TRANSPORTATION SUBJECTS.



THE COMMRCIAL AN]D THE RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT OF KEN-
                           TUCKY.
                      BY BASIL W. DUKE.
  The subject of this paper, as given me by the committee,
was "The Railroad Development of Kentucky, Present and
Prospective." I found some difficulty in determining how
to treat a subject of that nature. The development of the
railroad system and that of other interests (of a material
and commercial character)-that is to say, the general devel-
opment of the State-are so closely connected and interde-
pendent, that it is impossible to consider them altogether
apart from each other, and hardly possible to assign definite
limits to the consideration of either.
  If iv were enough to simply enumerate the railroads con-
structed and operated within the territory of Kentucky, men-
tion the dates of their inauguration, note their present status,
define their rc ites and state their mileage, the task would be a
comparatively easy one. But certainly much more than this is
required. The railroad development of any community, prop-
erly regarded, means something more than is included only in
the extension of lines and branches and increase of mileage.
Regarded solely in its material, physical aspect, and leaving
out of question, altogether, the influence the railroad has ex-
erted as a factor in education and moral civilization, it yet
comprehends matter beyond the mere laying down of tracks
and provision of equipment. In other words, in this, as in all
other subjects of real importance, impulses and consequences,
as well as agencies, should be studied and rightly estimated.
The investigation of the origin, progress and accomplished
extent of railroad construction, necessitates inquiry into the
causes which have induced and stimulated such construction,
and the reasons which may still further impel it.