The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1847-09-06

could be changed 10 this route And there are
further, and almost If not quite nsurmountable difficult
ties yet to The climate would not only destroy
commodities of commerce, but population. hurricane,
Commercial Review OF New Orleans for July estimates the
destruction OF vessels and property for eighteen months
commerce of the gulf at $50 vessels-vaue, cargo and
all, SO 100000
And should we alone attempt TO get canal the
sthmus anywhere it would force Europe try 10 get
route across Suez, or through Russia But as we have
the route within territory, which would forever
gye us the entire control of the and travel oil
all the world, and the costing nothing to ac
complsh 1t, | think it decidedly and clearly our du
lty to go at it at once and have it done, and not
lose all by looking after that which can DO us
no good. MIR. Whney's plan for railroad from
Lake Michigan through the south pass oil the Rocky
mountains to Oregon, is PLAIN and simple, that any
common mind can understand It, lie asks Congress 10
appropriate sixty miles wide OF the public lands from
Lake Michigan to the Paee Tor ms seta uPose
himself For 500 miles, the one-hali at the government
price, is estimated will build the road The other half
creates fund for where the lands are poor When COM
peted the road be free all the world except for
pairs and operations to be fixed by Congress The dis
lance from the lake to the ocean Is 2too miles the es
mated cost, when ready for use, S7OOO0,OOO Inc num-
Der of required is 92,l60000 waste land, 1000
niles without timber navgable streams, and OF small
value. And would i ever settle or be OF any value
without the road Clearly not Then the question Is,
Shall Mr.. Whitney take these lands, and, by sale and
settlement thereof, build thus road; or shall they be al
lowed TO fritter away, without any perceptble good
This great highway OF natons-the greatest work ever
done BY men or natons-a road which must forever be
the thoroughlare between all Europe and ASIA work
which will bring together one family, binding us
with band of iron, which cannot be sundered both use
full in and peace-a work which will give us the
command of and make the commerce OF all the world rb
uary u.s. adding millions OF wealth to the natlon and
entodng its populations work which shall change the
condition of all mankind bringing all together as one ma
ton in free intercourse and exchange of commodities
work which must be the OF clvlzlng and chris
anzing the heather, the barbarian and the savage
shall these waste wilderness lands be applied to this
be this more than glorious purpose cannot doubt all
will say, yes.
| When we look at the past, and see how civilization
has travelled west, bringing commerce and the useful
arts with itwhen we see that civil and religious lber-
y driven TO this continent as It's apparent last rest
ing pace-when the progress and even strides OF
these United States in wealth and greatness-when we
see tbs vast this rich continent yet wilderness before
the best climate and country and under the best gov
eminent the sun ever shone upon more congenlal to
grow the whole man than any other part OF the globe,
placed directly in the centre of the eaTh-Europe, with
more than $50 100000 of souls the SIDE with the
| Atlantic 1900 miles wide between us, and on the
other side all Asia, with 7Oo,oo0,0o0 souls, and the
and when know that the earth does not pro-
luce enough to sustain the vast multitudes on either
side, and nowhere for them to go but to us and when
we know that the building OF this great road VIII open
10 settlement production, and intercourse with all the
parts of the globe this vast wilderness OF $500 miles in
extent, doubt that it is destiny and para-
mount duty to go forward and accomplish II! Clearly
mott
Mr. Whitney proposes to start his road somewhere on
and thence across the Mississippi, Prairie du Chen.
the parallel of about 40 deg and thence to the Mis-
souri,, between Council Bluffs and the Big Sioux; thence
the Pass, the parallel of about 42s deg thence to
the best point the Pacifc-San Francisco, or the Co
umbia river. This route starting point would seem
absolutely necessary: First the route must be where
the rivers be brdged the starting point must be from
where the lands be made Immediately available for
means, and where the good land furnish means for
the road and for buildings where there is The
plan could not be carried out from starting west
Of the lake, because there would not be sufficient
amount of lands the route TO insure success, and
because the expense of transportation of material any
other point would cost SO much as TO forbid the work
And it is not material 10 the States, all would join this
at near the Mississippmakng this the most central
for all the Atlantic cities and for New Orleans, and be-
ing about the centre OF the continent New England and
New York would have their Buffalo and Ere roads,
Ohio Baltimore, to Wheeling and through Ohio, two
hundred miles nearer than New York. Richmond, her
direct and best of all the routes TO Cincinnati and then
onward Charleston Nashville and to Louisville, d
through the entire State of Illinois and New Orleans,
with the father of rivers always navgabe, to the Ohio
and her railroad up the Missouri valley, the first to
reach a equally well located, and sharing III all its
benefits Thus uniting and bringing all together at one
grand centre, distant from ocean to ocean, from either
city, not 3,ioO mes-perormed at moderate speed
days. and at 80 miles per hour in 81 days. and with
the magnetic telegraph outrun the sun by II hours
placing the Pacific directly opposite TO all Asia
distant from Japan but 900 miles, from China but 540O
miles, to Australia but ooo to New Guinea $40, and to
oHlSdpoIe lohuOi vi lIlVeIFoo
tude about 50 deg to New York, about 5000 miles, to
he added to the above when have the direct route from
Europe TO all Asia, and much shorter than any other
route possible to accomplish. These distances appear
much shorter than those for the route the
sthmus, that explanation is required. First, we
start from London, latitude so deg, and the 18TH
in from deg to l6 deg north latitude and about 90
deg west longitude thence to Canton, latitude about %
deg, and east longitude l3i deg about 10 deg. OF
longitude, each degree OF longitude full 60 miles-making
from the terminus OF the canal TO Canton 10000
miles Whereas from the Columbia river, latitude 46b
deg, to Shang hail. latitude about 80 deg and ong
ude I22 deg, where all the commerce of China would
CENTRE is 1lot deg of longitude, measuring on this para
el about AZ miles eacha distance of 540O miles Thus
will be seen that for vessel bound from the terminus
of canal the sthmus to China the shortest and
best route would be first to the Columbia river and then
to China. Thus that this would gain over that of
the sthmus from London TO China 3,75S miles; to Aus
lralia 2,440 miles; to Singapore, 1905 miles, and
New York gains over Europe about 5000 miles to
all these places This TO be natures route. On
this belt-ths line around the globe-is almost all
the population of the world On this line is, and will be-
tenance of man and of commerce-adding wealth to the
nation The only route which can, of itself, furnish the
means TO build the road, where the labor of man can
make 1t available nature has here smoothed the way,
and opened the mountains to let pass Then look at
picture, position with this road completedbehold
with the hand, reach out the Pacific to the
millions OF Japan, China, and all Asia with manuac
lures, our cotton, tobacco, hemp rice
Hour our corn, beef pork leather and all many and
various products and receive back exchange their
coffee, sugar, specs, indigo drugs silks, and various
stones-all, too, with ships and own men :;
with the other hand Atlantic all