New-York daily tribune., 1849-06-12
The Railroad to the Pacific.

10 its Editor # The Tribgnc-
Some days siuce ! noticed an article ia yol r
paper on the subject of 4 Railroad 70 the P -
| citc' on which It vas my iuteniion % have made
some remarks. The paper is not loR before me,
but the principal point which attsrcied my slten-
tion that, ia your opinion, some central
point Ia the Mississippi Valley should be fixed
upon as the starting point" for this great high
way tor nations, aod that near TO the mouth Of
the ONO River should be that point" Nov, my
view Of the subject is that We are bound Tor the
Pacific. and lot to any central paint in the ilte-
ror Of our country that railroads destroy local
tiles that If We attempt 1t, we cannot b1ld ~ a
erea, central depot bat that our wants AID the
wants Of the world demand an uninterrupted in
tercoUrse from each and every Atlantic State ~
the Pacific, where all the streams can be brdged
and where, as nearly as possible, the whole ex-
tent Of country is capable Of sustain ing popula-
ton and, at the same time, where the dlstalce
from each Atlantic city to the Pfcihc shall be ss
nearly equal possible, which, it appears TO me,
should satisfy all. But there are other and still
more important considerations.
First Of all is be means, then material, thea
capacity Oi the couGtry the line Of the route for
settlement, with the supply Of material, timber,
&c. for habitaton. And the route; will it shorten
the distance between Europe and Asia Sufficient
to chaLge, the present route Of that vast com
merce and intercourse and is the climate for the
route aud al the ternni al both ends such as would
not damage aud destroy animal and vegetable pro
ducts and thereby defeat one Of the greatest OBJ
ects Of the road the safe means Of transit for the
vast products Of the Mississippi basin TO all the
markets Of ASA
This, though vast subject is as simple as it is
vast and a very easy matter 20 decide upon and
settle examine 1t as 1t IS, and speculation must
cease.
We all know that long established routes for in
tercourse aud commerce can be changed only by
reducing distance and time, lessenIDg expenses
creating new facilities and advantages. Now, can
this be done for the commerce and intercourse OF
Europe with Ashland wherel Any one
easily decide this question by taking globe aud
placing the end OF a string cord at Canton bring
II down through S1nda Straits To the Indian
Ocean. then straight on 10 the Cape Of Good Hope,
then inside ot the Cape de Nerd Islands aud up to
Eogland. A vessel leaving China with a fair
monsoon, las they always dO,) would have iair
wind almost the entire voyage aud on the lines
which your cord has Indicated the distance, 49,
800 miles, requiring lO7 days for its performance
Now, again, put the end OF your cord at the same
point OF Great Britain where you stopped, and
bring IL down through at Panama 70 the Pacific
thence south Of the Sandwich Islands, as the fair
trader would take vessel, to the adrOnes where.
# the nonsoons should blow from northeast, 8
ship must beat up north, and 90 down inside O
Formosa to Canton If the monsoon is from the
southwest. ten the course would be from the
LadrOnes to Ballngtary straits 70 Canton and dis
tint from England 1879 miles, requiring l20
daNs; or 254S miles greater distance than the
route around the Cape Of Good Hope. Again
a.. a
Great Britain, aud bring 1t over to Charlesgou,
= & thence directly across the Continent to San
Diego thence, rs the trader would take ship to
the north w ard Of the Sandwich Islands to the La
drones thence to Shanghai or down 10 Canton.
which by your cord appears little shorter than
the d stance around the Cape of Good Hope but,
owing 20 the necessary windings OF the rosd
across the Continent, &c. the distance RS near as
possible TO be calculated, would be - J1s miles, or
- miles more than around the Cope of Good
Hope subject to OtrHDs-shpnent ahdiernage across
the Mississippi and subject to tolls on the road
tor interest ON the cost OF construction. THE ques
ton need not be asked. Can the commerce and in
tercourse Of Europe with Asia be changed TO ei
ther of these routes
Again place the end of your cord at the same
point of Great Britain and bring II over To New
York. thence directly across the Continent to Pn-
get Sound aud to Shanghai Ia China with la
vorable winds both ways from the measurement
Of the cord you will witness surprising differ
ence in favor OF this route; but allowing al miles
tor wndiBgs of the road across the Continent, and
II would make from England 10 China j, ,30l
miles, requiring for its performance with steamers
but 80 to IS days The lands on the line OF this
route furnishing the means Tor the construction OF
ihe road it would require tolls sufficient only Tor
u repairs aud operation and n cargo OF teas from
China or similar merchandise .coald be delivered
New York or any Atlantic City at el1 per ton,
measurement OF 80 feet which would be OF Young
koNt t.FItf ssAuNA
commerce and intercourse OF Europe with ASIA
over IT, The climate would sustain animal aud
vegetable products OF the Mississippi basin, ana
the low tolls would carry them To all the markets
Of Asia, Polynesia and all the Islands. But II the
-oad cannot be made TO create the means for its
own construction out of the wilderness lands o.
line, and free from tolls for dividends or later
st then the outlay for It's construction would b,
so immense and the tolls Tor interest on that out
ay so high RS 10 entirely defeat all the great Oh
ects intended These all are facts within the
re- ach and con apprehension OF any one disposed 10
examine the only experiment or speculation Is
as to the ability of the lands 70 produce the ncces
.ary means and which can be done only by con-
Meeting their sale and settlement with the build
ING OF the road the work and the settlement
must advance together, facilitate and provide Tor
each other therefore the route must be where
the lands its line are available and applicable
to it. The Committees of both Houses OF Con-
gress have been unanimous on this subject they
nave placed the whole question OF route and al
upon the availability of the lands the pamphlet
which gave you contains their report. You Will
observe from the Map No. ,, with my pamphlet,
that Philadelphia road TO Pittsbure, and Bal
timore to Wheeling and were St Louis made the
starting point, Savannah and Charleston would be
800 miles nearer to 81. Louis than the two former
cities and farther advantage of down-h hull grade,
and Baltimore and Philadelphia via ST. Louis to
the Pacific would be 300 miles greater distant thar
,heir direct route through the center of Ohio In
LLAMA and Illinois to where propose bridging the
Mississippi and to the Pacific. Your proposed
center would be still more sectional ani would
defeat for the whole United States the great OBJ
ects Of the work.
You will notice, from my map and pamphlet
that combined circumstances, necessary 10 the
success Of the work, have forced selection OF the
only route which would not be sectional, because
ali The Atlantic States can connect with II al as
nesr as possible an equal distance.
BY actual surveys OF Railroad routes TO where
& is proposed 70 bridge the Mississippi wooid De,
From Mobile or n. Orleans, $50 miles
Charleston. 80. ....lO96
savannah something less