y of this remarkable railroad began.

The name of Alexander J. Cassatt will always be linked with the
comprehensive terminal developments in the region of New York City which
were begun almost immediately on his accession to the presidency and
which were carried forward on bold and far-reaching lines. Perhaps more
than any other one person, Cassatt foresaw the approach of the day when
New York City as a commercial center would outstrip both in density of
population and in amount of wealth all the other cities of the world. He
and his predecessors had for many years witnessed the great industrial
development of the Pittsburgh district, where property values had grown
by leaps and bounds and where the steadily advancing development of
industry and material resources had been so unmistakably reflected in
the increasing earning power and value of the Pennsylvania Railroad
properties.

But while at Pittsburgh the road had everything to favor it as far as
terminals and rights of way through the heart of the great industrial
district were concerned, in the great Eastern metropolis the
Pennsylvania Railroad was at an obvious disadvantage, particularly as
compared with the New York Central, which had its splendid terminal
rights penetrating to the heart of the city. Cassatt saw that his
company must without delay take a number of bold and, for the time,
enormously expensive steps toward the development of terminal facilities
in Greater New York or else forever abandon the idea of getting nearer
the heart of the city than the New Jersey shore and thus run the risk,
in the keen contest for commercial supremacy, of ultimately falling
behind other more advantageously situated lines.

There were still further incentives to immediate action on the part of
the Pennsylvania Railroad. While the New York Central was in an ideal
position for handling all traffic destined for the New England States,
the Pennsylvania could control practically none of this business, as
its terminals were on the wrong side of the Hudson and necessitated not
merely the inconvenient transfer of passengers but also the much more
expensive handling of freight. Other disadvantages from which the
Pennsylvania suffered were involved in its inability to make the most
economical terms for foreign shipping, as a large proportion of such
freight had to be constantly transferred on lighters to the New York and
Brooklyn sides of the harbor. Thus any comprehensive plan fo