ent to expend. In contrast
with the chronic irresolution and timidity which delayed an enterprise
that would strengthen the bonds of the Union, the administration of Mr.
Lincoln, in the midst of gigantic outlays for the war, authorized the
building of the Pacific Railroad, and successfully used the Government
credit to complete it in less time than the State-rights' leaders had
been abortively debating the question in Congress.

--It is difficult to estimate the progress of the people of the United
States in intelligence and in wealth since the close of the civil
struggle. When evidence is so voluminous it is not easy to select a
unit of comparison that shall succinctly present the truth. Perhaps
the extension of postal facilities is the most significant measure of
the intellectual activity of a people. From the formation of the
National Government in 1879 to the beginning of the war in 1861, the
total receipts from postages amounted to $182,000,000. From 1861 to
1881 the total receipts from postages amounted to $433,000,000. But
even these figures do not exhibit the full contrast of the popular
use of the post-office for transmission of papers and letters,--because
the larger part of the former period was on the basis of high postage.

--Comparison in industrial development are so numerous as not to be
readily and compactly stated. Economists consider that the material
advance of a people is measured more accurately by the consumption of
iron than by any other single article. Assuming this to be a test, the
progress of the American people in wealth is beyond precedent. The
production and use of iron between the years 1861 and 1881 were many
fold greater than during the entire preceding century.

--The increased ratio in the construction of railroads gives some
conception of the progress of wealth. The miles of rail in 1861 within
the United States were 31,286, while in 1881 they were 103,334. It is
no exaggeration to say that the construction and repair of railway
lines in the twenty years preceding 1881 involved an expenditure of
money larger than the total National debt at the close of the war.

--Nor have these twenty years been distinguished only by the
acquisition of wealth. No period of history had been more marked by
generous expenditure for worthy ends. The provision made for those
who suffered in the civil war has perhaps no parallel at home or
abroad. The comparative poverty of the country af