Sunbury American and Shamokin journal. [volume] (Sunbury, Northumberland Co., Pa.) 1840-1848, 1846-07-11
F:I The Suubury American
ADDRESS OF THE COMMITTEE
Upon TIC Rail Roads from Philadelphia 10
Erie ard Pittsburgh.

IN rsttt'ea 10 The descsniof property "Hc Che
S'psaFS- e1 nnkd cf Bahimorr,-'he realty
Cc"t'ut Route by the valleys of the West Dranch,
and the Gchuylkill to the Delaware possesses
evident superiority
The proximity of the lunata Railway IN Us
terminus at Harrisburg and the extension TO Ian
caster and towards Columbia, expose this line
70 an objection, on the part of philadelrh much
more substantial than the deeei'Iulncss of -
claim to csntyaity. Harrisburg is at least half
way, IN a direct course between Sunburv aud
'he line Of Maryland Tonnage at Harrisburg
Is iifiy.dve miles nearer TO naitimo,e than it IS
at Sunburv The canal leads directly down the
Snsquphanna valley from Harrisburg TO the Che
saneake The railroad ifom Baltimore TO liar.
lisburg re1nies but a short time, and the com
plction Of the distance Of about twcny.sx miles,
10 render 1t continuous from Harrisburg To Balti-
more by line of eighty six miles upwards Of
twenty miles shorter than the line to Phladel-
,hia. Aud beside. the natural tendency Of great
commerce is Ia gravitate down stream. With
such attractions aud facilities as these 10 proc ccd
to Baltimore auqmcntng rapidly in power with
the approach to the market, is it not clearly oh
vinn- that there - greater danger that the com.
,nercn would br lost To Philadelphia by a rail
way terminating at Harrisburg, than at Sunhury
Certainly, the nearer the approach the more IA
pid and certain the contact in trade well as
IN physics
From Harrisburg to Havrede- Grace, by ca.
nal is miles 70
From Sunbury, Ia i27
From Harrisburg to Baltimore, BY the pro
ected railroad to York, So
From Sunburv, by common wagon road to
Harrisburg, 55
Thence 10 York, Sc
lIl
From Harrisburg to Philadelphia, los
From Harrisburg TO Baltimore, Sc
Difference in favor Of Baltimore, 20
If Philadelphia desire to secure to herself the
trade with Lake Erie, the more remote its ap-
prosch tn Baltimore, the better. A railroad from
Pdtsbur"h 10 Join the man line from the harbor
OF Enc, a"d thus knitted, passing through the cen.
tire of the state doWa the West Branch aud the
schuylk,l! would assure it to Philadelphia AMI
the state If New York.
The amount of tonnage, and the value Of
property which is "descenGing dnnuuNy from The
tr" great Branches cfthe Susquehanna 10 sun,
Lury,''- offer another ground Of superiority 10
the Sunbury and Erie railway.
Few persons, except those who have remained
some time upon the marg in Of this river, have
any conception of the amount Of this trade; and
not many are aware how easy it were To secure
large portion of it in Philadelphia, whio now
passes on to Baltimore At the junction of the
two Brauches are gathered together from our
central and northern counties, and from southern
counties Of the state of New York, the products
Of iom teen millions of acres, aud Of eight hun
drrd thousand inhabitants. Lumber, Grain, Salt
Plaster, and other property, some OF II descent
Ing $50 miles from fertile sections Of New York,
and | 80 from the forests and the bi,umnous coal
and icon eegions OF the West Branch, are here
collected by the natural channel of the river.
Whoever has viewed the western shore, opposite
10 Sunbury and its vicinity in the spring of the
year, and seen, at one time, from one to two
hundred RATS of fine boards, plank, scantling,
slaves, aud shingles each averaging upwards OF
4O, 900 feet. must have been struck with the ne
gligence of our great and wealthy city, IN suffer.
,ug 81 much property 10 lie here for weeks, un-
tI another lreshct should carry it down 10 Ilavre
lie Grace
The remedy is easy, and not expensive. Let
the interval between the Shamokin railway, and
that extending westward from Pottsvlle be eros
sed, Ivy a short connecting railroad, and large
proportion OF the commerce descending the North
,and West Branches would be poured into the lar
Of Phlladclphia Boards at $40 per 900 feet
straw aud hay at s25 per ton, now wagoncd
over the turnpike 10 Poitsviile while millions
ri feet of the iuuihcr can be purchased at Sunbu
~ at from four 10 eight dollars per 900 Here
al the junction of the Branches, the RATS ant
AXIS are every year, stopped by low water an'
the numerous distractions IN the river below
The hardy watermcn, wait and watch until hop,
deferred makciA the heart sick then rcturI
home, one or two hundred miles, more or less
fora rise in the stream and come back, week
OF months afterward, to pile up their boards, 10
another rise in the fall spring, or Nansfe
them TO canal boats, or perhaps, float them of t.
IIavre-de-Gracc and Baltimore Fifteen year
suce, the value Of the property descending I
Baltimore, by careful estimates, then rubllshe
IA Philadelphia, amounted 10 three millions fou
hundred and forty Thousand dollars, and il rtobs
hly now exceeds six millions ;-(besdes the il
,reasc in Iran and Coal three -four tbs OF whic