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"Formerly the individual was the pioneer of civilization; now, the railroad is the pioneer, and the individual follows, or is only slightly in advance. . . . The wild roses are blooming today, and the sod is yet unturned . . . where, in a year or two will be heard the screech of the locomotive and the tramp of the approaching legions, another year will bring the beginning of the change; towns and cities will spring into existence, and the steam whistle and the noise of saws and hammers, and the click and clatter of machinery, the sound of industry will be heard. The prairies will be golden with the ripening harvest, and the field and the forest, the mine and the river, will all yield their abundance to the ever growing multitude."Which of the following contributed most to the process described in the excerpt?

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