Railroads 
185 
The special advantage of street railways is that they serve people al- 
most from their own doors, and thus help many who are not reached 
by steam railroads. In some districts, such as the rich central plain 
of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, they not only take the suburban people 
to their work, but help the farmer get his products to market and his 
children to school. Electric railways can there be built and operated 
so cheaply and the population is so numerous and prosperous that inter- 
urban, as well as suburban, lines are common. With only an occasional 
change of cars one may travel hundreds of miles. 
QUESTIONS, EXERCISES, AND PROBLEMS 
A. Railroad mileage of the world. 
1. Let each pupil select one of the continents and explain why it has many 
or few railways (Fig. 133). Use the following outline : 
Size of the continent 
Number of people and their ability to pay for railborne goods 
Recency of occupation by civilized people 
Extent to which the resources have been developed 
Extent to which oceanic and inland waterways make railroads un- 
necessary 
Future prospects for railroad building 
Explain this saying: Railroad mileage is an index of civilization.” 
How far does your study of railroads confirm it? 
The growth of large cities has depended largely upon the inventions of 
such men as Watt, Stephenson, Bessemer, Pullman, and Westinghouse. 
Explain what this statement has to do with railways. Let members of 
the class report on what these men invented or discovered. 
Make a diagram to illustrate the statement of railroad mileage given on 
page 183. Draw a line for each country mentioned, letting a quarter of 
an inch stand for one per cent. 
1 
B. 
How relief and distribution of population have determined the location 
of the main railroads in the United States. 
Which do you consider more important in railroad building, the highest 
or lowest point in a mountain range? Why? Consider both business and 
pleasure. Point out places in New York, California. Colorado. and two 
foreign countries that prove your point. 
Compare the map of the railroads in the United States (Fig. 134) with the 
map showing density of population (Fig. 161). 
3. Explain the great difference in the railroad net in the eastern and west- 
ern halves of the United States. 
Which quarter of the country contains the densest network? Why? 
2.