MEN, CITIES AND TRANSPORTATION: A STUDY IN NEW ENGLAND HISTORY
1820-1900, by Edward Chase Kirkland 1916.2 vols., Harvard University Press, 1948,528 pp., 499 PP., $12.50.
Ed. Kirkland's friends—and they number legion—have long known that he has been working on a history of New England transportation, and have marveled at how he found the time in his extremely busy and useful life. That wonder now is transmuted to openmouthed admiration as one turns the pages of the two impressive volumes which he has just published. The books are magnificent, and by no means only because of the tremendous amount of labor which obviously has been involved. Here is a model of historical research and writing. The almost endless material on the subject has been synthesized into a cohesive narrative, which in itself is a major accomplishment in view of the complicated nature of the subject. The narrative is clear-cut and interesting, and accuracy has not been sacrificed on the altar of the picturesque. Striking phrases and sly bits of humor enliven the pages. Not that these two sizeable volumes are suggested for summer afternoon, hammock reading to appeal to a tired mind, but rather they are recommended as fascinating for anyone who has a real interest in the development of New England transportation. Assuming such an original interest, these volumes will not only satisfy the most discriminating scholar but will bring the amateur many a rewarding hour, including many a chuckle.
Since Professor Kirkland begins his story in 1820, the account includes road, canal, river, lake and ocean, as well as railroad, transportation; there are, for example, excellent descriptions of the New England canals. Major space, however, is accorded the development of the railroads. Unlike other recent accounts, antiquarianism is notably absent. No effort is made to build each line year by year, with descriptions of the everlasting ceremonies. The well balanced account traces the construction of the more important roads, and their consolidation, particularly into the two great systems of the Boston and Maine, and the New York, New Haven and Hartford. But in addition to the construction, there is proper consideration of technological changes, financing, operation, rate schedules, labor and management. In fact some of the most interesting chapters deal with the ownership and management of the various roads. Frequent illustrations, including very effective maps, help to make the story vivid and understandable.
New England railroad building and operation, as described by Professor Kirkland, exhibit many of the most fascinating features of a free enterprise system. To some people such a statement creates a picture of greedy capitalists grasping avidly for profits, with the government entirely unconcerned. Such a picture is far from the reality. Government was always a factor of considerable importance, whether in early days as a source of aid or in later days as a source of control. Railroads embodied the hopes and aspirations of towns, cities, states and entire regions. Their promoters, financiers and operators were motivated by a tremendous variety of inspirations; as Professor Kirkland says about railroad management, "only the simple-minded will believe their sole aim was money-making for its own sake." While modern exponents of central planning may make much of the duplication and waste, and even the outright fraud, in some way the job was done, and done well. Professor Kirkland ends his book by paying tribute to the men who make the railroads possible—"the miracle of their accomplishment stands. They have served Boston and New England well."
