The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1853-03-09

pedimcnt. The hardih0od and enterprise of the
people who will Immediately flock along the
northern line, il it be selected, will overcome
Ill difficulties, such as snow may interpose to
the progress ofthe cars in any given locality
upon that route. Repeating my preference.
for The route through my own State, and up tho
north side Of the Platte river, through th'
South Pass, &C., avow myself willing TO v IL
for the road whether my favorite line be desig
mated or not.
The alluson Of the Senator from Pennsylva-
ma (Mr. CooPER) to the fact that the road may
run through Southern California and Texas
will not deter me from voting for the bill, nor
sustaining the act of the President, il he
should designate the most southern route sp k
en- Of, as, in his judgment, the best for the
ton. iterate and reterate that, for myself,
will vote for the road, although the line selected
may not meet my individual preferences What
Senator is SO lost to knowledge of the stang
feelings of sectional and local attachment which
exists in every legislative body, as not to know
that when you attempt to name the termini in
your law, that you have either got to name all
the points which are espirants, or none or dep,-
cit the power Of selection with some disinteres-
ted tribunal.
Now sir, we can construct one great thor
oughfare which will cost much money, land
and time: but we cannot build taco, much less
than Jire, to accommodate aspiring cities and sci
fish localities. We must run the risk of chnice
or never have road / have reflected long up
on this subject, and am well aware Of the p.nt-
up local feeling witch lies at the bottom Of it..
The ouly hope Of success, in my poor judgmcn,
is to deposit the power of designation in the
hands OF the President Of the United States
And would just as soon, if the bill could be
passed to day, intrust that power Of selection to
l.~A 70 hicf
Justice fancy, or any one Of his distinguished
associates ON the Supreme Bench, five could
impose the duty upon him or them, would ans
wer my purpose quite as well. The officer who
performs the duty SO that he be man Of intelli,
gence, character, and responsible position, is
. matter Of the most unima ginable consequence
to me. want the law for the road put upon
the statute-book. | want the dollars and the
land voted I want the President Of the Uni
ted Statas, through his engineers, to obtain all
the information he may desire to enable him to
decide the question of ternini and general route,
and 10 put the read under contract as soon as
his convenience will allow. In conclusion, !
call the attention of the Senate and the country
to the following able and well-wr,tten communi
cation addressed to my collsague) from Lucius
n. Langworthy, Esq a highly respectable and
intelligent constituent Of mine, and an enthusi-
astic supporter ofthis noble enterprise
Hes says:
ssThe necessity of railroad from some poin'
on the Mississippi to the Pacific, presume ev.
erybody will admit. because it is obvious tina,
the States on the Pacific can never be properly
connected with those on this Atlantic, or Of the
Mississippi valley. either in interest or impulses
by the long circuitous route of the ocean, which
carries us BY or through so many foreign soils
and that, therefore, as soon as our resources will
permit, we ought to make use of them to reach
across the continent tina, iron arm which is now
extended from the Atlantic States TO the Missis-
slppi and Ohio valleys. The public sentiment,
is unanimous on that point, or nearly so.
s.But an apparently insuperable-nay, quite
overwhelming difficulty, meets us at the start,
with the cry Of Where shall we begin? This
is emphatically the great question Of the age
the only embarrassing one, all others connected
with it having been settled by the spirit Of The
times. This question, together with other inn
pnrtant and engaging inquiries, viz: When
shall it be gin, and how shall il b. accomplished!
i propose to answer in this communication.
First, let this great national highway be begun
in the valley Of the Platte, on the Missouri river,
within the territories where Congress has I'M
doubted jurisdiction, and let railroad be con-
structed up this spacious valley through the
South Pass, the Salt Lake basin, and the other
mountain passes to the limits Of Oregon and Ca
lifornia. Let these and also Iowa be provided
with grants Of land as Missouri has heen, to
construct their several branches TO the main
trunk in the great Plains of the West Here is
the natural line Of travel ana business Ii is the
route pursued by the wild buffalo, and the lndi.
an trail attests It to have been his route between
the great lakes and the western ocean for cen
turtles. And more recently it is the road pur-
sued by the trappers and traders, and adopted
by the army of emigrants to be found in the
world Of equal length, in natural state. At
Grand Island Of the Platte, the two great roads
over Missouri and Iowa meet, and from here
the tide Of emigration rolls on together towards
the western Ell Dorado New York and Bos.
ton will soon be in connection with the Missis
sippi river. So, also, will Mobile, by the way
Of the mouth Of the Ohio. The cnnverging
pnint Of these eastern and southern avenues Of
commerce is Dubuque, in the State of Iowa.
From the east, keeping nearly on the parallel OF
~ degrees 80 minutes OF north latitude, by the
lakes and railroads along their borders, the pre-
sent channel Of commerce is now laid as far
west as Dubuque. Iowa, as State has made
earnest and repeated applications for a
grant Of alternate sections of the public lands,
TO aid her in extending the same onward to the
Missouri river, at point opposite the north
side of The Platte valley, where the present
western emigration passes, and where it is pro
per that the national road should begin.
nLet Congress make this grant to Iowa and
lei Oregon and California be provided with sim.
liar grants 10 meet this through their borders,
and this great work may be accomplished in a
very few years Thus Missouri and Iowa, be-
ing furnished with means by the General Gov
eminent. will construct their respective branch
e. probably uniting at Grand Island; Caiifor.
MIA and Oregon viii also construct the branches
through their limits; and by a loan of the Gov
eminent credit 10 suitable companies, by
act Of Congress, 70 construct the portion through
the plains, the whole work may be completed
within Eve years. Thus the tune and place oil
beginning. as well az the means Of construction,
are plainly indicated. No rational mind can fail
to perceive the advantage these proposed routes
possesses for the great highway OF nations con.
meeting the two oceans.
"Ia the first place, it is on the latitude where
human life is supplied best with the products of
the earth, or where they and ma, ufactures ca1
be most sofrly transported. II is the line of
commerce marked ut by nature on her most
ample and magnificent scale. Il is the center
Of the broad belt of earth's surface where the
arts and sciences, civilization and morals, -four.
ish most, and where commerce has achieved her
proudest triumphs. In short, il is the line in our
own coultry where the aris OF man have pre-.
vailed TO the greatest degree in laying the
avenues Of business oyer land by the shores Of
our inland seas, and onward to the west, keeping
this same line over the prairie plains of Iowa,
mp the Platte valley, through the South Pass,
Salt Lake basin, and the other mountain passes.
Thus pushed on by New England enterprise and
New England skill, the great work will one day
be accomplished, whether the Government
engage in it or not; for The wants Of business
will require its construction, and there are mt
wanting noble spirits to engage in SO glorious
work. As Government railway, it would
cost less than nothing, requiring only a loan Of
a few millions Of the national credit, to be con-
celed in due time from the earnings Of the road
La an enterprise Of this magnitude, the time to
begin is somewhat important. In this case,
howe yer, that question has long since been deci
drd by the American people.
1.-THE public mind has fixed the present time !!
Indced il might have been accomplished even
now, had Mr. Asa Whitney's plans been acced
ed 10 BY Congress, and the world enj ying its
advantages, and our interests as nation pro-
NOTED N an eminent degree. AT present, how
ever, Cor the sake Of expeditinn, the plan Of
n e. r. Degrsnd, which proposes loaning the
Government credit TO corporate companies,
seeas the best calculated u produce favorable
r.s,,lfs Anv arran0emal1t that Ia devised in