Southern standard. [volume] (Columbus, Miss.) 1851-1856, 1851-12-06
Abstract Of the Remarks

-r,ou.-Hayinp been invited to address this
Convention [ do not feel at liberty to refuse,
.houob in view of the lateness oil the hour ahd
the fact that you have been engaged during the
whole dav in attending this Convention and trans
acting its appropriate business, shan endea'or 70
present what have to say IN as few words aS pos
sble, noticing only the most prominent arguments
in favor of this truly magnificent enterprise "heh
consider the advantages of this work IN pecu
MARY, social and political point of view, am as
tonished that any argument or persuasion should
be necessary to induce any one to take stock
Commencing at Mobile, running through Ala
Ibama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky, con-
nectng. as it will, at the Tennessee river with a
railroad through Middle Tennessee by Nashville
Ito Huntsville Ky or Cincinnati, Ohio, thence to
the Northern Lakes, and also connecting at the
month of the Ohio river with the Illinois Central
Railroad extending to Chicago, thus forming a.
continuous line of railway between the Gulf OF
Mexico and the Lakes of the North, 1t Is ImpossI-
Bile to estimate the amount of the business which
this road will do and the extent of Its profits
Most of the travel between the Lakes and the Uuil
must and will go over this road, because 1t Is So
much cheaper, safer and more eXpeditlous imam the
present modes of travel.
The saving of time and the preservation of HUI
man life will be sufficient to induce persons to-
travel bv railroad instead of on steamboats, which
are so slow and so hazardous to llte 1t Will re-
quire only thirty-six hours to so from CINCINNATI
to Mobile by railroad, distance of 800 miles,
and from Mobile to New Orleans it will take not
more than sixteen hours, making htty-two hours
from Cincinnati to New Orleans by the way of
Mobile, whereas it now requires six or seven days
to 90 from Cincinnati to New Orleans by steam
boat. From this it is evident that the railroad
must and will monopolise the travel What this
will amount to it is impossible to determine, bat
that it will be immense one can doubt who viii
reflect upon the character OF the country through
which this road and its auxlharies Will run. The
North west is increasing more rapidly In wealth
and population than any other portion of our coun-
try and that is the region with which you are to
! be brought in immediate cOnneXlOn by means OF
this road. As you increase the facilities for trav
cling and make it more safe, more speedy and less
expensive YOU will increase the amount of travel.
So that we may safely assume that when this road
is completed there will be three times, and IN my
opinion, four times as much travelling between the
/ North western States and our Gulf Cities as there
now is. In addition to this considerable portion
! of the produce from the States North and North
west of this seeking outlet to the Gulf will pass
over this road, especially when the Ohio, Cumber-
land and other rivers are too low for steamboats,
or are blocked up with ice. A man living in Ten
nessee Kentucky, Indiana Illinois, Missouri,
/ Ohio or any Northwestern State will find it to bis
interest to send his horses. mules bag9ing and
rope hogs, beef cattle, -four and provisions of all
kinds your road, because in doing be will
reach nearer and better market than New Or
leans. For instance farmer in the State in which
l live, who has hogs to sell, could put them on
the in the morning and have them here on
the same day ready TO be slaughtered the next
morning without any loss in weight, and could
sell them for two or three dollars hundred more
than he could get for them at home, whilst 1t would
cost him about fifty cents hundred TO bring them.
Il. II
the States North and Northwest of you come by
the way of New Orleans and Mobile This state
of things Will continue no longer than the compile
ton of your road and YOU will then receive your
supplies of pork, bacon, lard, fiout, mules and
horses by means Of this road at cheaper rates and
IN much better condition than you obtain them.
From this view of the case may we not safely con-
clude that the amount of produce transported on
this road will be immense and viii contribute
greatly towards swelling its profits.
1 Again. the States through which this road and
Its auxiareS will run are destined to be tie great
manufacturing region of the United States No
State possesses more manufacturing facilities than
| Tennessee, whether regard her climate her
soil, her productions, her coal fields her streams
of water or her forests of timber. Already there
are thirty-sx thousand spindleS in operation in
Tennessee which are able to consume and proba-
bly, do consume sixteen thousand bales of cotton
per annum and In ten years from this time there
will be In operation in that State one hundred thou
sand spindles consuming near fifty thous and bales
per annum, and thus they will go on increasing
until tennessee VIII become importer instead
of an exporter of cotton. There is no reason
why the cotton goods you now buy from the man
utacturers IN Massachusetts may not be made in
Tennessee and sold to you cheaper than YOU can
buy them from the Northern manufacturer. MOI
only Tennessee but Indiana and Illinois will he
as they are now rapidly becoming, the great man
ufacuring States of the Union and when this takes
1 place this road will find its business greatly in
creased from this source. There is one ADVANTAGE
which your road enjoys almost any other in
the United States to which much attention seems
not to have been paid
The land granted by the general Government to
this road 1t Is estimated will be nearly sufficient to
purchase the iron and to equip the road, leaving to
the stockholders only to grade the road and Law
down the timbers. Thus two-ifths the cost of the
road is saved to the stockholders and man who
takes one thousand dollars of stock will receive
dividend upon 800 dollars worth of stock and
Ii the road should yield eight per cent upon its
entire cost he will receive fourteen per cent. IN
on what he has paid. If it should yield ten per
cent he Will receive eighteen and if it should only
make tour per cent. upon its entire cost he will re-
celve seven per cent upon the capital which he has
invested which Is more than many of you perhaps
make by raising cotton. This is an ADVANTAGE
which ought to induce any shrewd capitalist To
take stock in this road
All that the friends of the projected railroads in
our State ask is that the State sbould land ~, oJ