The iron key has been found to unlock our golden treasures … With railroads come population, industry and capital, and with them come the elements of prosperity and greatness to Montana.
{"Image DocumentName": "The iron key has been found to unlock our golden treasures \u2026 With railroads come population, industry and capital, and with them come the elements of prosperity and greatness to Montana.", "Image ImageDescription": "From an editorial in the Helena Independent, July 1875, five years before the first railroad entered the territory. [SLIDE 13: TRAIN AND QUOTE] Let s pause for a moment to look at this quote from the Helena Independent newspaper in 1875, five years before the first tracks were laid in Montana: The iron key has been found to unlock our golden treasures \u2026 With railroads come population, industry and capital, and with them come the elements of prosperity and greatness to Montana. Why did the newspaper think the railroad would be a good thing? How would it increase population, industry and capital? (Here are some things your class might come to through discussion: Trains were the only quick and effective way to span the great distances from Montana to faraway cities and markets. Railroads would make travel to and from state easier; they provide more reason to come to the state\u2014because there would be more jobs. A farmer could grow wheat without a railhead near by\u2014but what would he do with that wheat once it was harvested? Before railroads, farmers supplied local markets. With railroads, they could tap into larger markets, making more money. Big mining companies could bring in the equipment they needed to mine and could transport the ore from the mine heads to smelters, and the refined products to markets. Infrastructure is necessary for a profitable capital investment. Large mining operations provide large number of jobs in mining, but also logging and other supporting industries\u2014which in turn attracts even more people. Those people need places to live, to shop, to amuse themselves\u2014which attracts merchants and other service providers.) Transitional Question: Can you think of anyone in Montana who might NOT benefit from an increase in population, industry, and capital? Jawbone Railroad, Sixteen Mile Canyon oil painting by R. E. DeCamp.", "Image XResolution": "37", "Image YResolution": "37", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Centimeter", "Image Software": "SlidePlayer", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered"}