New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1852-01-05
MONDAY MORNING, JANUARY 5, 1852
Southwestern Railroad Convention.

5eHhp1iuE III ILLS Guy tiie ucieSatSo W VIC Sieao
South Western Railroad Convention.
The influence of this Convention upon the fu-
ture of the Southwest, and especially anon New
Orleans, ought to be immensely beneficial A
system Of Railroads should be intelligently de-
cided4upon for this section, aud of that system
the leading features should be most prominently
brought forward for immediate action. Too
much cannot be done at once, and yet all that
we are really capable of doing now should be
promptly determined to be done at once. If the
main and most Immediately useful lines of inter
communication be marked out for the earliest
endeavors, countenance and investment, it
should be remembered that lateral or peculiarly
local projects are thus most efficiently advanced,
and that without such preliminary works we shall
be in danger of frittering away public zeal and
private capital, of commencing Railroads which
commence at villages and end very unproftably
in the swamps OF in the woods, and of so wasting
earnest labors as seriously to injure, if not ut
terly destroy, all confidence in works of public
improvement. The great fault of Conventions
such as that which meets here to-day, is that
they do too much (by resolution) and thereby,
rs in the case Of proving too much, they do moth
ing An unfinished Railroad is the most telling
against, whilst finished Railroad is the most
convincing argument in favor of, works of pub
lie Improvement Main lines are essential to the
usefulness and profit of lateral or local lines;
let us go to work upon the former first and we
shall find that the latter will naturally branch
out from them. To attempt too much would be
but little, if any, better than to attempt nothing
The great object of the Convention, it would
seem to US, should be to secure the most direct
communication between points in the interior
Southwest and NewOrleans, styled by Hon.
Edward Bates, of Missouri, in letter pub
lished in the Crescent few days since, &c the
store house Of the Southwest There are sew
eral plain and weighty reasons why this should
be So Hereafter, (perhaps to morrow we will
develop them at length Now we can only s,.,s-I
them up briefly. At an important period in the
commercial year ice and snow seriously inter-
rupt communication with NewYork, Philadel-
phia and Baltimore, whilst the same interrupt
ton does not exist with regard to NewOr1eans,
or to q very limited extent only for an incon-
siderable space Of time.
Produce for export already completes with
great difficulty against the home supplies of Eu-
ropean countries and excess of the products of
lands near the Baltic. Transportation upon
railroads must, for a century to come, be not
less than one and half cents per mile. The
average Of cost of haulage to the border of a
river can not be greater than the average of cost
of haulage to the line of railroad, as a rail
road can not run by every mans door, Once
upon the Mississippi, or any Of its navigable
tributaries, produce can be brought by river to
NewOrleans at one-half the cost per ton per
mile that it can be carried on railroads This
is not an argument against railroads; because
experience has shown that there are in the pres 5
ent state of things bulky articles, which, where
water facilities are approachable, must seek T,
them to save on charges; that in Belgium, {
where the railroad runs by the side of the
canal and makes profit the business of the
canal is increased, and not diminished; and
that railroads must and do depend for their ,
profit upon two things, the necessities of speedy !
transit and inconvenient access to navigable 5
century hence, doubtless, in
The progress of the economy of science, the case
will be different. Now, fault of the possibility
If bridging the Mississippi below st. Louis, and
~ virtue of the hundred nayigabe streams
which from east and west flow tributary to the
Mississippi and by the advantage of unchecked
access in winter, bulky produce tends to New /
Orleans, and gives it position as the natural \
market of the Southwest. But to be such |
'eally and satisfactorily, the facilities of reeu-
ar, rapid and frequent communication are ne
,essary to her.
Besides, empires are silently growing up, to
which the Gulf of Mexico must be the Mediter-
'anean of America. There was mighty COM a.
nerce in the Mediterranean once; and, with IT
thousand fold the advantages, why should there IT
lot be a commerce no less expanded Let any p
ne look at the map, and the inevitable vision "
f mighty commerce, with NewOrleans as its a
atural Queen, will surely rise up before him. 4
Iexico is its first tributary and the Tehuan- i
epec project opens to it the prospect of certain
omlnand Of the, rich, the boundless trade Of =
he Pacific. This commerce cannot but COM a
land the products of the Southwest-nay, of II
he Northwest, too; for, the competition of the
'altic will drive its products hitherwards for s.
lore profitable market.
But of these points hereafter. Now, -let the Il
onvention.do something which will have more "a
Immediate and practical bearing. Let it en- a
orse the great principle of Governmental aid to y,
forks of sufficient general utility to warrant 7
UGH aid Let it declare that all legal and con-
titutional provisions which unnecessarily en- IL
arrass the organization Of railroad or internal g
associations are barbaric in spirit y,
etrogressive in effect, and prohibitory of pro- ~
ress. Such declarations from it will NOT he eli
7ithout good results. co
In this connection, we cheerfully subjoin some fri
emarks from the pen of gentleman prominent M
nd Jealous in the railroad and Improvement ' 'a
lovements of our time and section: 50,
The Southwestern Railroad Convention to
ssemble here to-day, we hope and believe will az
xceed, alike in numbers and intelligence, any ",
Their ever assembled in this city; and we are bl
ejoieed at the appropriate preparations made or
D receive and entertain them while engaged in AT
heir labors Yet we fear the lowness of the a'
ivers, and ice, will necessarily prevent many tn
rom reaching here in time to assist in its OF. II
anization and deliberations. I'M
The objects of this Convention are of vast SIT
mportance-virtually interesting not only to co
ur own city, but to the whole Valley of the ut
Mississippi. We do not pretend the Convention, he
ven if as numerously attended as the most az sol