The Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1849-1855, 1851-05-08
oomple,io1 Of a Great WORK. 2

The New York and Erie railroad-ihs
rreatest pul,lic work undertakrn ~ .his.
Stale since the Lakes we're uuited win the
trlnntic in ISa4--is completed, and VIII ns
oneneI from PiermoBt TO Duskirk en- the
Jatb &c MAY. In some respects, this iron
thoro,jchfare 10 Lake Erie IS granher
WORK fhan the canal itself Ii is 416 miles
in length, While the canal Is only sos, ana
was constructed by private enterprise, IN
stead of being, like the canal, state WORK.
The te taI cost of the road, inciud'ng =
branch. nineteen miles long, TO Newbursb,
is about SCI 100000.
II is impossible TO estimate the benehis
y hich will accrue to the city and the state
from this new avenue to the great wesI.-
Without spccif, ing the many HnPortaht
lines within The Stale with which the roah
will connect, we may state that It's western
terminus will in few months I've tapped ny
a railroad to Erie, Pennsylvania, whence
lines ore in the course of construction which
will extend TO Cleveland, Cincinnati, L ole
do. Chicago, and Gaiena. This vast DIS
,ance will he traversesl by one almost con-
,inuo,1s track of iron within two years from
this date, and at no distant time the COM
munication will be unbroken from the
shores of the Hudson ut New York 10 the
banks Of the Mississippi at ST. Louis.
II may well he said that, connected 10y nu-
merous tributary lines, and by the great
highway Of the lakes, with the whole tenn
ing west, the Erie railroad will he the great
artery of western commerce, and this city
the grand reservoir Of its conyergent tides.
Blu, is the Erie railroad TO terminate III
this city at all! This is mooted question
at present, and highly important one
The directors say that under the general
railroad law they are compelled 70 connect
with Ramapo railroad IN New Jersey, IN
which case the terminus viii be at Harsh
mus or Jersey City. This, of course, is not
very paIatable arrangement TO the people
of New York. When the charter was grant
ed, no such diversion was anticipated. The
company Is, in fact, expressly forbidden 10y
that instrument to form Junction with any
road lcnding into Pennsylvania or New Jer-
sey. Those who are in favor of the Jersey
route say that, in the first place, /. has the
advantage in point OF time, and also that in
winter there is less danger Of obstruction
fronthe ice in crossing the Hudson at Jer-
sey City than at Piermont. There is some
truth in these assumptions; but a connection
with the Hudson River railroad would oh.
viate the first, and with proper care to keep
tue tnSSh-C iiCC, thCtC NC htpC Hnu-
ger Of detention bv the ice at PierInont.
The directors profess strong desire that
the road should terminate here, but declare
that the general railroad law drives them
out of the State into New Jersey. if this
is the case it ought to be attended TO forth
with. Whatever may be thought of the ex-
T.ediency of adopting the shortest AMI most
convenient route, irrespective of State lines,
it must he conceded on all hands that it is
an urthriily law which compets the direc-
tors IF New York railroad to place its sea-
board starting point in a neighboring State.
We feel assured, however, that the Erie
railroad will ultimately be connected with
the Hudson River road, and .hus an I'M
broken tract Of 543 miles he secured, stretch
ing from This city to the pier at Dunkirk.-
When the road is opened, we intend to take
ride behind the iron horse 10 Lake Erie,
and after our return will tell our READERS all
abous the wonders of the route.-[N. Y.
Sunday Times.