Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1851-11-08
THE ERIE CANAL.

THE ERIE CANAL
The following lucid and cogent explanator of ~.
Canal Question row before the people of Nov, vo,
State, is said 10 be from the pen of one of re oil
and most cear-sighted Statesmen. II anneaxsd =;
Saturdays Sun: 40
THE ERIE CANAL--NECESsITY FOE IT'S TN
WI, LARGEMENT.
lhe question ia sometimes asked and bv na,sor
s1ncerey an&lous to promote the prosperity Of onT
Glty, whether it is really necessary to enlaroa ~
ERIE Canai-or whether the Increasing trade win the
heliof may not be as cheaply and usefuy accomrno
WIN the Canal, from Albany to Bufalo7 E''''>'
we nave given these questions some reflection and
tqsa arc me result Is, that our City needs bot
sonaDly be obtained to keep pace with the 8Ina1;ny
cLeaSe Oh the country 1t needs all the Railroads. TO
ba rs;g f passengers ana the lighter and yalua
enlarged Erie Canal to transport cheanly, me- 80
mass OF bulky products. 'l 9'0~'
rev persons are aware who have nor erar,ipal
ne oiicIa STATISTICAL tables, of the immense space Of
golume occupied by the eargoes carried on tie Erie
Canal--and OF the comparatively very small sronnnt
transported on the Railroads ~
FOR several years, a line Of well constrained Rail
roads has been IN operation from Albany to buffalo
furnished Tor good proportion of the distance With
donpie tfachS, ana enjoying the whole benefit 81 The
winter monopoly, during the FIVE months of TIE vear
while the Canal IS closed. The Companies ow2ina
tese Railroads. including branches Whitehall 10
0aWeg0, ano to Emlfa, make annual reports 10 he
Canal Board from which it appears wide table No
6l) that in The whole of the wear 1856 he tntsI ot
transported on all these Railroads was only III 3G
tuns. 1''''-
On the ehet hand, th5 amount carried on the Canada
IN the same year and during only the seven months
Oh navigation. reached the enormous mass of three mil
lions ana seventy SIX thousand six hundred and evene
teen TOMS 076 6l7 In other words the Canals ear
roads! ~ 1
Now let us look little at the size Of fbjs mass or
Three millions OF tuns Our readers are most OF them
pam SENSIBLE hard working men. Most of them are
accustomed to handle tun weight and know what il
means Let US then coolly sit down and see whether
any Railroads possess could Comfortably GARY
three millions of tuns 10 market
10 transport this mass on the canals, requires as
appears by The official canal table, 5gI5 boats Tor t|Is
number appeared Ga the Canal Register on The lat day
OF January last. These boats are from IS to so feet
long II placed IN line and &cfu ally touching one ano
her, they would occupy IS miles oil the Canal-that
s, they would stretch from A bany nearly TO U;cm
The distance these boats moved through The Canals
during the year 1850, exceeded eleven millions of
miles! The actual run was equal II 06l SIS niles
moved by siugle boa-equal 10 5000 voyages across
the Atlantic.
! But let us look at the daily movement Of the care
goes The business OF the Canal neeassnrjv fin
tuae5 with that OF the country being greater IN come
months and smaller il others. Produce and nlerhan
disc must go 10 market when the wants OF its owners
require il. Whether carried canals or railroads,
some PORTIONS OF the year must be more crowded
than the Others But let u imagine the business oi the
year exactly divided into 800 working days. each hay
ing an equal portion. The existing tunnage Of 3,0l7
$40 tuna. But following the natural anu inevitable
fluctuations OF business The movement at some seasons
viii need to be least twenty thousand tune daily
Now let ms measure this mass piled up or slowed
away III TAliToad II vail consist Of articles Of
uniform bulk, like the coal carried oasome Of the
railroads III Pennsy vania-but Of every variety Of
product and commodity from the East ami West-~of
every variety OF weight and buk ana ryqLiting eve
fY variety Of storage pig lead and iron 10 wood
en- ware, silks, wool, fur and feathers.
How mach space wall these 20 900 tuna occtpy On
Railroadz The usual freight cars il fully filed car
ny not more than 10 tuas If oaded to their utmost
capacity aR chained together, the 10000 tups would
require 1000 The will average al least 80
feet in ieDgihnaklug total OF At least 60 900
feet or ten miles long.
| Now will any one OF oar practical business readers
undertake to move such inass, even broken into
numerous subdivisions, without irrsguariy, interior
encs or collision Do we NOT daily see fehtlul los
SOS of life and limb, on railroads, in the ATTEMPT
move not one -huEdredh palt Of the quantity Re
ly upoa it, the Erie Canal IN every sense, was made
for ''the masses" Is not this Canal, then worth pre-
serving, cherishing and improving
1t was built small scale, when means were
narrow and our vision OF tlle future still Narrower
Experience has opened our eyes 70 the realities.
The taunase in 1870 had reached I400 DOC tuns an
amount far exceeding the most sangine predictic.s
of is early friends. In the bei period of ten years.
from 1910 to 1850. sweed to than double, and
the 3, ,Sl7 reached again destined to
an increase still more gigantic; Tor Young AmricQ''
| has not yet got near his growth The money value
of the cargoes carried on the Canals, whch was six
ty-sX millions o dollars IN 1870, Increased 10 one
hundred aHd fifty six millions ID 1850 and who will
now dare to say that it will reach three hun.
| died mi2tCns Can not, then, really afford 10
render such Canal CapacouS cheap and convenient1
Tho average unna2e OF the present boats is about
60 suns On the Enlarged Canal they will carry at
least 1870. The capacity OF the Canal will thus be
stebedRnd one third OF the 50l5 boats whsn enlarg-
| ed will carry much the whole 5,0l5 carry al
present.
AS consequence the necessary movement of boats
will be coyreapondngiV diminished, and the boats
moving II .06 .575 miles, at present. will need on
y to move third OF the distance. thas saving an
nuay than seven millions three hundred thou,
sand miles! Is not that worth saving? Will moi the
enlarged Erie Canal be Iabo. savog machine worth
possessingl Let our boetmen and aborers qnswer the
question.
II can hardly be requisite to prove that deep
broad canal, with large convenient boats fTeghtS may
| be much reduced. Il is obgopa OF once. The ac,u-
al result will be that the freight OF barrel of flour
from Buffalo to Albany, which costs from so TO
10 cents including the State tolls, be reduced to
10 or IL cents exclusive Of the toll. The cheapness
OF transportation will operate at increase The
amount carried, and that in lis tara will enable tho
State to reduee the toll. Prices Of food and
living 10 the laborer will DO reduced the commerce
of the City and State augmented, and the public
Hry furnished with aple means oi relieving lie help
| loss sustaining our schools, and advancing in every
mode tho social and intellectual Improvement CT our
people.
| s@ssss.a=ssss s.sa,.ss.s..ss sss9.ssses
| ANOTHER DEMocRATIc AND FREE Son. ALLIANCE
The Democrats and Free sellers OF W oT0aser county
il Massachusetts following the examples by their