Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1831-03-22

immense ridges ivy ropes aud puIleS. chnlns inr
sistancc of neur 100 miles. Can we then have con-
hdence IN the calculations of gentlemen who believe
such M de OF conveyance practicable or cXpcdlen':
ihese stationary engines suppose, will cost from
So,ooo to $4,000 each, with their necessary build
ings and what will cost to keep them in operStion
ana repair, | cannot conjecture They must sand
80 close that operate within reach Of the
other' L wish those Engineers had made some
statement 81 estimate oal this wish, also, that they
haa gwen us an estimate of the expense of keeping
the road IN repair. understand that all the iron
rams, and all the cars, and all The horses must be
renewed every 1--WE years. They ought then To have
shewn us what quantity of produce they would cX
pect to be delivered at ch end of the raii road
oa'iy-after that, We would at whether their
stock would be profitable or not, for assuredly
If 1T Is not, the rail road will be abandoned.
From calculation taken from Tredgold on rail
roads "a book Of good authority is shewn, that on
ran road OF 200 miles in length if it cost 100000
per mile, II will require lUO tons of merchandise to
be deposited each end OF the road daily at
per ton per mile, to make the stock net per cent.
Now 1t Is evident that the fourth of that quaint
ty never CT II be carried the Baltimore and Ohio
ra road except you add COAL and that Will not bear
carriage for 200 miles on rail road, cents per
ton per mile All the flour inspected annually III
all the cities i'll the United States would not amount
to 400 tons per day for 800 days inth year. From
tins 1t would appear, estimation that The Bait
more aud Ohio rail road cannot succeed Now it is
easy to shew that canals will succeed that they have
succeeded In every instance III this country, well
! as IN England WITH such exceptions only may be
expected in all general rules. BY the last report of
the New York Canal Company the profits were
considerably above per cent, if ] mistaken,
even where there was coal to be carried OH it,
which always doubles the prospects of canal, and
ottenmes constitutes Itself net profit of SIX euht
and ten per cent. The stock of the Delaware and
hudson cana! is now quoted selling for 1877 for
100 OF stock. 1t is proved by Mr. White, the in
tellgent and experienced Manager and Engineer of
the hlauch Chunk coal works, raI road and canals,
that the cost of carrying he coal en- he rail road
per ton per nile is than double what it costs
upon the canal 1t will be recolleccd that the coal
Is carried first from pits rail road for some
miles, anu Afterwards upon Canal. Mr. White
Kept an exact and separate of the expenses
OF each, and the result was such have stated
by entering into calculations of the quantity Of coal
which would be in demand from he Chesapeake and
ONO canal, charging only half toll halfa cent per
ton mic, 1t would afford net profit on the whole
stock OF from to per cent without looking INTO the
calculations OF other articles At least those calcu-
'aionS would appear is plausible the adverse ones
made by the rail road Engineers. At n time when
1t is important that right decision should be made
III iaVuur Il the mode, f internal improvement
or the other, have submitted the foregoing obscr-
vatons-let them pass for what t!.cy are worth.