The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1851-11-20
The oArrAwIssA RAILROAD.

road convention Of Philadelphia has issued
an address, and appended 10 il letter from
D. l.. Miller, jr., Esq, the President of The
Sunbury and Erie Railroad, which contains
some very important facts upon this subject
They prove that If this work shall be under
taken in good faith, and with determine
,ion to make II pay, itcan and will be sooi
completed, 10 the profit of all the stockhold
ers and TO the great advantage of the whole
community. The following is Mr.. Miller
letter to the Chairman of the Committee :
PHILADELPHIA, limo. 6, 1851.
Esteemed Friend-In reply to thy noie o
yesterday, it affords me pleasure TO state tha
the Charter Of the Company, which is one
of the most liberal ever granted by the Le
glslature of Pennsylvania, authorizes the
construction of Railroad from Sunbury tc
Erie, distance of 1864 miles.
We propose first to build that portion Of
the road between Willlamspor and Erie, q
distance oil 2i0 miles.
This accomplished, will form, in connec-
lion with the "Ca'tawissa," "Little Schuyl.
kill" and Reading Roads, continuous chain
Of Railroads from Philadelphia to Erie, with
out transhipment.
The entire route is within the State Of Penn
sylvania
The distance is only 425 miles, being sc
miles nearer TO New York, and 1913 miles
nearer than 10 Boston.
The highest grade will be SO $40 feet 10
the mile, and that for only 8 miles.
We propose 10 pay interest OIL the install
ments from the date of payment, in the same
manner as is done by the Pennsy ylvania Rail-
road Company"
The time necessary required TO complete
the read will be short. We are informed
on the authority Of the first engineering tai
ent of the country, that no portion of the
work need exceed two years in construction
The cost OF the Road, graded and bridged
for double track-wilh single track laid,
and with sixty miles of siding--compleied
ready for the locomotive, il is estimated will
not exceed six millions
1t is believed that at least one.fourth of
the whole cost can be raised by subscriptions
to the Stock of the Company, along the line
OF the route, and that the road can be built
and all the materials furnished upon the
most favorable terms by responsible contrac.
tors and friends Of the enterprise, payable
one.fourth in stock al par
The present low prices of iron and provi-
siors, and the abundance of labor would en-.
able contracts 10 be made at prices material
ly below those paid by most railroad compa-
nies now in operation.
The estimate of cost is based on The report
of Edward Miller. the Engineer, by whom
the route was surveyed.
The advantages possessed by our terminus
are very great; the Harbor of Erie is by far
the best and safest on the Lake, if not the
only one worthy of the name
Its capacity is very great, being abou; six
equare- n;les ia-e<,sri, and sav;as
age depth of about 90 feet
It is free from obstruction by ice consider
ably earlier in the Spring and later liz the
Fall
II is the point at which the competition
between the Atlantic cities must take place,
for the passenger and freight trade Of all the
railroads running westward from il, by rea-
son of the Law of the last Legislature, COM
pelling the break of guage between The cas-
tern and westward railroads TO occur there.
We shall eoRnttt al Erie with the entire
net work of Railroads, penetrating iii every
direction through the Western and North
western States, the aggregate length of which
Roads, built and in progress of construction,
exceeds 5000 miles.
There is probably no country in the world
traversed by Railroad. the extent and vari-
ETY. of whose source of intrinsic wealth ex-
ceed those of the country lying between
Philadelphia and Erie.
The Forest not only offers an opening for
the most extensive numbering operations,
but also abounds in the most valuable ship
timber.
The Mines possess an inexhaustable sup
ply not only of anthracite and bituminous
coal, but also of iron ore.
The Land embraces vast extent and va
metz oi soil, of great agricultural capacity,
much of il Of the limestone formation.
The construction of the proposed Road
must inevitably induce very extensive i'm.
provement in each of those branches of in
dustry, and develope an incalculable amount
of wealth now comparatively unproduciive
for want of such an ontlei-whe in time
those Improvements will add largely and rap
idly 10 the business and profits of the Road
and the revenue of the State.
The great Western Country with which
the proposed road will unite us, contained in
1910, population of ouly $4,000. The five
States which have been formed out of the
Northwest Territory, bordering on the
Lakes, now number population of four mil
lions and half-being so per cent. more
than the entire population Of the United
States, at the time of the Declaration of In
dependence.
The Territory embraced between the Ohio
river and the Lakes, from the Western boua-
Diary of Pennsylvania to tho Upper Mississip-
pi, containing about 1870 millions of acres of
arabic land-measures ESQ, 900 square miles,