Washington sentinel. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1855, 1853-10-21
THE PACIFIC RAILROAD.


Atlantic seaboard and from the general com
mercial and agricultural interests of the whole
nation. Soon the work must be commenced
The ground must be broken for the Pacific
railroad ut the earliest moment that enlight-
ened Judgment and sound discrimination can
fix on the point of beginning and the line of
progress.
We have already stated, at some length, our
objections to government work-using plain
and pointed language that admitted of no mis-
Interpretation. We have set forth our insuper.
able constitutional objections to such an I'M
dertaking by the federal authority, to be sup
ported and carried ont by means of drafts on
the public treasury. We have also stated, in
language equally plain and pointed, the pro,
tracted delays and the numberless corruptions
which attend the very idea of communication
between the two oceans, if constructed BY gov
ernment officers and by means furnished by the
government And, further, we have expressed
our firm conviction that the great demand for
Pacific railroad was commercial demand
fully competent to satisfy itself by means of
more from the general government than such
means and facilities as it might properly fur
nish as a consideration for the advantages it
would enjoy in the discharge of lis proper and
legitimate functions.
When we penned our article taking these
positions, we were not aware of the movements
that were then on foot among capitalists to
carry out our predictions. We knew that
charter had been granted by the New York le-
gislature; and we knew that the State Of Texas
had made provision by a grant of lands for
any Pacific communication which might pass
through her domain But we did not know
how much had been done on that basis. 1t
was only two days ago that we were informed
that the whole amount of stock necessary to
commence operations on the Pacific railroad,
had been really and truly subscribed for-an
amount which is far beyond any estimate we
have seen, to connect the Mississippi valley
with the navigable waters of the Pacific. This
fact proves that the energy and enterprise Of
our people are capable Of furnishing any needed
means Of commercial intercourse. without de-
handing poisonous and corrupting associa-
ton with the federal treasury.
The course of existing trade and intercourse,
the lines of State Improvements, and the con-
fguration Of that portion Of the continent
owned and occupied by the United States,
point out clearly and intelligibly the great line
of railway communication which must at no
distant day unite California and the Mississippi
valley. The extreme northern route we believe
has been abandoned by the few friends which
it once had. The sinuous line westward from
st. Louis, over the SUBMITS of the Rocky
Mountains, even if practicable, could not be
completed by this or the next generation: and
when completed, it would be utterly and entire
ly worthless for the great trade and commerce
which the remote East offers to us. That line
has been called the central road, and it may
deserve the name that has been given to it if
reference be had to the California desert or the
unsettled wilderness west of the Missouri Dor
der. In any other point of view II is not cen
tral--not in unison with the great lines of ex
listing improvements, but bearing up towards
Canada and the lines Of road that run parallel
to the northern lakes.
Memphis is the real centre Of the great Mis-.
sissippi valley. The railroad trianguatons
having the Atlantic coast as common base
tend in that direction. But the acquisition
of Texas, and the settlement Of the western
shore of the Mississippi river, have extended
the railroad triangulation beyond Memphis to
Fulton, at the great bend Of the Red river-per.
haps further still toward Dallas in Texas.
The route from Fulton to Ell Paso has been
explored. 1t offers every facility TO the con.
struction of railroad. The surface of the
country offers no Obstacles while water is plenty
and timber abundant The soil is fertile, and
the climate is genial and healthful, giving every
assurance that settlement and cultivation will
keep pace with the construction Of road that
offers market facilities to agricultural produc
tons The whole line from Fulton to IL Paso
lies within the borders Of Texas and that State
has already made provision, as we have men
toned for any Pacific road running within its
limits.
FL Paso is about thirty degrees Of longitude
west from Washington. The head Of the gull
Of California is but seven degrees further west
and San Diego, one of the best ports on the
Pacific coast, and capacious enough for all the
navies of the world, is only three degrees west
Of the gulf of California. A railroad from the
Pacific to FL Paso, and thence east to Dallas
in Texas, or Fulton, in Arkansas, would fulfil
every desirable condition. A road might unite
it with Galveston for heavy freights. 1t would
connect with the Opelousas road which is
being constructed to Shreveport. The road
from ST. Louis 10 Van Buren, could easily be
extended so as to intersect it, giving to St
Louis far greater advantages than she could
ever derive from the central route. The com
municatiou would be easy to yicksburg, anC
thence BY Jackson. in Mississippi, Montgomery