The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-08-02
Our Washington Correspondence.
WAsHINTON, July 26, 1876


Literary Greramees-1he Railroad Delays the
HERALD-Sugges:ion for Remedy The Great
Western Road in England Rate of Iravd
there-A Closer Union of Washington and Nep
York, &C., &c.
like to read the HERALD, but cannot afford to
pay eighteen dollars year for it. l might have it
for half the money, but could not get it till the
next morning after it is published, and then the
news is DID, besides, have.no time to read again
till towards evening. The newsmen get the New
York papers at about nine o'clock in the evening,
and sell them about the hotels for five cents copy.
At that rate the 1854 copies of your paper costs us
over eighteen dollars a year. Now, if it comes by
mail, it costs two cents copy, and half cent post
age just oneha the cost if it is bought in the street;
and we can read it next day, after taking it at
A. NJ. out of Uncle Sans Post Office.
Now look at it. New York and Washington the
political and commercial centres of the country-are
two hundred and forty miles apart-rather less-and
we can getour mail carried through and delivered in
twentyfour hours That is the least, so far as
morning papers are concerned
have travelled from London to Bristol. distance
of hundred and twenty miles, in less than three
hours friend OF mine one day, when was in
London, went over that same raway-the Great
Western-from London to Exeter, distance of one
fifteen minutes; and the odd fifteen minutes were
taken up in stopping-giving sixty miles an hour.
But we don't ask that cannon ball speed. Give us
half that say thirty miles an hour and by leaving
New York and Washington simultaneously, at A..
NJ, the mail would arrive at 81 and at o'clock, p.
NJ, would be in the hands of those who called at the
Post Office for it. Pray, can't You drum them up
a littlel Twice the number of New York papers
and that means the HERALD-would be
taken here and letters could be answered the same
day, and you could get the Washington morning
papers in time to get out the news for yours Of the
next morning.
1t certainly is intoerable. The whole ground work
of the delay lies in that senseess blind short sighted
policy rather policy. of stopping all railroads
each side OF town, for fear the town might lose
the benefit of fifty cent dinner or two shilling
ride in an omnibus. But have got to come to it.
The day is not ten years distant when railroad car
can be loaded at PASSPORT Maine, or thereabouts,
and 90 to the leeve at New Orleans before breaking
bulk. English railway builders begun on the same
foolish plan we did and they have learned wisdom
long since rail car now can leave London and
run on one continuous track to Aberdeen, almost
six hundred miles. have myself rode on the same
seat from Edinburg to London-four hundred
and two miles-and had | chosen to pay first
class express fare could have gone in less than four
teen hours. AS it was, went in eighteen.
Except London and Glasgow, there is not city in
England that the cars do not run directly through
and they only waiting for the best plan to get
fairly natured, to run the cars through London 1t
will be done by widening Blackfriars bridge for
double railway Track, Duylng out harrington street
and cutting down Hoborn hill. At Birinng ham
city Just about the size of Philadelphia they the
tracks of two railroads up different sides OF the town.
and on different levels; they finally connected the
two roads by running up end to end but then it was
necessary to raise up lower down all not to be
uDoaded by steam engine, to get on the opposite
track-about fifty feet difference in height. Then
that found too expensive and slow, and all that,
and they tore all their works down, built their roads
on level at extra expense of over $2000,0 900; and
now, from Bristol on the southwest, TO York on the
northeast, they run right through old "Brummagem"
The London and Northwestern Railway, in order
to get through got round it. or, rather, ran into the
city and then backed out, and by wide 3" circum-
bendibusn got round the town, and thus run from
London to Liverpool without unloading But they
got tired Of that In few years, and now, at far
larger expense than it would have cost them in the
first place, they have made continuous track
through the city. Yes, sir: we must come to that
here and the sooner the better. If the steam horse
cannot run from Jersey City to Trenton, cross the
Delaware, and run right through the upper part of
Philadelphia somewhere about the Northern Liber-
ties, cross the Schuylki and come right on to Wash
ington crossing the Susquehanna, and then running
through Baltimore, or its suburbs, then we must
have a railroad that will go ten or twenty miles OH
from these bloek-the road places, and then we can
run between the two cities between SIX O'Clock IN
the morning and one in the afternoon.
Washington must bend TO the same necessity and
have track through and bridge across the Poto-
mac, and then you may ride from New York to Par
kersburg-after that road is built-without chang
ing cars or unloading mails. II New York not
on an island, the Boston and Philadelphia people
would demand that railroad should 90 through "by
daylight and undoubtedly You Gothamites would
be perfectly willing to grant IT, without being afraid
Of being ruined by the cars carrying the trade out
of the way Depend on it, sir, that that chain Of
railroads between Boston and New York and the
great Southwest that first gets route through with
few or no breaks in it, will carry off the mail and
passenger traffic. That may be New York, Easton,
Pittsburg, Marietta, Louisville and Memphis; or it
may be Philadelphia, Cumberland, Parkersburgh,
Lexington and Nashville or Baltimore, Washing
ton, Charlottesville Lynchburg, Knoxville, Chat
| tanooga jackson, Miss and New Orleans.
II this last route il judicously laid down it will
carry off the prize but let there be no breaks in the
| steam horse, and bring us the HERALD by fosr or
even six p. NJ, by mail, and Ill subscribe for 1t.
Yours, WASHINQT0FIAN.