Sunbury American and Shamokin journal. [volume] (Sunbury, Northumberland Co., Pa.) 1840-1848, 1846-07-04
For the Sunbury American,
ADDRESS OF TNR COMMITTEE
lrea the Rail Roads from philadelphia 10
Eric and PittSbnrs.

The Committee appointed by the meeting Of
prepare and report an address upon the subject
of the proposed Railroads, submit ,lse following,
part Of their report. in relation Ia continuous
Railway from Philadelphia to Erie and Pitts
burg.
The proc,icnbiiity ora Railmoy from scvc.
ra1 points on the Susquehanna TO Phtsbnrc, and
to Lake Erie, has been SO clearly demons'ra.
ted, by the surveys of able engineers, to place
the TACT beyend controversy. The great "htiiy
Of the work, not only to Pennsylvania. hut To
extensive regions far beyond her to~rtsres, is
,lso ndsputabe; and, il emncnty useful to the
community, its producti,eness to the propretors
follows us necessary consequence. For, il n
road paying toll is much used, i, were absurd to
suppose it Improbable.
Although, thus far, Philadelphia md Pitts
Jurs. Ssabury and Eric, the North, the Centre,
and the South proceed together with one voice.
get, vixen they attempt to establish the point Of
departure, and to lay down the line Of march
Westward, they differ widely in their opinions
and movements.
So much has been already published, that we
car offer but little OF a novel or original char
acter, and we intend TO use freely, such publ
cations as VIC can reach.
For the construction of Railway from Sun
bury to Eric, a company has been Incorporated.
six hundred thousand dollars subscribed, sixty
thousand paid, and forty or fifty thousand cx.
pended in repeated, diligent uad faithful, scicn-
,iic surveys, commencing at Erie. Thesc were
made by Edward Miller, Esq, wei! known as
aa eminent Civil Engineer, under the direction
Of the company, with full knowledge Of all pre-.
vious examinations.
Far be it from the committee 10 dssunde from
the extension of such improvements, ns a net.
work over our whole state and country, where
ever our citizens choose TO invest their capital.
But continuous railway from the tide waters
of the Atlantic Ocean to our great inland seas,
is an enterprize of such vast magnitude, that,
it were irrational TO suppose that, for many
years, t,co such comm unications would be made
through our state. Affecting, as it would, da.
the States of New Jersey and Delaware on the
East, New York on the North, various States
and Territories on the North. West and West
and Maryland on the South, even the doctrine
Of the MaysriNe veto would not withhold from
it liberal support from the government of the
Union. But, for this aid, at present, the signs
are sadly inauspiciOus.
Since then, it is obvious that, at least, for .
long period, but one such extensive line Of rail.
way can be made, let US "diligently inqrire and
true presentmcnt make" to our fellow.ci,izens
generally, and to enterprising capitalists par'i.
cularIy, Of the course where its construction
would be most beneficial to the people Of Penn.
.yvania. Regardless Of individual anc local
interests let us all endearOr, at least, to seek
the Public Good.
Three routes have been proposed: the South.
ern route, The Middle route, and the Northern.
The first appears to be now of the field. The
second and the third, or the Jumiatd, and the
West Branch lines, at present, are the only
competitors. The Juniata route has beea ap.
pluuded 80 loudly Of late, that "any Of our citi.
zens, in the strife ard turmoil with tittsburg
and Baltimore, are losing sight of the really
Central and Middle route from Philadelphis, by
the valleys OF the Schnylki!l, the Yves, Branch
and the Allegheny, to Pittburg, and the direct
line TO the harbor OF Erie. 1t rs our duty 10 Of
Ter such facts aud considerations, respecting this
route, as its advantages deserve. Il is the duty
Of 0H who fee! Just concern in the public
good, or in the investment Of their capital, Il
bcstow upon il as candid and careful sR exam
nation as they are able to do, through the smoke
OF The conflicting cotnhatants,
We therefore, purpose, by few com'nunica
tons in the Sunbury American, to discuss the
= intrinsic, aud the comparative merits, Of the two
lines of railroad aud, preliminary TO mor'
weighty considerations 10 dIsabusc the public
mind of The prejudice arising from 'Gchng from
the Schuylkll and the West Branch of th'
;Susluehanna the good name Of the "Centra
Route"
This is attempted undcr fu<aa,dabe disadvan
tages. We are to follow in the rear of tn
"Conmttee of Seven" ot Philadel phia, ,-em
nent in abl'ity,-whose elegant aud e'n6orat
address we cannot pretend 10 emulate; and VIII
have probably made So vivid an impression. ihs
from many, we .hsl perhaps obtain but very il
diiferen: attention. We are even unable to OF
tam here, those documents and statistics, an
oral information, which abound il our gres
city, the "A,hens' OF The United S,stes-wher
so many are occupied, ~ in her prototype, "e