The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1855-08-30
Correspondence of the JOurnal.1
CLINTON. INp. Aug.


form of letter to offer to you and your citi-
zens few refec tons, which have been sug.
gested to my mind in view of the claims
have heard put forth in behalf of your city,
no doubt by some of your citizens or those
interested in your growth and prosperity as
city.
1t has been claimed for you, that you are
to be the city of Indiana on the Ohio river,
and particularly the receptacle for all the
business of the great Wabash Valley.
have spent many years of my life in bust
ness here on the Wabash, and although
stranger TO you, am an occasional 1is-
itor to and passer through your city, as bust
ness calls me, and have been and still am
en- observer of the course of our trade, and
the bearings that. the Railroads alre ady fin
ished and in course of construction, as well
as the Wabash and Erie Canal, and the Wa
bash river, are likely to have on your trade
and growth in future, and | warn you now
that you have yet good deal to do in order
that your city may become really what is
claimed for her. know you have and am
free to accord to you, superiority of geo.
graphical position, and that with the South
ern terminus of our canal, and of the Evans
vile and Charlottesville Railroad being at
your place, ought to give you great adysata.
ges. You have too, as am informed,
mine of good Stone Coal now being sue
cessfully worked in your very midst. These
should give you great advantages over your
rivals, and with proper degree of enterprise
on the part of your business men, and FORE
sight on the part Of your Railroad directory,
it seems to me you ought to succeed in secu-
ring the interior trade. Let your course to-
ward the merchant and traders of the interi-
or be liberal; urge upon your merchants that
their stocks of dry goods and groceries should
be ample, and should be offered at the lowest
prices; your manufacturers should produce
their articles too at prices as low at least as
those of competing cities. And as your
place may be the point of transhipment for
large amounts of the heavy products of the
interior, and for the receipt and forwarding
to the interior of the necessary supplies of
goods and merchandise, the expenses of
these shi pments should be cut down to the
lowest notch. Heretofore, most of our pro-
duce has been shipped South, but it may be
that Northern routes will soon offer such in
ducements as to draw nearly all that way.
This Is something to think about. Dur
Northern enc of the Canal, however, cannot
let us out that way after November till May.
and all shipments between those months
have to go South. It must be matter Of
choice between the Railroad and Wabash
river, and Of course that choice will fall on the
cheapest and nest economical route.
st. Louis and Cairo will both compete
with you strongly for this as we'll as all other
branches of our trade, and it cannot be de-
MED that they have some show for stcGess.
In view, therefore, of the Contest that you
are bound to have for the Wabash trade, as
friend TO the prosperity of your city, though
not blind to the difficulties you must encoun-
ter, repeat, let your merchants adopt and
pursue liberal course, and particularly let
the expenses of transhipments of produce be
reduced. These expenses have had occasion
to notice, and | assure you the item of dray.
age is too great, you must get rid of it or
else you will have to do without great deal
Of the trade, at least from Terre Haute up.
Get rid of that, and consequently the damage
which many kinds of goods must receive by
being handled and hauled so much as they
have to be in moving them from your Rail-
road depot to the river, and with your Rail-
road tariff put down, our trade will come
steadily forward over your road, and both it
and your city will experience a very large
E increase of business. In order to get rid of
this ruinous item it seetds to me your Rail-
road company should lay their track down
some street, from your present out of the
way depot to the river, and there q freight
depot, and then drayage would be matter
nevet noticed. have suggested this to one
of your Railroad officials, but was answered,
the company at this time could not incur the
debt necessary to buy ground and build.
Then would say lay your track for the pres
ent, at any rate, on the front street next the
river. Your city authorities cannot surely
be so blind to the interests of the city as to
refuse permission 10 do this.
Then your Railroad can deliver our stuff
on the very wharf where it is TO be shipped
South or East. This would avoid mourning
debt for freight station, and answer every
purposes the only trouble would be that ship
ping agents would have to provide temporary
means for securing property from damage by