The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1855-03-13
'rHE DAILY DISPATCH
--.;;.,,n.y NoRNINo. MARCH Is, less.
REMOVAL

TTTEsDAY MORNING. MARCH Is, isss
REMOVAL
Tar Dr.rATcH Office is removed from its
ate location on Governor street, TO the corn
r. of Main and 18th streets.
p,vrs And KANAwHA CANAL AND
sourH.rpr RALRoAp.-Msjor Jesse Snead
nuhlishes q communication in the Richmond
Whis of yesterday. correcting some errors
respecting the tolls of the Canal, whicn ~.
ne.red in a communication in thst paper OF
the ssth of February; and also IN q commu-
nication on the same subject IN tne Daiiy
D,.n.tch Of the 9th inst. Majer Snead gives
. ..h,a of charges on certain articles trans.
norted on the City Point and Soufhside rail-
roads. nv their tariff of the LIST of March.
1855. and comparative table of charges on
the like articles on the Richmond Dock and
]. r. and K. Canal. by their tariff of tolls on
the LIST Of February, 1885. and existing Dock
tolls adopted in 1884. 1t appears that the
average cost oftransportation on the railroad
is upwards of so per cent. more than on the
Canal In regard to the statement that a
hogshead of tobacco from Lynchburg to Pc
tersburg by the railroad costs one dollar and
thirty-two cents less than by the canal to
Richmond, it is shown by the table of charges
that s4.5o per hid. is the cost both by rail-
road and canal Major s. refers to the state
ment of Merchant" that a merchant in
Lynchburg can buy iron in Baltimore and
have it landed in Lynchburg by the South
side railroad as cheap or cheaper than he can
get it by the canal from the Tredegar Iron
Works, "but IS the s. s. Railroad now car
ries iron from City Point to Lynchburg from
80 to Sass per ton less than it can be trans
ported from Richmond by the canal this ad-
vantage is entirely lost to Richmond This,
however, it appears, is mistake, for the
g. 8. and C. P. Railroads. by their published
rates, charge for ton of 1000 lbs. iron $500,
whereas the charges on the canal are "a,
making difference in favor of the canal of
l6o ton. 1t was also stated by "Mer-
chant that "the agent of the East Tennes-
see Railroad desired to make a contract for
the transportation of the iron for that road
upon the Canal, but he found that the tolls
alone were about 81 per ton more than the
whole expenses of transportation from City
Point to Lynchburg by the Southside Rail-
road, to this must be added sl.25 per ton
freight upon the Canal, making the cost OF
transportation upon the Canal, nearly one
hundred per cent greater than upon the rail.
road
Surprising the iron thus referred to to be
railroad iron, Major Snead replies that there
is no specification of railroad iron in the 5. s.
and c. p tariff of tolls, but there is of pig,
bloom and scrap iron, and it is fair to presume
that it would cost as much per ton to trans
port on these roads railroad iron as pig or
scrap iron. By their rates from City Point
to Lynchburg, these would cost per ton OF
1900 lbs. $3.50. The charges on the same
by canal are s2.6O-one dollar per ton less
by canal than by railroad.
1t Ia made clear, we think, beyond all dis
pute, that, according to the published tariffs
of the railroad and the canal, the average cost
oftransportation on the railroad is upwards
of so per cent more than on the canal.
PACIFIC RAILROAD OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
q notice in the New York Herald, of the IRE
port of the Secretary of War on the several
Pacific Railroad Explorations" it appears
that the extreme Northern route, between
the 47th and 49th parallels of latitude, start
ing from st. Paul, in Minnesota and striking
the Pacific near the mouth of the Columbia,
in Oregon, will require road, allowing for
ascent and descent, Of 2207 miles Estima-
ted cost, $40, 900. The second route,
lMormon,) of the 4lst parallel, commencing
on the navigable waters of the Missouri, pas
sing across the Great Basin to the Sierra Ne
vada chain, terminating just above San Fran
cisco. distance 3031 miles, cost $l16,0 900.
The obstacles to both the routes are the tun-
melting of mountains, bridging of rivers,
scarcity of timber, wide deserts and cold eli.
mate.
The third route, of the seth parallel, known
rs Benton's Great Central Route. is pro-
nounced by the Engineers as utterly imprac.
ticable from its mountain distractions. Els.
timsted length from Westport to San Fran
cisco, 20s0 miles
The fourth route, of the 35th parallel (Sen-
ator Rusk's route,) beginning at Fort Smith,
IN Arkansas, is regarded by the Engineers
as almost as bad as Benton's, Estimated
cost, $l69, 2l0,265.
The fifth route, or the extreme Southern
route, is near the s2d parallel, via Texas,
New Mexico, FL and the ella, to the Pa.
oihc. The estimated distance from Fulton in
Arkansas to San Pedro, on the Pacific ;s
1918 miles-equated length, allowing for as.
cents and descents, 2239 miles. Estimated
cost, 6s,97o,Ooo.
The advantages of this route are "tbat If
I" practically third shorter than any of the
Others between the Mississippi and the Pa
clnc-that it goes by the flank of the Rocky
Aountains and the Sierra Nevada chain in
stead of going over or under tbem-tb., tha
route is over region of elevated table Ionds
requiring little or no gradipg-and that ,bs
soil is dry and free from snow from one and
to the other, except occasional light fs,, si ~
New Mexico. The drawbacks of This 80
are, that after leaving Arkansas, it is n cor