New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-03-16
THE PANAMA RAILROAD.


n o. Bsss~ q n n y. n'o~s~
Sin: hand you, herewith, communication jus
received from Col rotien the Chief Engineer Of this
Coupsny, in which be correcs the erroneous impress
,ops with regard 10 our rosd which the tier of your
correspondent in Tuesdays paper is calculated to
produce on the minds Of the few stockholders Who are
not familiar with the enterprise. To those who tno~
Col Tottep IL s unnecessary to say thai his Judgment
and statements may be implicitly relied on. He is
now engaged in preparing detailed report Of the
condition and prospects Of our work. to be presented
TO the Board Of Directors, who viii lose no time in
LAYING the same before the stockholders.
lam sir your obedieu. serv.nt
DAVID HoADLEY, President
Eer- Yo.t, March IA, lass.
NEw.YoRK, Wednesday. March H. 1855.
DAVID HoADLEY, Esq., Pres,dea Of tie PaaIr
Railroad Corpdny-Dear SIR: am met on my srri-
val in this country by letter in THE TRIBUNE of the
18th inst Incorrect in its estimates, aad decided
y injurious to the II terests OF our road cannot re-
train from making il the subject Of remark.
The writer mentions The fact Of the opening of the
road being comforting 10 the travsler-tha, " the
TRAINS run regularly every day that four sss OF
passengers TO and from Caltorns, made the transit
"iD the average time Of four AID bali hours and on
"reitber occasion there ought 10 interfere with
"tbe personal enjoyment safety Of the traveller,
hut not without an occasional detention. Tue " en-
"eine ran of the track This untowsrd event vas
Sowing to the fact that the engine running bsck'
"yard" All THE being correct is sithoat objection.
But when be goes to say that "tbe same csuse pro-
"duced the result on several subsequent occs-
"sions beg leave to ssy that be 10 in that
on no subsequent occasion, durlOg ms stay on the
Istbmus were the cars delayed by the same ci1se
The train was " detained sll night by the settling )f
a small uiece OF bank, during heavy and un-ee-
"sonable sho~er of rain." Every road is liable 70
accidents Of this kind.
The "speed ofthe train II IS not intended should
ever be more than ? or Is miles per hour The en-.
CINE does not proceed with "care and slo Tne.s
over any portion of the road account OF ties a" al
resdy decsyed because these being constantly
replaced, and do not occasion delay.
We are subject TO the same evils on the ls'hmus rs
elsewhere. perhaps more, AID where repairs sre 60
ing on the trains of course, travel slowly Th9 road
is not yet thoroughly bassted and Ohere the b4iss:
ing is goipg op the speed ef the trains is diminished
The tresle-work OF the road ia entirely temporary.
Large gsrgs of men are already engaged filling 1t 10,
and i, will all be completed in one or two months
As 10 the delays Of the Caifornis travellers on the
Isihmus sometimes from the non.arrysl Of the steam
ers they NAV be delayed Fix to forty.eght hours.
Generally, however there will be 10 delay whatever
The delay is the exception, not the rule as is very
well known. But The fatal town of Aspin~all' is
not go unhealthy as the majority of our new Western
towns. And the unhealthy City OF Panama is fll
az healthy as many of our Northern cities. Startling
this assertion may appear it 10 fully borne olt by
the Hospital reports of toe past four yesrs. fsssen
eers therefore need not fear the "malignsnt nature
" Ct the mlasmatic poison from the worse than Pom
" tire marshes" II does not exist
The writer now alludes TO the utter impr ic'ics-
"bility of the Panama Railroad carrying heavy
"heiebt." But The reason he gives for this inprast
cabty is sheer nonsense. presume it will oe &C
kpowledged that road which will Dear the weight of
2otuD engines over it daily, will alec bear freight
train thai may be required. The difficulties OF the
Pacific terminus will be in great measure overcome
by lighters, which are nov under construction.
e e rnh Il
before left the Isihmus, and is nov being built will
give very great facilities for henry freight within two
or three months Further and more complete arrange
meIts will follow.
In treating the question Of whether the road will
"pay" the writer should have sought correct data.
The road has cost naulioR'-nOt seven, as he a.
serts And when entirely finish ed-not the road only,
but together with its appendsges-the City of As
pin~all-tbe terminus at PaDams-suppose il honi
have cost nine millions. What then Will
not the City OF AspiEwall be worth all it will cost to
improve IL And will not a port in the Bay of Pa
mama also be good Investment
The revenue of the road, At present, he puts down
rived from the trade and travel OF Caifornls. whst
IL to from all the It Of the world opened no by
this route all the South Pacific, Australia, China,
&c.-will they bring nothing to our road The prss
tnt business of the road lie much above these figures.
My estimated revenue for The year 1856 is five times
that amount
What bar the nun Der Of lsborers at "this moment
on the rosd to do with the expense of working We
have now coo men exertng themselves to make up
certain bsDksll up the trestiDgduring the present
dry weather. This force is constantly diminishing,
and will be reduced at least onehaf within the next
Elk weeks
There no great deal still TO be done; very little
is 10 be done TO the road proper and ben that little
is done, we shall have one of the most substantial
roads in tue world.
The mature of the climste," and the destructive
character Of the atmosphere and the insects, are all
guarded against by the gnum vte cross ties and the
iron bridges and other structures which have been
adopted The Cleaning OF the road twice year is
a very smsll item Of expense.
The fact M the writer of that article sckpo Wedges
to have seen great work-thst it worked well-thit
"tbe trains regularly every day" but but
what Why, like every other work OF art, being
new, it is not yet perfect. Then, he has reasoned
from entirely incorrect dssnmp.ions in regard to the
cost and Of the road and, in this way. has
pre- duced injurious effect
That the climate and soil OF the Isthmus have
caused great deal of labor and expense in carrying
the road through, is not denied. Neither is ii to be
disputed that the expense of maintaining it will exceed
that Of roads in the United States. What that
pepse will be Is now pretty well sscertsiued-a part
of road having been in operation for the last three
yesrs-aDd bepg now in the most complete order.
But while the expense per mile Of maintaining the
road exceeds that Of other roads, the proportion of
expenses to receipts much lees Hence, 1t is pretty
certain that tie pecuniary result Of the enterprise
will be immensely beneficial to the pockets Of the
stockholders.
''' '''' & N f6rrEN, Chief Engineer.
0sx Of M Panama Railroad Co., Ne York, March H. 1855