The Lancaster gazette. (Lancaster, Ohio) 1846-1852, 1850-10-25

b a.
from an able aud intelligent sturce, look
ing at the question ia light in which we
have rot yet viewed il. which we conclu
ded 10 give 10 DUR readers. II is taken
from the American Railroad Jo&rnal: -
! zone Of the most marked charac;eris.
tics ofthis age, is the rapid and constant
investment Of accumulated capital. The
discovery aud application Of natufalforces
suchla las steam aud electricity, to the arts uf
life, and the vast addition they have made
to our means Of pisduetion aud enjoy
ment, making available sources Of wealth,
which, without such aids would have
been entirely beyond our grasp, have
Igi,en an Importance to capital, (under-
stood as accumulated products,) such as
was never felt in any former age In for
mer times, when there was but little va
riety to labor: when { ON ago to age, the
same routine Of industry was fulluwcd:
when from the want Of suitable means of
Transportation, the most useful of pro.
DOooCooCu iluCOmWCFGtUt Ndlue, Tue
title capital that was accumulated was
hoartfed, either from inability to use it or
for the purpose Of securing it from ex.
actions of government, or from the brig
aud or the outlaw. But progress has
br0oght with it security. aud has opened
to us channels by which accumulated cap
itai may INSTANTLY become tie means of
further prodactiou; and the man who pos
sesseS Thost Of this, wields by viltue of it
paramount Influence in society. For
merly the landholder vas king or noble.
Now the moneyed man, who may not
own foot Of land, has taken the place
Of these, III controlling in'e conduct ofhis
fellowmen. TIE frmer have been de.
lhroned, aud the latter installed in their
place. .t.av F.ar.. ....
"Bul the point. How FAR will the spid
progress Of our works of internal i'm
Iprovemeuls interfere i1uriouSly with the
ordinary business operations Of the coun
try, which, 10 be conducted with ease,
requires that large amouat of accumu-
lated property shall remain uniuvestedl
If, as a community, we embarrass our
selves, we defeat the object we have in
view. We must pause I'LL we have cx
tricated ourselves, before we can agair
start with success. ...... -.
The value Of railroad as a reproduc
tive agent depends of course upon the
character of the country, and the pur
suits o. the people, through which it runs
This is the reasou why railroads. in thi.
country are SO much more useful aud sue
cessful than in England. at The present
time our great interest and pursuit is ag
riculrure. These are of q bulky charac
ter, compared with their value, aud iron
the want of interior markets must be
transported To the seaboard, ether fnl
consumption at home or abroad. For the
want Of domestic markets, The value %
produce depends upon The cost oflrans
poration, In many parts ofthe country
these are gfeater than the cost of culture
consequently many p0riious Of lie couu
try remuin unsettled, urprodu only
what is consumed on the spot. f-
Our capacity for production in thi
country is Unlimited. The great draw
back TO it, as we stated before, is the cos
of conveyance tp the seahoard.--Now
any cuntriyance that dimiuishes this cost
adds in the same proportion 10 The prop
erty ofthe country, -All public works ar,
! an illustration of this. Perhaps M on,
more strikingly su than the ludiuua ca
nal. Before this was opened, the pric,
of corn on the Wabash was from Is to q
cents per bushel. 1t is nnw worth from
80 to 40 cents. The umount received
yearly. from this increased price, is th'
yearly addition TO the property OF th'
State, arising from the sale of corn alone
Take the New York canal.-The peopl,
Of the Unhed States could better build i
every yea, from the savings they MAKE
by ilin transportation, than do without it
The above selve merely as illustration
Of the influence of all works of a siiiila
kind.
ain England every farmer enjoys mar
ket at his own door. With the farme
THERE, the railroad is not equivaen, To
market. AT best, it only gives him /
choice Of markets. Most of the manu-
factuting towns, tod. are teal the Sc
shore, 50 that her manufactured fabric
require 10 be transported but short dis
tance. Railroads there are useful, BID
ltv mn tneatia IN ihh same e&tent aa I'm Nm
United States. The greo: mass have BID
; little interest in their construction or sue
cess. Because railroads have not bee
successful there, is no reason why the
! should not be here. The condition Il
things is entirely d diferent, consequent
that couutrS furnishes no guide for this.
"The only part of this country wher
, The injurious effects of too rapid coli
strurtiun Of these works has been seri
ously felt is the Now England State,
Here too many competing lines hav
been built, and too many have bee
j. pushed into unptoduclive parts of tn
country, which had but little surplus I
+ send TO market. But The fault here is i
the expense of the roads. rather, than tn
income. This nearly always exceed
the estimate, but BY no means in the sam
: ratio as expenses. These are owlu
partly to the rugged nature Of the cour
Try, partly to bad management, and partl
. from the fact that most Ofthem terminal
Y in Boston and other large towns, ,yinvol,