attention of this department so constantly that its head is often obliged to forego customary good offices and courtesies towards the loyal citizens who are engaged in developing the resources of the country and establishing its domestic interests. For this reason I can reply to your invitation only very hastily and very briefly. Of course I cannot go to Nebraska, and, therefore, I must decline. With your brave help. and that of your armed compatriots on sea and land, I hope we shall soon put down this wretched and wicked insurrection against the Union. With the help of our capitalists and our free and loyal laboring men, the Union Pacific railroad can, and I hope will, be extended to the Pacific ocean. When this shall have been done disunion will be rendered forever afterwards impossible. There will be no fulcrum for the lever of treason to rest upon. Faithfully yours, Major General JOHN A. DIX, President of the Union Pacific Railroad Company. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. TREASURY Department, November 25, 1863. MY DEAR SIR: Your kind invitation to write something that may be read at the breaking of ground on the Union Pacific railroad, in Nebraska, found me in the midst of engagements so exacting that it has been impossible to write anything worth the reading. I could not, however, omit writing altogether, for that would imply an indifference to the work, which no American feels. It is among my most pleasing recollections of service, as a senator from Ohio, that the first practical measure looking to the construction of a Pacific railroad which received the sanction of Congress was moved by me. That measure was an amendment to the army appropriation bill. placing at the disposal of the Secretary of War $150,000, to be expended in surveys and explorations of routes for the road. It was adopted by the Senate in February, 1853, and subsequently concurred in by the House. Its results are embodied in 11 volumes, known as the Pacific Railroad Reports, printed by order of Congress. It is another pleasing recollection that I had the honor, in March, 1850, of presenting and commending to the Senate the memorial of Dr. Pulte, an intelligent physician of Cincinnati, praying that measures might be taken for the connection of New York with London, by extending the existing lines of telegraph to the Pacific, by way of the coast and Behring's straits, through Northern Asia to St. Petersburg, and then forming connections with the lines to the cities of Western Europe. This great work has since been completed to the Pacific by the indomitable energy of Hiram Sibley, a private citizen of New York, aided by the simple promise of employment and compensation by the government. On the other side of the Pacific, the Russian telegraph line from St. Petersburg, constructed by the Imperial government, approaches, if it has not already reached, the Pacific; and American enterprise is earnestly enlisted in the task, now certain to be accomplished, of completing the wonderful work which the Cincinnati physician suggested more than 13 years ago. Steam runs more slowly than lightning. The progress of the railroad has been necessarily slower than that of the telegraph. When the surveys and explorations for a route had been partially reported, the subject of the railroad was again brought before Congress, and I again had some connection with it-now, however, of a less pleasant, though still signifi cant character. Solicitous for the progress of the route, I submitted a resolution, in January, 1854, instructing the Committee on Roads and Canals to inquire into and report upon the construction of a railroad from some point on the northern lines of the western States to some point on the eastern line of California. On the motion of Mr. Gwin, the reference to the Committee on Roads and Canals was stricken out, and the whole subject referred to a select committee of nine senators, from which committee I was excluded, because I then held about the same relations to the democratic party on the subject of slavery as the war democrats now hold on the question of the rebellion. Mr. Gwin's committee reported a bill, which, after much discussion and sundry amendments, passed the Senate in 1855; but, failing to receive the sanction of the House, did not become a law. Nothing further of importance was done in relation to the Pacific railroad for the next seven years. The attention of the country was absorbed by other questions, and it remained for the 37th Congress to give a grand proof of the stability of the republic and the worth of democratic republican institutions by taking up this great measure in the midst of our terrible civil war and framing it into a law. The 37th Congress will be forever memorable in history as the author of many acts of legislation of transcendant importance and far-reaching consequences. Among these great acts, the Pacific railroad bill will remain as one of the most illustrious monuments of the wisdom and courage of its members. I shall not attempt any discussion of its importance to our industry, our commerce, or our Union. I have elsewhere said something on these themes, but now the road is its own most eloquent advocate. I rejoice in the belief that, under your charge and that of the other eminent citizens associated with you, it will go steadily forward to completion, and vindicate, by perfect success, the most sanguine predictions and hopes of its advocates and supporters. Very truly, yours, General JOHN A. DIX, President Union Pacific Railroad Company. S. P. CHASE. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, SIR: The energy which has characterized the Union Pacific Railway Company since its organization affords great satisfaction to the government, a cause of congratulation to the people, and a guarantee that the work will be prosecuted to completion long anterior to the time prescribed by Congress. The country has a double assurance of this in the fact that the stockholders of the company are gentlemen possessed of the means and the will to consummate their undertaking, and that it would be accomplished if they were prompted solely by the hope of gain; for certainly, no one can consider the immense commerce of the route without being convinced that it will pay remunerating dividends upon their investments. I gladly believe that it is not the prospect of gain alone that has prompted the stockholders in their undertaking, but that they have been induced to engage in it by considerations of patriotism and philanthropy. We are encouraged to hope and believe that this desolating war will soon be over, and the authority of the government restored throughout the land. We shall then have liberated from the bearing of arms, in both sections of the country, near a million of men, thousands upon thousands of whom, for various reasons, will seek new homes and new adventures in the vast fields of gold and other precious metals already found, and still being discovered, in such astonishing richness, throughout all the mountain ranges of California, Oregon, and the Western territories. What, then, can be of greater importance to the government than the construction of this artificial way, by which all the elements of civilization can be readily and rapidly transmitted to those regions; the power of the government manifested, and, if need be, its authority preserved? And to what more grateful purposes can the patriot and philanthropist devote his energy and his means than in opening the road for those noble men, who have dared and perilled all in the preservation of their country? Consider the thousands of happy families who shall, along the line of this road, find garden homes upon the public domain, which otherwise would have remained a barren waste; the pecuniary advantage and comfort to be realized by those who shall work in the mines; and all this in addition to the great object, hitherto only considered, of uniting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, to afford a new line of commerce between them: and I am sure yourself and associates will feel a pride and joy in your undertaking far transcending any considerations of profit, and be only too happy that you have been engaged in an enterprise which has for its object such beneficial results, and with renewed zeal will vigorously prosecute the work "in summer heat and winter cold," to its completion. This enterprise, second only in importance to the suppression of the rebellion, and more necessary in consequence of it, will not pass unnoticed in history, and bright will be the page which shall record the names of those who had the courage and the patriotism to undertake it. Your note to me of the 23d ultimo conveys the intelligence that it is designed to "break ground on the Union Pacific railroad in Nebraska" to-day. I tender to you my congratulations upon the commencement of this great work. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Hon. JOHN A. Dix, J. P. USHER, Secretary of the Interior. President of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, New York. NEW YORK, December 1, 1863. The inauguration of the Union Pacific railroad, the great enterprise of the western hemisphere, whether considered in reference to its economical importance or its influence as a bond of union, is to be pushed on to completion with all the rapidity which a command of means will permit; and I congratulate those who are to be present at breaking ground on the early commencement of the work. P. A. DEY and Committee of Arrangements, Omaha. JOHN A. DIX, President Union Pacific Railroad. NEW YORK, December 1, 1863. To the Committee of Arrangements for breaking ground on Union Pacific railroad, Omaha, Nebraska: The honor of inaugurating the greatest enterprise of the age is this day yours. The company has by no means been idle since its organization. The engineers, in charge of P. A. Dey, esq., have run five lines from the western border of the State of Iowa to a common point in the Platte valley, and have made a thorough examination of the intervening country, and the vicinity of Omaha has been selected as the starting point of this great national road. To save time, a corps of engineers, under B. B. Brayton, esq., were sent to the Rocky mountains before the organization of the present company was fully completed, and are now engaged in surveying routes through Cheyenne and Bridger's Pass. Governor Brigham Young has, with great promptness, sent out a party of engineers, who are now engaged in running a line through the Wahsatch mountains. From both, full reports are expected within a short time. A thorough examination of the country in the vicinity of Denver City, and westerly therefrom, is to be made by competent engineers at the earliest practicable time. Professor J. T. Hodge, an able geologist, of great experience, is now making explorations among the extensive coal fields and beds of iron in the vicinity of the Black Hills and Medicine Pond mountains, and the country between them and Denver, with a view to the erection of furnaces and rolling-mills for the manufacture of rails. The reports thus far are highly favorable. With the aid of the general government, and the assistance of our patriotic people, the work is to be pushed forward with energy and vigor, and the day we celebrate its final completion to the Pacific ocean is, I trust, nearer at hand than our most sanguine friends anticipate. THOS. C. DURANT, ST. NICHOLAS HOTEL, NEW YORK, SIR: Yours of the 27th instant is just received. Since I first entered public life I have regarded the enterprise of building a railroad from the Missouri river to the Pacific as of the utmost national importance. While in Congress, whenever opportunity offered I urged its necessity, and it is with peculiar pleasure that I am permitted to believe that the building of the road, so long delayed, is about to become a practical verity. I have always believed that in creating the Platte valley, with its hundreds of miles of unusually favorable grade, Providence had unmistakably designated the proper line for the road. The Pacific railroad. with its branches-the northern connecting with other roads at Sioux City, in aid of the commerce of the extreme north; the central branch probably running west from Omaha and Council Bluffs, "cities on either side of the Missouri river, planted in the very portal of most direct entrance to the Platte valley," connecting with the roads through central Iowa; and the southern following the course of the Red river and the Republican, connecting with the roads through Missouri and south, all uniting at the 100th ineridian, thence forming the main trunk to the Pacific-will open a new era in the commerce of the world, obviating the delays and difficulties of a long sea voyage, as well as that of the overland route, and, connecting the commercial interests of the Pacific people with the Atlantic seaboard by means both speedy and certain, it will constitute a community of interest, at once insuring the greatest degree of prosperity, and affording the surest safeguard against a tendency to separation, apt to be engendered by isolation and non-intercourse. I regard it as one of the greatest enterprises of the age. Its iron length, stretched through the fertile valley of the Platte, will cause the latter soon to teem with population, extending through the rich territories beyond, to the Pacific, and they will soon become a cordon of free and prosperous States. When completed it will be an enduring monument of the enterprise and patriotism of our common country, firmly uniting the two extremes of the nation, and rendering them indissoluble for all time to come. I am, sir, respectfully, yours, Major General JOHN A. DIX, President Union Pacific Railroad Company. RICHARD YATES. MAYOR'S OFFICE, December 1, 1863. SIR: Oblige me by transmitting to those charged with breaking ground for the Union Pacific railroad the following sentiment: "May this, the greatest work ever projected, in any age or country, form a lasting bond of political and commercial union between the Atlantic and Pacific States." Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Gen. JOHN A. DIX, President. GEORGE OPDYKE, Mayor. SACRAMENTO, December 2, 1863. California acknowledges with joy the greeting of her sister Nebraska, and will prove her fraternal regard by her efforts to excel her sister in the rapidity with which, carrying the iron bonds of union, she seeks a sisterly embrace. Mountain and desert shall soon be overcome. Governor ALVIN SAUNDERS. LELAND STANFORD, Governor of California. SALT LAKE CITY, December 2, 1863. BRIGHAM YOUNG. Let the heart of the honest be united to aid the great national improvement. DENVER, December 2, 1863. Denver sends greeting to Omaha. Colorado freely pledges her mountains of gold in aid of the great enterprise. AMOS STEEK, Mayor of Denver. Mayor KENNEDY. In addition to the surveys and explorations made, the results of which wil be found in the appendix, the executive committee have had constantly in view the importance of collecting, on the ground, the material for constructing at least 100 miles of the road, which now, for the want of railway communications, can only be delivered during the annual stage of high-water in the spring. The committee, consequently, have concluded the purchase of 4.000 tons of American rails, a portion of which are already on the way to the field of operations. The balance will speedily follow. The committee have also contracted for a large number of locomotive engines, cars and railroad spikes, and are taking active measures to procure the necessary quantity of ties, a matter of great difficulty and labor in a country so destitute of timber as that traversed by the proposed road. A large number of wood-cutters have been employed, and are on the ground for this purpose. The committee are sparing no pains to carry out, to their full requirement, the resolutions of the directors in reference to the progress of the work, and to justify the general wish and expectation of the country in reference to the vigorous and faithful prosecution of this great enterprise. At the opening of Congress, the executive committee, in behalf of the company, applied to that body for modifications of, and amendments to, its charter, all of which it is believed to be for the interest of the government to grant, while some of them are absolutely indispensable to the progress of the work of construction. Among the amendments which may be regarded as indispensable, is the right to take and condemn lands, for the road-beds, stations, &c., &c., and a grant of aid. The advanced price of labor and material of all kinds is so great that $24,000 per mile would not be of so great a value to the company as $16,000 would have been at the time of passing the act of incorporation. The amendments asked are now being urged upon the attention of Congress, and no doubt is entertained of the disposition of that body to encourage, by every reasonable measure, the rapid progress of this great work. By order of the executive committee: HENRY V. POOR, Secretary. APPENDIX. Copy of acceptance by the company of the act of incorporation. UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY, Secretary's Office, 54 William St., SIR The undersigned, president and secretary of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, in obedience to a resolution of the board of commissioners of the Union Pacific Railroad and Telegraph Company, passed at the meeting of the same held at Chicago, Illinois, on the 2d day of September, 1862, and by virtue of the authority vested in us by said board, have the honor, in behalf of the same, by signifying, under the seal thereof, the full acceptance, by the Union Pacific Railroad Company, of the provisions of the act of Congress, passed on the 1st day of July, 1862, entitled "An act to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean, and to secure the government the use of the same for postal, military, and other purposes," and we respectfully request that this assent of said company to the provisions of said act may be seasonably filed, as provided in the same, in the Department of the Interior. Hon. J. P. Usher, W. B. OGDEN, President of the Union Pacific R. R. Co. Secretary of the Union Pacific R. R. Co. Secretary of the Interior, &c., Washington, D. C. Certificate of filing the same. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, June 27, 1863. SIR: I acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 25th instant, enclosing the acceptance of the provisions of the act of July 1. 1862, by the Union Pacific Railroad Company, of which you are the Secretary, and have to inform you that said assent of the company has been placed on file in this department. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, HENRY V. POOR, Esq., No. 54 William street, New York. By order of the Executive Committee. J. P. USHER, Secretary. APPENDIX No. 1. Preliminary report of engineer. DEAR SIR. In accordance with the instructions in your letter of September 6, 1862, directing me to examine, with reference to their practicability for a railroad route, the passes between the one hundredth and the one hundred and twelfth parallels of longitude, and to gather such information as I could of the productions, mineral and vegetable, of the extended region between the Missouri river and the Great Basin, I left Omaha City and followed the usual line of travel up the north side of the Platte as far as Fort Kearney. A rolling prairie of some eighteen miles in width, cut up by the Pappillion |