Daily national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1854, 1854-01-02
RAILROADS, NORTH AND SOUTH.

The Memphis Eagle and Enquirer has some
sensible remarks on the influence Of railroads.
II ridicules the notion that the more rapid
growth OF the Northern Communities is to be
attributed to the action Of the Federal Gov
crnment, through its Tariff and Revenue regu-
la,ions A closer and deeper examination, il
thinks, will show that other and more power
full influences have been at wolk.
"Those influences spring from the Location
If Northern Labor on Northern soii, and the
prevalence Of the opposite 81 stem in the SOUTH
We confess this proposition seems TO us
rather obscure @Northern Labor is located on
Northern SOIL" but where Is Southern Labor
located more ineligible statement as an
explanation Of the difference in the growth Of
the two sections, would be--Northern Soil
is the home Of Free Labor, Southern Soil is
the homo Of Slave Labor The two sections
are unequal in their march, not because the
Labor Of one Is expended beyond, that Of the
other, within, its limits, but because Labor in
one is voluntary and free, in the other, invol-
untary and enslaved.
The facts presented by our contemporary in
regard to Northern and Southern Railroad en-.
terprise are more TO the purpose. ID says:
sin 1928 there was in the United States
but one railroad finished, and that WINS in
Massachusetts,, OF three miles in length Last
year, 1852 there were u ,63l miles Of railroad
finished, viz: s,659 miles In the North, and
only 2,s72 in the South, including the Bslti-
more and Ohio railroad In ls47 there was
finished 1896 miles, Of which there were in
the North 1855 miles, and in the South but
1851 milcs In 1912 there was finished ST.
milcs Of which tire North had 1859, and the
South 1888 miles Ia 1897 there was finished
i,42I miles, &C which the North had 9l6
and the South sos miles. In 1892 there was
finished 1871 miles, Of which ~ miles were in
the North, and 50 miles in the South.
u will be seen that the ratio Of increase in
making railroads in the North over the South,
has been steadily progressive, from 1892 up TO
the present consolidating, in 1882, the
striking disproportion Of 1869 10 2,s72-or
within fraction Of being three times as great
Now, these SIR thousand miles OF railroad
which the North had last year more than the
South, and which she has had ever since 1882
ia nearly tho same proportion, have been con-
ffnuaiig ioorking as PRODUCER, in commune
ton with the ordinary labor OF the country.
These insnimate workers, these newly created
laborcrs added to the previously existing stock
Of laborers, have produced revenue In 1851
the whole revenue, thus arriving. was. from
canals 80, 467 500 from railroads s21 81 2 043--
altogether, $27. 979 742. OF this magnificent
ANIMAL revenue, the South receives 81 ,76I, 728
only while the North pocketed the neat snm
Of $2e 2is,0l4-giying her, as the reward Of
having engaged more largely 10 internal i'm
provemeDts than the South, fpenty.fce times
more pecuniary ability than her sister section
OF the Unionn
Tho particular direction which the capital
and labor Of country shall take does not do
.psnd upon mere caprice, or arbitrary purpose.
HID Inc North the same social and labor sys-
~ MAT tho South has, the difference now
poinIcd ont by the Enquirer would not exist
p any noticeable extent