles beyond its present terminus, during the current year. It is their intention to extend this line through Southwest Missouri and along the valley of the Canadian river to Anton Chico, where it will connect with the Southern extension of the Kansas Pacific. From the point of junction a single track will be built to San Francisco, with branches to the Gulf of California, San Diego and Los Angelos. During the coming summer, the Missouri Pacific railroad will change its gauge from 5 feet 6 inches to 4 feet 8| inches. Its gauge will then be uniform with that of the Kansas Pacific. In view of this change, 45 new engines have already been ordered. The Kansas Pacific railroad, now extends to Sheridan, 688 miles west of St. Louis. The distance from Sheridan to Denver is 215 miles, and from Denver to Cheyenne — where the Kansas Pacific will form a junction with the Union Pacific — 112 miles. The Union Pacific is now completed more than 1000 miles west of Omaha. The Central Pacific now runs eastward from San Francisco about 750 miles. More than 700 miles of this continental highway — including the extensions of both the Union and Central Pacific — were constructed in 1868. Less than 100 miles now remain to be built. This portion will probably be finished by the first of next July — more than six years before the time prescribed by law for the comj^letion of the road. Then an unbroken line of railway, 3300 miles long, will stretch from New York to San Francisco. This gigantic work, prosecuted during the most formidable rebellion of modern times, and finished amid the derangements of national finance incident to civil convulsions, must ever be regarded as an extraordinary triumph of American energy. Immigration is now flowing into Missouri in larger tides than ever before. According to the official estimate of Governor Fletcher, 500,000 immigrants have settled in this State since the beginning of 1865. The credit of Missouri now rests on a firm basis ; our com- merce is regaining the prosperity which prevailed prior to the civil war; our agriculture is amassing a vaster wealth of harvests; our mining is excavating larger lodes of mineral riches ; our domestic manufactures are increasing our productive capital and industrial welfare. In fine, the prospects of the State are cheering, and noth- ing but a spiritless and dishonorable inactivity on the part of its own citizens can now retard the greatness of Missouri. I gladly avail myself of this opportunity to acknowledge my indebtedness to the State Board of Immigration for its friendly assistance, and especially to Governor Fletcher for his cordial and efficient co-operation in every effort for the material advancement of Missouri. S. W. Washington University, March 1st, 1869 THE NATURAL ADAPTATION OF ST. LOUIS TO IRON MANUFACTURES. BY S. WATEEHOUSE. The 10th day of April 1868 is the date of an event important to the industrial interests of the "West. On that day, the experiment of making iron with mineral coal was snccessfully tried at Caron- delet, Missouri. The furnace, then started, still continues in active operation, and has produced in all more than 3000 tons of iron. The character of this iron is shown by the following statement, signed by some of our largest and most experienced iron-makers and dealers. St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 20, 1869. Dear Sir: In reply to your inquiry as to the quality of the Pig Iron made at Carondelet from the Big Muddy coal and Iron Mountain ore, I beg to state that it is of excellent quality — the No. 1 being a superior foundry iron, and the Nos. 2 and 3 well adapted to forge purposes, both possessing extraordinary strength, and in that respect nearly, if not fully, equal to any other stone-coal iron which we have ever used. Yours respectfully, JULES VALLE, Vice-President Laclede Iron & Manufacturing Co. GILES F. ,;FILLEY, President Excelaior Manufacturing Co. COLLINS & HOLLIDAY, Broadway Foundry. GERARD B. ALLEN & CO., Fulton Iron Works. A. B. MEEKER & CO., Dealers in Pig Iron. BRIDGE, BEACH & CO., Empire Stove Works. S. R. FOX, President Malleable Iron Works. THOS. HOWARD & CO., Excelsior Iron Works. SHICKLE, HARRISON & CO., ^tna Iron Works. JAMES WAUGH, President Bogy Nail Mill Co. ALEX. CROZIER, Proprietor Eagle Foundry. 8 Two or three of these firms judge of the properties of this iron merely from observation, but all the rest have used the iron in their manufactories, and express the results of practical knowledge. An old iron-maker from Pittsburg, observing the superiority of this metal, hesitated to believe that it was made with raw coal. The proprietors of the Phoenixville and Danville Iron Works in Penn- sylvania have testified to the excellence of this iron. Its fusibility, ductility and strength render it especially suitable for common and malleable castings. The iron is red-short. At first, the yield of furnace was from 60 to 70 tons of iron per week ; now the mean product is 126 tons a week. The proprietors feel confident of their ability to increase this amount to 140 tons a week. But the present production is large for a furnace with boshes only 11 feet 3 inches in diameter. The first and poorest product of the furnace brought |33 a ton j the later yield has commanded from $34 to $42 a ton. Formerly the cost of producing iron at Carondelet was about $28 a ton. This high price of production was attributable to the radical defects of the furnace and machinery. Great credit is due to Messrs. McKernan, Lilly & Co. for the success which they achieved under grave difficulties. But though they introduced many improvements, the imperfections of the original structure were incapable of complete remedy. The height of the furnace is 40 feet. The diameter of the tunnel head 5 feet. " " boshes 11 feet 3 inches. It is apparent from a mere inspection of these dimensions that the furnace was not properly proportioned for smelting iron with raw coal, It is, too, a single furnace, and therefore does not per- mit that economy which a double furnace secures. The proprietors were not able to avail themselves of the latest results of experience and scientific investigation — they were compelled to use a defective furnace and inadequate machinery. It is a matter of just surprise that under such disadvantages the cost of production is so low. An old Pennsylvania iron-master, after examining the works at Caron- delet and learning the cost of materials and labor, recently ex- pressed the opinion that, with a rightly constructed double furnace and improved machinery, one-fifth of the above cost of produc- tion could be saved. In order that eastern and [foreign manufacturers may not be compelled to rely upon mere assertions, the data for their own cal- culations are given. The distance of Carondelet from St. Louis is 6^ miles. " " " Irondale 63 " " " " Iron Mountain 74| " " « " Pilot Knob 80 " " « " Big Muddy Coal mines 120 " 9 For the different kinds of labor^ the Carondelet Iron "Works pay the following prices in currency : To the manager $2,000.00 per year. " founder 1;800.00 " " engineer 175.00 per month. " keepers 2.62 per day. " helpers 2.25 " " fillers and cinder-men 2.00 " " other laborers 1.75 " Competition and greater facilities for transportation will ma- terially reduce some of these expenses, but a calculation based upon present prices shows that iron can now be made at Carondelet for |25 a ton. The following statement of the cost of making one ton of pig iron at Carondelet is not an estimate, but an exhibit, copied from the books of the company, of the actual working expenses of the furnace during one week. 1.50 tons of Iron Mountain ore, at net cost of 85.50 per ton...88.25 1.22 " " Big Muddy coal, " « 5.25 " "...6.40 .30 ton of Connellville coke, " " 9.00 " "...2.70 .37 " " limestone, at $0.90 per ton 33 .08 " " mill-cinder, at $2.50 per ton 20 Clay and sand 12 Labor 5.50 Interest, taxes and insurance 1.50 Total cost of one ton of pig iron $25.00 Present cost of Big Muddy coal : Net price, delivered in barges, per ton $4.25 Cost of unloading, " 25 25 per cent, of slack " 1.50 $6.00 Yalue of slack at half price 75 Total cost of one ton of Big Muddy coal $5.25 To supply the means of determining the relative cost of mak- ing iron, the following data, obtained from a leading manufactory in Johnstown, Pa., are submitted. Per cent, of iron in ore $0.36 " " fixed carbon in coke 0.78 Cost per ton of coal 1.30 " " calcined ore 5.00 " " labor 4.90 10 The other elements of cost are not given. The subjoined table is furnished by one of the largest Iron Works in Pittsburg, Pa. Percent, of iron in ore $ 0.66 li tons of ore at $11.00 per ton 16.50 80 bushels of coke at 7 cts. per bushel 5.60 I ton of limestone at $2.50 per ton 83 Labor 4.00 Interest and taxes on $200,000 invested for an annual pro- duct of 20,000 tons of iron 80 $5000 per year for repairs and incidentals 25 Total cost of one ton of pig iron $27.98 For ores containing but 57 per cent, of metal, add i ton more of ore 2.75 $30.73 If these estimates, which are made by some of the first iron- men in the country, are correct, then St. Louis must inevitably be- come the great centre of American iron manufactures. The cost of making iron at Johnstown, Pa., Brazil, Ind., Massillon and Youngstown, 0., varies from $25 to $33 per ton. Of the cost at Youngstown, the courtesy of the Proprietors of the Mahoning "Works enables us to speak with certainty. "We quote from a letter of Messrs. Brown, Bonnell & Co.: "In our manufacture of pig metal, we use about | of Lake Superior and J of native ore to the ton of pig. The Lake ore costs delivered at our furnaces about $9, and the native ore $3 per ton. Blackband ore, yielding about 50 per cent, of iron, costs $5 per ton. The coal costs about $2 or $2.50 per ton. It takes 2^ or 2^ tons of coal to reduce one ton of metal. The limestone used as a flux we get delivered to us at $1.12^ per ton, and the whole cost of making one ton of pig metal is about $25." Possibly Brazil may be able to manufacture iron somewhat cheaper than Youngstown can, but even if the cost of production at St. Louis is no less than at Brazil, still for the markets of that vast region lying West of the Mississippi St. Louis would have in its favor the freight between Brazil and the river. This alone, with no difference in economy of manufacture, would give our metropolis control of the trade beyond the Mississippi. This freight is about $4 a ton, and the cost of carrying Missouri ore to Brazil and of bringing back the iron to St. Louis is about $8 a ton. And if, as our iron-masters strenuously assert, iron can ultimately be smelted at Carondelet from $3 to $5 a ton cheaper than it can be at Brazil, then this is an additional guarantee of our supremacy in iron manufacture. The extent of our shipments of Missouri ore to the furnaces of other States may be inferred from the transac- tions of a single month. 11 The quantity shipped over the Iron Mountain railroad in October 1868 was : To furnaces in and near Brazil, Ind 1580 tons. " " " Pittsburg, Pa 4500 " During the year 1868, the Indianapolis and St. Louis railroad carried to Indiana more than 10,000 tons of Missouri ore. In 1868, from March to December, 72,400 tons of Iron Mountain ore were shipped to furnaces on the Ohio river. It is estimated that 120,000 tons of this ore will be sent to same destination in 1869. Doubtless a portion of the manufactured product will be brought back to St. Louis. Thus Missouri, with all its native facilities for iron-making, is now exporting its ore to distant States and paying to the rail- roads and manufactories of other commonwealths the cost of pro- duction and of a double transportation, while apart from the expense of freight, the iron could be made more cheaply within its own borders and the capital invested in the manufacture be em- ployed for the encouragement of its own industries. The large production of stone-coal iron will cause a more ac- tive demand for charcoal iron. This demand Missouri can eco- nomically meet. The following exhibit of the cost of producing charcoal iron is kindly furnished by Edwin Harrison, Esq., Pro- prietor of the Irondale furnace : ITEMS. a o &2 COST at furnace. per ton of iron made. Charcoal — actual amount consumed in furnace in bushels of 2600 cubic inches 133 148 1.55 2 5 2 cts. 08 85 25 96 11 4 6 cts. Charcoal — by receiver's measure, showing waste to be about 10 per cent 84 41 20 Ore — Iron Mountain, 64 per cent, of iron, — tons... Ore — Hematite, red, 45 or 50 per cent., some- times used with Iron Mountain ore — per ton Ore — Pilot Knob, richness about 50 per cent., sometimes used with Iron Mt. ore— per ton Limestone — Magnesian, 1 to 10 of ore Labor and superintendence of every kind, except that relating to and already estimated in the cost of coal, ore and limestone '13 Materials, other than coal, ore and limestone Taxes — national, state and county 90 32 Total cost $24 10 The region adjacent to the ore is heavily wooded, and is capable of supplying large quantities of fuel suitable for making charcoal. 12 THE QUALITY, EXTENT AND COST OF THE MATERIEL OF FURNACES. Common red brick can be bought at Carondelet in unlimited quantities for $7 to $8 per thousand. Good clay for the furnace and sand for the pig bed are pro- cured from neighboring banks at the sole expense of hauling and handling. The fire-rock for the furnaces was formerly brought from re- mote states. These hearth-stones, imported at a very heavy ex- pense, seldom lasted more than five months. But, a few years ago, a geological examination discovered a superior quarry of infusible sandstone in the immediate vicinity of the Iron mines. This fire- rock is very refractory, and sometimes resists the heat of the fur- nace for 18 months. A full set of hearth-stones, consisting of 13 pieces, costs in place |250. The value per cubic foot, dressed and ready for use, is about $1.45. An excellent limestone for flux is procured within a few rods of the present furnaces. The quantity is inexhaustible. The price is $4 per 100 cubic leet. Constituents of the limestone found within half a mile of the Iron Mountain furnaces : Eesidue, insoluble in dilute hydrochloric acid — 6.97 Alumina, with peroxide of iron 1.11 Carbonate of lime 50.38 " " magnesia 41.74 Elements of the limestone procured in the immediate neigh- borhood of the Iron Works at Pilot Knob : Silica 5.62 Alumina and peroxide of iron 82 Carbonate of lime 50.10 " " magnesia 43.24 Composition of the limestone obtained two or three miles from Shepherd Mountain : Silica 1.05 Alumina trace. Carbonate of lime 97.06 " " magnesia 1.70 13 Twenty years ago one of our largest iron-founders imported from Liverpool the tire-brick used in the construction of his cupola, but now fire-clay, rivaling the best deposits of Europe, is procured at Cheltenham, within five miles of the St. Louis Court House. The bed is very thick and extensive. The deposit far exceeds any possible demand of the furnaces. Fire-brick made of this clay is capable of resisting very high temperatures. It lasts in the fur- naces from 3 to 5 years. The excellence of the material recommends it for retorts, alembics, crucibles and furnaces. According to Pro- fessor Worthen, "the best fire-clays contain from 60 to 70 per cent, of silica, from 25 to 35 per cent, of alumina, and sometimes 1 or 2 per cent, of oxjd of iron, lime, or magnesia, with 5 to 10 per cent, of water." Two analyses of the Cheltenham clay show the follow- ing elements : CRUDE CLAY. WASHED CLAY. percent. ^ percent. Silica 61.02 59.60 Alumina 25.64 26.41 Oxide of iron 1.70 1.61 Lime 70 1.00 Magnesia 08 07 Potassa 48 29 Soda 25 16 Sulphur 45 38 Water 10.00 10.36 In order to'aflPord ample means of comparison, the composition of the best English and Continental fire-clays is given. STOURBRIDGE CLAYS. Silica 73.82 70.50 68.05 67.34 Alumina 15.88 25.46 18.85 21.01 Protoxide of iron 2.95 2.04 5.10 2.03 Alkalies 90 00 00 1.38 Lime trace 00 00 00 Magnesia trace 1.05 80 00 Water 6.45 00 6.00 8.24 TAMWORTH CLAY. AMBLECOTE CLAY. Silica 71.41 61.33 Alumina 21.17 26.22 Protoxide of iron 91 1.06 Alkalies 82 68 Lime 04 41 Magnesia trace 19 Water 6.06 10.11 14 CONTINENTAL FIRE-CLAYS. Forges des Eaux. St. Armand. Heasian. Beleu. Bourdan. Silica, 73 73.3 70.9 63.57 60.60 Alumina, 27 24.0 24.8 27.45 26.39 Sesquioxide of iron, trace 2.7 3.8 15 2.50 Lime, 00 0.0 0.0 55 84 Magnesia 00 0.0 trace trace 00 Water 00 0.0 0.0 9.91 9.20 These results of the most favorable analyses of the best Eng- lish and Continental fire-clays are purposel}^ selected. Probably the finest European clays are better than our own. But the su- periority is slight. The St. Louis fire-brick stand the tests of practical use. They bear their fiery ordeal with remarkable en- durance. The present cost of furnace brick is $40 per thousand, delivered at the Works. IRON. Iron abounds in different portions of Missouri, but the stu- pendous masses found in St. Francois, Iron and Eeynold counties, dwarf into insignificance the wealth of other mines. Shepherd Mountain is 660 feet high. The ore contains a large percentage of iron. The height of Pilot Knob above the Mississippi river is 1118 feet. Its base, 581 feet from the summit, is 360 acres. The upper section of 141 feet is judged to contain 14,000,000 tons of ore. The elevation of Iron Mountain is 228 feet, and the area of its base 500 acres. The solid contents of the cone are 230,000,000 tons. It is thought that every foot beneath the surface will yield 3,000,000 tons of ore. At the depth of 150 feet, the artesian auger was still penetrating solid ore. These mountains contain enough iron above the^' surface to afford for 200 years an annual supply of 1,000,000 tons. The iron is strong, tough and fibrous. The Iron Mountain ore is a specular oxide. This is the most abundant and valuable kind of ore. It contains less than one per cent, of silica, which, it is thought, facilitates smelting. The ore of Pilot Knob is a silicious specular oxide. It con- tains from 10 to 20 per cent, of silica. The ores of Shepherd Mountain are specular and magnetic oxides. The magnetic oxide is least abundant. The ore is very pure. It contains less than 2 per cent, of silex and alumina. It is claimed that these impurities — which are the only foreign elements 16 in the ore — promote fusion. The mines of Shepherd Mountain are no longer worked. They are less accessible than the other iron mines, and the ore developed in the progress of mining is less rich and abundant than that found at the surface. ANALYSES OF ORES. f Iron Mountain. Pilot Knob. Shepherd Mountain Silica 66 12.03 1.04 Alumina 00 1.61 60 Peroxide of iron 99.33 86.07 98.30 Iron [69.55 60.27 68.83 The following table from Truran's "Iron Manufacture of Great Britain", shows the highest per cent, of iron in British ores. In many cases, rich specimens were selected for the analysis. , Ores. Highest per cent, of iron South Wales 41.46 Staffordshire 37.70 Derbyshire 41.70 Yorkshire 38.80 Scotch 41.60 Korth Wales 55.00 Welsh 44.70 Dean Forest 46.50 Lancashire' 56.60 Bristol 58.90 Cornish 60.00 Merionethshire 49.60 Nox'thhampton shire 47.00 During the past week, the yield of Iron Mountain ore at the Carondelet Works was 66.66 per cent, of iron. This result, how- ever, indicates unusual richness ; ordinarily the Iron Mountain ore produces 60 per cent, of iron, and the Pilot Knob ore about 56 p«r cent. ; but the average per .centage of iron contained in British ores is considerably Zessthan than the preceding figures. The mean yield of Swedish ores is 60 per cent.; but, according to Bauerman, select specimens of Dannemora ore have sometimes produced as high as 65.6 per cent, of metallic iron. No analysis has been made of the pig metal recently smelted with crude coal in the Carondelet furnaces, but a specimen of Missouri ii-on which was analysed in 1867 yielded : 16 Carbon (including 2.94 of graphite) 3.824 Silicium 2.902 Phosphorus 134 Sulphur 098 Calcium 240 Iron 92.760 Three specimens of English iron, smelted from hematite ores with selected cokes, yielded, according to an analysis made in 1867: Cleator. WorkiDgton. Dean Forest. Carbon 3.400 333 000 Silica 1.900 1.011 2.360 Phosphorus 049 043 000 Sulphur 027 trace 037 Graphite 000 3.548 3.250 Manganese 000 123 000 Titanium 000 171 000 Iron 94.624 94.771 94.353 If the best specimens of the iron recently made at Carondelet had been subjected to an analysis, the results of this comparison would be still more favorable to our own iron. The ores of Missouri, found in different but adjacent localities, vary in quality. A proper combination of these ores makes a very strong and superior iron. The quantity of iron ore existing in Missouri is practically inexhaustible. COAL. The Big Muddy Coal mines are situated in Jackson County, Illinois. The company which works them owns 10,000 or 12,000 acres of coal fields. The distance of the mines from the Mississippi river by rail is 18^ miles, and from Carondelet 113| miles. The depth at which the coal used for smelting iron is found varies from the surface where it outcrops to 200 or 300 feet. The second and third beds of coal are separated from each other by a deposit of fire-clay from li to 3 inches thick. If these two seams, which are nearly equal, are taken together, their aggregate thick- ness is about 5 feet 10 inches. The following description of this coal is given in the Geological Eeport of the State of Illinois : "The coal worked out of the bank of Murphysboro (near the Big Muddy mines) has a beautiful appearance. It is hard, compact, free from sulphuret, and of excellent quality." 17 The elements of this coal are, according to two analyses made by different chemists : Water 3.67 3.620 Volatile combustible matter 22.01 33.531 Fixed carbon 70.58 60.492 Sulphur.... 75 858 Ash 3.28 1.479 In one of these reports, the chemist specially directs attention to the small per centage of sulphur and ash in the Big Muddy coal, and avows his ignorance of any "coals which can compete with them in the West for metallurgical purposes." The purest British coals contain a much larger per cent, of carbon than the Big Muddy coal. From the full analysis given by Truran, we select three elements of best furnace coals of Great Britain : Pontypool Swansea Yalley Dowlais Furnace Hirwain " Carbon. ...80.40... ...91.50... ...90.00... ...87.20... Alfreton Derbyshire Furnace. 74.98. . . Newcastle Furnace 78.00. . . Yorkshire " 78.80... Gartsherry " 77.50. . . Sulphur. 9. .1.3. . 7. . 0. ,1.6. ,2.7. , 5. Ash. ..6.50 ..1.50 ..1.40 ..4.40 ..2.68 ..8.20 .4.60 ..6.40 The bituminous coals of Dean Forest, Shropshire, Derbyshire, North Wales, Yorkshire, and Northumberland contain, according to Truran, from 56 to 75 per cent, of carbon. The Welsh coals used for blast furnaces commonly yield from 80 to 92 per cent, of carbon. The Big Muddy coal sustains the burden of the furnace very well. At the Caroudelet Works, this coal has been subjected to a blast of 600° or 700° with a pressure of 5 pounds to the square inch. Under this severe test, the coal maintained its form and burden with a success that justifies the constant use of a blast of the same temperature with a pressure of 3 or 4 pounds to the square inch. The so-called Chester Coal mines, located in Jackson, Perry and Eandolph counties, Illinois, are 12 miles from the Mississippi river, 68^ from Carondelet, and 75 from St. Louis. The company owns about 18,000 acres of land. According to the published re- port of the company, the following statements are based upon actual explorations. Three beds of coal, severally 7, 4 and 6^ feet thick, underlie the Chester tract. The depth of these deposits is respect- ively 29|, 77 and 119 feet below the surface. 18 Of the first seam, it is claimed that two layers, 20 and 18 inches in thickness, are fit in their crude state for smelting iron. The three most favorable analyses of Chester coal give these results : Water .. 2.78.... . 6.310... ... 6.225 Vol. combust, matter. . ..31.62.... .28.687... ...26.500 Carbon in coke ...61.23.... 62.763... ...61.575 Sulphur 37 000... 000 Ash (light colored) .. 4.37.... . 2.250... ... 5.300 Ormsby. Brier Hill .64.40.... ....61.24 .33.20.... ....35.06 . 2.40.... .... 2.79 Sometimes the joints of this coal are filled with foreign matter which occasionally contains as high as 5 per eent. of sulphur. But the latter element is chiefly restricted to the joints. In the best layers scarcely more than traces of sulphur are found in the body of the coal. Heretofore the Ormsby coal in Pennsylvania, and the Brier Hill coal in Ohio have been regarded as the best crude coals in the country for the manufacture of iron. The fitness of the Chester coal for smelting iron may be inferred from its similarity to these coals. Analysis discloses a remarkable resemblance of qualities : Big Muddy. Fixed carbon 62. 75 ... . Vol. combust, matter. . .28.68 Ash 2.25.... The quantity of Big Muddy and Chester coal suitable for blast furnaces it is at present impossible to determine. This question can only be settled by the operations of actual mining. But geo- logical investigations and practical tests wari*ant the belief that the amount of coal adapted to the manufacture of iron is too vast to be exhausted before the lapse of centuries. "We have specially spoken of two companies, because they are the only ones engaged in mining the Big Muddy and Chester coal fields. According to geological surveys, Missouri contains 27,000 square miles of coal measures and Illinois 35,000. In some in- stances, there are three strata of coal, one below^the other, each capable of being worked. In these immense deposits, whose qual- ities vary with the locality, it is presumable that other coals fit for making iron will be found. There is a strong probability that Missouri will yet discover amid its vast mineral resources veins of coal suitable in their crude condition for smelting iron. We hope that new coal fields will be found, other companies formed, and ad- ditional mines opened, in order that a larger force, and more active competition may increase the quantity and reduce the price of available fuel. 19 THE MAGNITUDE OF FOREIGN MANUFACTURES. In 1854, Great Britain produced more than 3,500;000 tons of pig iron, and nearly 2,000,000 tons of malleable iron. The manu- factured product of its 600 furnaces was valued at $125,000,000. The number of men engaged in quarrying, mining and manufactur- ing was 238,000. 2120 steam-engines, with an aggregate force 242,000 horses, were the motive power of this gigantic industry. The following tabular statement exhibits the production of iron and steel in Europe during the year 1865 : Country, Pig Iron. Steel. Great Britain, tons 4,500,000 71,250 France 1,225,000 30,000 Prussia 515,000 33,250 Belgium 362,500 4,000 Austria 337,500 21,250 Russia 300,000 5,000 Sweden 225,000 6,500 Norway 25,000 000 German States 212,500 1,750 Italy 37,500 750 Spain 60,000 500 Denmark 15,000 000 Total .7,815,000 174,250 In 1866, 9,665,000 tons of ore, worth $15,595,400, were extracted from British mines. The product of this ore was 4,523,897 tons of pig iron, with an approximate value of $60,000,000. In 1866, France made $25,000,000 worth of pig metal; and for 1868, the estimated production of French furnaces was valued at $37,000,000. In 1867, the manufacture of French steel amounted to 58,000 tons. An approximate estimate of the present yearly production of Bessemer steel is : England 312,000 tons, l Austria 38,800 tons. Prussia 75,920 « Sweden 27,560 " France 45,760 " | Belgium 5,200 " Europe is now annually making more than 8,000,000 tons of pig iron. The magnitute of this product is impressive. But this is only the raw material which art is fashioning into myriad forms of usefulness and beauty. The dexterous hand of the artisan some- times adds a thousand-fold to the original value of the mateiial. 20 It is estimated that European industry annually creates in tho countless products of iron manufacture a capital of $2,000,000,000. The distribution among the working classes of such an enormous sum must exert a beneficent influence upon the wealth and happi- ness of the nations of Europe. Thus this great industry provides alike the resources of domestic comfort and public defense — it equally heightens the enjoyments of peace and strengthens the sinews of war. THE EXTENT OF AMERICAN IRON MANUFACTURES AND IMPORTATIONS. Mr. McAllister, Secretary of the American Iron and Steel Association — from whose able I'eport the following statistics are gathered — gives the ap- pended exhibit of the amount of pig iron made with coke and raw coal : 1866. 1867. 1868. Pennsylvania 170,600 tons 191,072 tons 204,000 tons. Ohio 97,198 " 126,375 « 22,000 " West Yirginia 1,198 " 1,200 " Other States 24,000 " The quantity of pig iron made with charcoal was : 1866. 1867. 1868. Vermont 4,816 tons 1,907 tons. ") Massachusetts 14,514 " 12,262 " L.. 30,000 tons. Connecticut 19,671 " 18,607 " } New York 24,920 « 26,942 " 27,400 " New Jersey 6,426 « 9,000 " Pennsylvania 57,841 « 60,155 « 59,600 « Maryland 26,652 " 24,000 " 25,000 " Ohio 87,888 « 89,525 « 86,000 « Michigan 35,448 " 55,743 " 65,000 " Missouri 25,663 " 19,500 « Wisconsin 5,241 « 5,400 " Kentucky 15,000 " | „, onn « Other States 8,500 « | .-.^M^v; ^^^^^^ « Total "332,580 344,341 370,000 The total amount of pig iron made in the United States was : 1866. 1867. 1868. Anthracite 749,367 tons 784,783 tons 893,000 tons. Eaw bituminous coal and coke 268,996 « 318,647 " 340,000 « Charcoal 332,780 " 344,341 " 370,000 « Total 1,351,143 1,447,771 1,603,000 21 The number of tons of iron, native and foreign, consumed in 1866 in our domestic manufactures, was 2,120,143. The consumption of American and European iron in 1866 was : Domestic 1,563,344 tons 83 per cent. Foreign 312,500 " 17 " In 1866, the production of native steel was about 1,900 tons. In 1867, the amount of Bessemer steel made in this country was about 3,000 tons ; and in 1868, 8,000 tons. The domestic manufacture and foreign importation of steel were : Native 19,125 tons 30,000 tons. Imported 21,566 " 16,700 « The important facts contained in the following quotation from the Secretary's report challenge the consideration of American statesmen and political economists : "It is impossible to ascertain from our government records the quantity of iron and steel imported into the country during the 3'ear 1867, as the treasury accounts are made up to the end of each jftscal year (June 30th). But we find by the last report of the British Board of Trade that, during the year ending Nov. 30th, 1867, the following quantities of iron and steel were shipped from the various British ports to this country. The quantities are re- duced to net tons. Pig 143,684 Bar, angle and rod 50,751 Eailroad 188,770 Castings 1,357 Hoops, steel and plate 35,056 Old for remanufacture 21,566 Other iron (wrought) 8,661 Total iron 449,845 Steel ^21,556 These quantities exceed by 23 per cent, the importations of the previous year. Of the whole quantity of pig iron exported by Great Britain during the period above given, the United States took 22 per cent., a much larger quantity than was exported to any other country. Of bar, angle, bolt and rod, we took 15 per cent., British India alone proving a better customer. Of the 651,859 tons of railroad iron exported, 188,770 tons were shipped hither, or 29 per cent. Leaving out India, which is a part of British domain, we imported more English railroad iron than any other twelve of her customers. Of hoops, sheets and boiler plate, we imported 35,056 tons, being 25 per cent, of the total quantity of English Exports of this kind of iron. Of the 37,092 tons of steel exported by England, 21,566 22 tons, or 58 per cent., were shipped hither. Surely these are startling facts, and yet we are often told by British and American free-traders that this is the only country with which England has not free and unrestricted commercial intercourse." In 1868, the total amount of domestic iron made from the ore was 1,640,600 tons. In 1868, the product of American rolling mills was 1,105,000 tons. In 1867, the quantity of railroad iron made in the United States was 462,100 tons, in 1868, 566,700 tons. The amount of English railway bars imported to this country during the eleven months ending November 30th, 1868, was 278,035 tons. During the year ending June 30th 1868, the imports of iron and steel and of articles manufactured from them amounted to 522,615 tons, worth $23,496,835; but the aggregate of pig iron made in this country in 1868 was 1,603,000 tons, valued at 863,000,000. It is yet too early for full returns of last year's operations, and consequently some of the above figures for 1868, being based upon incomplete data, may not be precisely accurate ; but it is thought that these approximations will not widely diifer from the ultimate and exact results. THE ECONOMY OF DOMESTIC MANUFACTURES. With coin at a premium of 35 per cent., pig iron can now be made at Carondelet for $18.50 per ton in gold or $25 in currency. The economical importance of this fact is best enforced by practical applications. In some of the subsequent illustrations, St. Louis is represented as the exclusive western manufactory of iron and the sole point of commercial distribution, not because it is believed that our city will ever attain an absolute monopoly of this industry, but simply because it is impossible from the lack of requisite statistics to state the relative manufacture and consumption of iron in the diiferent sections of the country. But if fuller data permitted an exact exposition of these proportions, the force of the argument would not be weakened. The essential ti-uth of the illustration is not impaired by a reduction of the figures. There would still be an economy proportioned to the actual quantity of iron manufactured at St. Louis. 23 One of our largest importers furnishes the following statement : Cost per ton of Scotch pig at Glasgow $12.50 in gold, $16.87 in cur. Commissions 31 " 42 " Insurance to New Orleans 16 " 21 " Freight to N. O. and primage 4.00 " 5.40 " Government impost 9.00 " 12.15 " Drayage and commissions at N. 1.11 " 1.50 " Freight from N. 0. to St. Louis 2.96 " 4.00 " Insurance " « 29 " 40 « Total cost at St. Louis $30.33 . $40.95 Scotch pig is one of the cheapest kinds of iron made in Europe. It is chiefly used by founders. All the metal employed in the manufacture of superior hardware and cutlery commands a higher price. In 1866, 80,000 tons of Scotch pig iron were imported into this country. Upon the assumption that one-fifth of this quantity was consumed by the states naturally tributary to St. Louis, then, at the lowest cost of foreign iron and the present price of our own, the furnaces of Carondelet, in one year and on a single article, would have effected a net saving of $255,200, distributed $400,000 among the laborers and proprietors of our Iron Works, retained in this mart and its commercial dependencies a productive capital of $655,200, and prevented the foreign exportation of $271,520 in gold. The cost of a recent importation of English rails was : Eails per ton at the Works $28.75 in gold. Commissions 71 " Insurance to New Orleans 39 " Freight to K O. and primage 6.50 " Government impost 15.68 " Dravage and Commission at N. 1.11 " Freight from N. O. to St. Louis 3.70 ^' Insurance " " 55 " $38.81 in cur. 95 52 8.77 21.16 1.50 5.00 75 Total $57.39 $77.46 The price of English rails, delivered in St. Louis, is generally from $78 to $80 a ton. The mean cost of American rails is : Eails per ton at Johnstown, Pa $75.00 Freight to Pittsburg 2.24 Freight from Pittsburg to St. Louis by rail 10.00 " " " " river 5.00 Insurance " " " " 50 Total cost by rail $87.24 " " " river $82.74 24 The following statement of the actual and estimated consump- tion of new bars is furnished by our railroad companies, and applies almost exclusively to the state of Missouri : • Railroads. Tons. Kansas Pacific — made in Pa., and delivered in 1868 (3,000 Hannibal and St. Joseph — consumed in 1868 10,000 North Missouri— used in 1868, (70per cent. English) 12,000 Cedar Eapids — imported in 1868 4,000 South Pacific — to bo used in 1869 (5600 tons of English iron already bought) 10,000 Missouri Pacific — to be consumed in 1869 1,000 Iron Mountain — for the entire line 11,500 Total 54,500 The construction of the Chillicothe and Omaha railroad would Bwell this aggregate to 71,000 tons. In 1868, one of our St. Louis contractors purchased for the North Missouri and Cedar Eapids railroads 10,800 tons of English bars, delivered upon our levee at a total cost of $875,000. Now it is claimed that, at present rates, the rolling-mills of St. Louis can make rails for $70 a ton, but upon the basis of $75 a ton for rails of home production and the low average of $80 a ton for bars of eastern and foreign make, then on the 54,500 tons of railroad iron, domestic manufacture would save $272,500, and pay to our own labor $4,087,500. In 1867, 253,868 tons of re-rolled rails were consumed in the United States. If one-fifth of this amount had been re-made in our own workshops, the laborei's and capitalists of St. Louis would have received $1,827,850. If the Missouri Pacific changes its gauge during the present year, then in 1869 the railroads of this state will need 5,750 tons of re-rolled bars. At the present price of production, the re-making of these rails in our own mills would disburse in this community $207,000. In 1867, the amount of British railway iron imported into this country was 188,770 tons. If, at the present rates, one-fifth of these bars had been manufactured in the rolling-mills of St. Louis, the in- dustrial interests of the city would have been fostered by the dis- bursement of $2,831,550, and western railroads would have saved $188,770. In 1867, the United States used 396,322 tons of new railroad iron. Thus the consumption of new rails was then more than 1000 tons a day. The domestic production of one-fifth of this aggre- 25 gate would have effected an economy of $396,320, while the wages and profits of our artisfins and manufacturers would have amounted to $5,944,830. The distance from St. Louis to San Francisco is by the Union Pacific 2283 miles. | Kansas Pacific 2237 miles. Now according to our best iron-masters, the Carondelet fur- naces, using raw coal, will ultimately lessen the price of railroad iron $15 or $20 a ton. But at existing rates, with a reduction of only $5 a ton, the use of St. Louis bars in the construction of these two Pacific railroads would have saved the country $2,260,000, while the total expenditure of $33,900,000 in the workshops of this metropolis would have stimulated every branch of industry to un- precedented activity and prosperity. The erection in this vicinity of rolling-mills and machine-shops commensurate with our resources of iron and coal would be a na- tional benefit, but the wealth of this industry would chiefly enrich the Mississippi Yalley and its metropolis. Yet, thus far, so little use has been made of our natural capabilities that the very track which runs at the foot of our Iron Mountains is laid with British rails ! But pig iron and railroad bars _are comparatively crude and inexpensive productions. Our cheap iron, wrought l3y our own skill into all its forms of commercial use, would save those im- mense sums which the country is now paying for European cutlery. The following table, transcribed from the records of our Custom House, shows the amount of foreign iron and steel imported to this city in bond. The duties on the greater part of our importa- tions are paid at other poi'ts. Goods of this class are not included in the appended statement : 1867. Number. Foreign Value. Duty in Coin. Rails 46,731 $264,-905.00 $135,694.36 Tons Pig 2,078 30,746.00 18,708.00 Packages Steel 2,203 17,037.00 8,789.77 " Hoop Iron... 2,485 6,569.00 2,745.15 1868. Kails 61,955 $345,222.00 $188,446.65 Tons Pig 3,039 43,474.00 27,351.00 Packages Steel 641 32,223.00 11,306.83 « Hoop Iron.. 584 1,625.00 1,009.74 26 In 1867, the merchants of St. Louis sold about ^8,000,000 worth of crude iron-ware. The manufacture of this iron by our own artisans into the costlier articles of hardware would have enlarged our municipal revenues and promoted the well-being of the in- dustrial classes. From the first of June 1867 to the first of November 1868, the St. Louis Board of Water Works ordered 7551 tons of pipe, and 215 tons of special castings, at a total cost of §612,329. This quan- tity — three quarters of which have already been delivered — in- cludes not only the main pipe required for the new reservoirs, but also the distribution pij^e necessary for the old works. Of the above amount of pipe, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia furnished the following proportions ', — St. Louis 2918 tons at a cost of §248,472 Cincinnati 2155 " " " 170,000 Philadelphia 2478 " " " 193,857 The freight from Cincinnati was $4,00 per ton, and from Phil- adelphia $17.25 per ton. In 1867, the estimated expense of manu- facture at Philadelphia, exclusive of the value of the iron, varied from $12.50 to $14.50 per ton of 2240 pounds. Now upon the assump- tion that iron can be made at Carondelet for $25 a ton and that pipe can be cast at home for $15 a ton, then, on the above oi'ders from Cincinnati and Philadelphia, St. Louis by the manufacture of its own pipe could have saved in 17 months on freight alone $51,860, and have paid $185,320 to the industry and enterprize of its own citizens. The total quantity of pipe ordered by the Water Commissioners up to the first of March 1869 was about 9800 tons, at an estimated cost of $786,000. Of this amount, 4800 tons, cost- ing $395,000, is furnished by St. Louis. These remarks are made in no spirit of censure. At the time when these orders were given, St. Louis had no adequate flicilities for the manufacture of all of its own pipe ; and, even if its product- ive capacity had been equal to its wants, the Water Board was bound by express provision of law to award the contracts to the lowest responsible bidder. Our Commissioners have gone to the limits of the law in their encouragement of domestic industry; and the success of the St. Louis pipe foundrj^, fostei'ed by their patron- age, verifies the foregoing observations and enforces the importance of home manufactures. The manufacture of railroad engines is an important industry. St. Louis is capable of supplying the demand of western railroads. An energetic use of natural advantages and skilled labor would enable this city to equip all the railroads of the Mississippi Valley. A manufactory of first class locomotives would doubtless receive large ordres from neighboring States. The following data, which refer to but one railroad beyond the limits of Missouri, show the present magnitude of this business. 27 RAILROADS. No. of engines No. to be built ID loos. in 1S69. South Pacific 6 Kansas Pacific, 29 Iron Mountain 32 20 North Missouri 42 Hannibal and St. Joseph 54 10 Missouri Pacific 55 45 Total 218 75 Nearly all our locomotives are made at the East. The average cost of an engine at the works is about 813,000, and its freight to the banks of the Mississippi is from $800 to $1000. Apart from the price of transportation, which at the lowest rate amounts to S234,400, the cost of these 293 engines is 83,809,000. The manu- facture of locomotives must expand equally with the rapid 'devel- opment of our railroad system. St. Louis cannot afford to neglect a business bo full of present importance and prospective growth. In 1868, the commercial marine of this city consisted of 234 steamers and 158 barges. Upon the assumption that the average cost of the engine and boilers of each boat was $13,000, the total expense for motive machinery of 234 steamers was $3,042,000. A wooden barge 190 feet long, 34 feet wide, and 8 feet deep costs from $10,000 to $12,000. An iron barge of the same dimensions would probably cost from $25,000 to $30,000. Yast amounts of grain and general freight will yet be transported in barges upon the Mississippi and its tributaries. The movement, now in its infancy, will yet expand into an immense system of transportation. If the proposed substitution of iron for wood in the construction of barges should prove economical, then another important industry is opened to the enterprize of St. Louis, The cost of 158 barges at $25,000 a piece is $4,950,000. A business which in its incipiency is capable of such results must in its full development require an enormous outlay of capital. The probabilities of profit and ex- pansion which the construction of steamboat engines and iron barges presents must attract the attention of our machinists. They enjoy facilities which almost guarantee a monopoly of this branch of manufactures. The preceding figures and illustrations show the natural fa- cilities of St. Louis for the manufacture of iron and the economic advantages of domestic production. An adequate development of our mineral resources and metallurgic capabilities would make St. Louis and Cai-ondelet the Sheffield and Birmingham of the continent. The quotations of this market will yet control the Iron Trade of America. 28 THE INDUCEMENTS OFFERED TO EUROPEAN IRON MAKERS AND WORKMEN. Only a limited improvement has yet been made of our facilities for the manufacture of iron. In 1867, the furnaces of Missoari pro- duced about 29,300 tons of pig metal. The product of 1868 was nearly 33,000 tons. This quantity, when compared with our re- sources of ore and coal, is inconsiderable. An ample field lies open to foreign enterprise. All that tract of country adjacent to Pilot Knob is rich in mineral wealth, and explorations may develop better ores than any yet discovered. But the quantity of ore al- ready disclosed by scientific survey is sufficient to supply a thou- sand furnaces for ages. The preceding statistics show how cheaply this ore can be smelted. Great wealth awaits the hand of enterprise. The iron-masters of Europe, with their capital, experience and skill, could here make large accessions to their fortunes. They would, too, build up a great industry and earn the gratitude of the American nation. The interests of foreign miners, furnace-men and machinists would be promoted by emigration to Missouri. Many of the mines of Europe are deep, damp and unwholesome. In many cases, too, the thinness of the veins of mineral constrains the miner to labor in an unnatural and painful attitude. The Illinois coal beds lie near the surface and the seams are sufficiently thick to permit an upright posture. The mines are well-ventilated and healthful. Accidents from fire-damp are almost unknown. The Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob ore is quarried hundreds of feet above the surface of the surrounding valley. It would be difficult to conceive of mines more accessible or easil}' worked. No other locality offers miners conditions more favorable to the prosecution of their work. Again, while the wages of the European laborer are small, the compensation of the American workingman is liberal. The follow- ing prices, now paid in St. Louis and vicinity, are computed at gold rates^ with coin at 35 per cent, premium, and their equivalent value given in the currencies of England, France and Prussia. UNITED STATES, GREAT BRITAIN. FRANCE. PRUSSIA. $ £ B. d. Francs. Thalers. Furnace-manager 1480.00 per year, 305 15 10 7931.40 2110.85 Founder 1330.00 " " 274 16 09 7127.54 1909.82 Engineer 130.00 " month, 26 17 4 696.67 186.67 Keepers 1.95 " day, 8 2 10.45 2.80 Helpers 1.66 " " 6 11 8.89 2.38 Fillers 1.48 " " 6 2 7.93 2.11 Cinder-men 1.48 " " 6 2 7.93 2.11 Other workmen 1.30 " " 5 5 6.96 1.86 Miners of iron ore 1.30 <' " 5 5 6.96 1.86 i' " coal 2.96 " " 12 4 15,86 4.25 29 Machinists receive from $1.90 to $2.50 in gold value. If St. Louis had manufactories of elaborate cutlery the workmen would get still higher pay. In the last report of Hon. David A. Wells, Special Commis- sioner of the United States Revenue, it is stated that the wages paid in American iron founderies and machine shops are 58 per cent, higher than those paid in England. According to this Eeport, "The price of puddling iron per ton in JS'ew England is $5.00 New York 5.50 New Jersey 6.00 Eastern Pennsylvania 6.00 Western " 6.75 Western States 7.50 Average price in currancy 6.12J u u u « gold in United states 4.37i " " " " " "England 2.37^ " " " " " "Belgium 1.20 The average weekly earnings of puddlers in the leading iron producing countries are as follows : United States (gold) $ 16.54 England 8.75 France 8.00 Belgium 6.00 Eussia, (at the Vicksa Iron Works) 1.93" The industrial conditions of Europe and America are widely different. The arduous and protracted toil which there barely pro- cures the means of subsistence would here earn a competency. While in some districts of Europe, meat and tea are seldom seen upon the laborer's table, here they are found upon every man's board and form a part of the ordinary fair. The articles of food and drink which in some portions of the old world are infrequent luxuries in our own country are enjoyed as daily necessities. The women and children who work in the mines and about the furnaces of Europe would here be exempt from such debasing toil. While families there are often reared in mental and physical deg- radation, here children enjoy the opportunities of public education and personal advancement, and their bodily strength is not im- paired hj insufficient food and excessive labor. In Europe life is often a constant and cheerless struggle for a livelihood; in America' toil is generally the cheap price of personal comfort and indepen- dence. Higher wages, larger fortunes, popular education, social progress, political rights and free worship invite the miners, iron- masters, machinists and artificers of Europe to accept the hospitable welcome of Missouri and aid the development of its wonderful re- sources. 30 THE INTERESTS AND DUTIES OF ST. LOUIS. The iron-masters of St. Louis are giving conclusive proofs of their confidence in the excellence of the Big Muddy coal. Con- vinced by the success of the Carondelet expei-iment, they have al- ready organized two companies for making iron. One of these companies is now erecting at Carondelet a large double furnace at a total cost of $155,000. The height of the works is 60 feet and the diameter of the boshes 14 feet. These furnaces will be in blast by the first of next J uly. The Big Muddy Coal Company, with a separate capital of 8250,000, are putting up a double furnace 75 feet in height with boshes 16 feet in diameter. These works, built at Grand Tower, Illinois, will settle the question of economy in the freightage of material. In this case, the ore will be carried to the coal. Many of our iron-men maintain that this is the cheaper course. If the present experiment proves that the transportation of ore is less expensive than that of coal, then we congratulate our great sister- state upon her good fortune and prospect of industrial development. But, in any event, the iron bands wrought from the ore of Missouri and the coal of Illinois will bind the two commonwealths in an in- dissoluble union of interests. It is confidently asserted by some of our iron-founders, that, if the distance between the coal and the ore were reduced to 75 miles by the construction of a railroad from Pilot Knob down Saline Ci'eek to the Mississippi river, then a ton of ore and a ton of coal could be brought together on either side of the Mississippi at a cost of $4 for the freight of both, and iron could be made on the banks of the Big Muddy for $20 in currency per ton. The progress already made is encoui^aging. The Carondelet furnace was put in blast last April, and already four large furnaces are in process of erection. They will be in operation in less than a year. This is the initial step of an industrial expansion which should be limited only by the bounds of commercial demand. Our present production of iron is entirely unequal to our natural facil- ities for manufacture. The neglect of such resources is discredit- able to the enterprise of St. Louis. Indifference to interests of such magnitude will prove fatal to our prosperity. Nothing but an inglorious negligence of opportunities can prevent the manufactur- ing greatness of St. Louis. This city ought to be the iron-master of the continent. The immensity of foreign iron manufactures is shown in the foregoing statistics. If 1000 furnaces — each making 20 tons a day — were now in blast upon the banks of the Mississippi, their aggregate yield would be far less than the present iron product of Europe. The productive capital which this industry creates is enormous. 31 It ameliorates the condition of the working classes, and increases the wealth of nations, St. Louis should emulate the greatness of the manufacturing cities of Europe. Our ''Pigs", like those found on the banks of the Tiber, mark the site of an imperial cit}". They are the augury of a great destiny. If St. Louis were the centre of American iron manufactures, it would attract to this vicinity a variety of kindred industries. The establishment of furnaces at Carondelet would cause the erection of rollini^-mills, machine-shops, and manufactories of cutlery and liardware. The mil- lions annually spent in these workshops would relieve the wants of the laboring classes, lighten the burdens of taxation, infuse fresh vitality into every department of industrial and commercial life, promote domestic manufactures, and save the immense capital now paid out for foreign pro- ductions, ensure the prosperity of St. Louis, and benefit the whole Mis- sissippi Valley. For the attainment of these great results, our citizens should unite in efficient co-operation ; our banks should favor the com- panies which organize for manufacturing purposes with liberal accomoda- tions ; and Congress, in view of their national importance, should foster our iron interests with protective legislation. We close our discussion of this subject in the words of a former article : A dozen years ago, England had 600 furnaces in operation, with an aggregate yearly capacity of 3,500,000 tons, and an annual productive value of $125,000,000. It was in view of such resources and enormous industrial wealth, that Mr. Gladstone recently declared in the British House of Commons that the "United Kingdom, with its 30,000,000 of people, is as great in commerce as France and America with their 70,000,000. It is, then, our possession of coal, near what depends on coal, that has given us this extraordinary pre-eminence in commerce and industry." St. Louis enjoys all the conditions to which Mr. Gladstone ascribes the industrial greatness of England. In the immediate vicmity of this city, there is an exhaustless supply of coal, iron, limestone and fire-clay. The nearness of our Iron Mountains to coal of a suitable quality and quantity to smelt them preordains this city to be the great central ma- chine shop of this continent. The establishment in this vicinity of Iron Works sufficiently large to answer the needs of this valley would bring tens of millions annually to our municipal coffers. It would give a powerful impulse to the growth of St. Louis, improve our markets, and quicken the activity of every trade. If this great enterprise can be carried into successful execution, no rivalry can endanger the pre- eminent greatness of St. Louis. A —v- LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 572 853 8 ^