Western union. (City of Hannibal, Mo.) 1850-1851, 1851-07-24
The Railroad.

signature, "Ahother CitiZe!." Ii is the con-
clusion Of q series Of communications. He has
thrown great deal Of light upon the subjec.
We give the following extract:
"But let us now como little nearer home,
and look at the appreciation Of prices conse.
quent on increased productions, commerce. &c. !
Some twenty five years ago, the farmers in St.
Louis county said, when all this vastly exten.
sive country, Of unsurpassed fertility, up the
Missouri the Mississippi, the Illinois, and their
various tributaries, shall have become popula-
ted, our markets wW be glutied,-our produce
and our lands will dcprcciaie and become almost
worthless on our hands" Well, about tina,
time the tide Of emigration flowed to this mag.
niicent aud mighty valley Of tho Mississippi,
tho forest was ielled and subdued, those ex-
tonsive and beautiful praries were turned over,
and thus reduced TO culiiva,ion--the produc.
tions we're increased from five hundred to
thousand fold, and thrown into the st. Louis
market-and what think you became Of those
farmers Of ST. Louis county who were looking
and expected. 10 be overwhelmed by this "in.
creased production 2" What became of those
poor .teiiowsl Why sir, their whea, deprcc aied
! from twenty-five to fifty cents, per bushel-
pork and beef from one dollar and one and
half up 10 t,uo and three dollars land from five
and ten dollars per acre, up TO Fifteen and fren-
W dollars. Again: at q still later period, some
ten years ago, these same farmers in ST. Louis
; county might have said, "for mercy's sake don't
! pu, daily line of packets on the Upper Mis-
, si.sippi you'll ruin our markets "teetotally"-
they will bring their butter, and eggs, and
chickens in competition with us-our prices
will Geprecate our lands will fail in value,
and utter ruin will come upon u.s." But these
cries and supplications were unheeded enter
prising capitalists, merchants, manufacturers,
z commercial men and agriculturists, consulted
0 their own interests, and the line, Of beautiful
daily packets was put in motion on the "Fath-
or of waters"-and what think you has become
of those poor distressed ST. Louis farmers
has become Of McmW Poor fellows, don't you
pity them Their butter has deprecated up
j from eight and ten cents, to fifteen, twenty ant
twenty five cen.s--.wheat from fifty cents up
to seventy and eighty cents-lanI from fifteen
: and twenty dollars, to thirty, forty, and sirty
n dollars an acre, and other things in the same
;. ratio Amt they almost ruined : But to be
. serious | ask my brother farmers in the coun.
u ty of Marion, to ponder well the facts above
d Swallowed forth. and ask yourselves if the APP
r. probation in prices at St. Louis just mentioned,
has rot followed increased productions almost
literally. DO not many Of you know it from
personal pbservationP And the article of hemp
I had almost forgotten to mention. DO you moi
recoect when there were only few thousand
pounds comparatively spesking) produced il
y Missouri, the price was heavy at from one dol
lar fifty to three dollars per hundred. bu. now
the production almost equals in tons, in number
l. whit it was in hundreds before, and yet the
ID Price has almost doubled ask, is not thi,
d increase of price consequent on increased pro
/, ducionsp We have now sufficient production
AL .,.l h. Il.
he before we had not.
do no. pretend that the appreciation in the
prices of our productions, land, &c., will Gil
l. the road in question is bully quite equal that q
n st. Louis referred to, but the approximation
will be sufficiently near for illustration. MOI
do pretend but that orer production might re
X ducc, instead If Increasing the price. Such ha'
, been the case, and such may be again under thu
. operation of the law of supply and demand, bu
IL such cases are only temporary in their operation
/. and do not affect general principles. And wha
have here said, may suffice to answer pc
tent objection have heard raised, that is, tina
y 81; would glut our markets. by bringing thu
b, whole country from this TO St. Joseph, in com
10 petition with u.s." But, Mr.. Objec,or, recol
> ect that very competition 10 TO enhance the value
of your productions by attracting the attention
of dealers. Imagine line of fine steamer
IL running direct form Hannibal to and from New
rs Orleans. and you pay only the Game iregh, tina
ii they do to and from ST. Louis, why not &c
your sugar Coffee salt, &C., at st. Louis prices
'c and receive st. Louis prices for your produc
tion'l Such, in my Judgment, will most in
dubitably DO the case. Capitalists, merchant
"a and traders will congregate at Hannibal, an
w range all through the country for he purpos
" Of turning penny" by purchasing the rio
lie productions of this beautiful and richly produ
cling country. But again, strange as it ma
seem, some object to the building OF, tho road i
question, because il will increase the value
90 their land. They say "they do not want TO SCI
TX their land, and do not wish the price enhanced
10 because they will have the more tax to pay o
h. it," Well, we think the philosopher, oil thi
= school" are not very numerous in this count
a perhaps not more than "a bakers dozen
perhaps not half that number; and we as
such, il indeed they are serious in this objection
i, can you lay your hand upon your heart and sa
:" II am US rich as want to be-" And if yo
d, want "little more," wouldn't you as lief hav
a. it in the value of your land as in goods an
chattl,s?" If you were called to die tome
i, row, would you not like TO have Il little NOR
!" to divide among your children? If you hav
conquered that Unsuitable thirst" you mus
indeed have found the "philosOpher's stone.
Il Again others (and among them my friend Set
~ izen") say it will bankrupt the county" Ism
that plausible ",curecrow !" BANKRUPT tn
county" to p'y 500 900" at the end of .wen,
'g yenr,!-a county, the property in which i
n worth, at present, at least six millions of dol
l. lars, to be "bankrupted" by paying $4,000 q
n. the end Of twenty years!! Why, sir, there i
Lh ono "rctred IN merchant" in PALMYRA and on