The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1856-11-26
The GRANVILLE Railroad.
The Mount Vernon Advocate SAYS:

grade-little or no grading required; in her
case the road is undulating from one extreme
to the other, and the distance is near forty
miles.
The value of roads depend upon the dis
lance they run through fertile and produc-
tive country, capable Of development. This is
especially the case where no great CONNER
cial points are to be connected. We fancy
that neither the trade of GRANVILLE nor Mount
Vernon would contribute a vast sum to build
or support road. Such road must depend
upon the resources of the country through
which 1T is located. The road would be
built for the country, not the towns. and it
will pay in proportion to the number of miles
it ,penetrates the country; so It will be as
good an investment forty miles in length as
twenty.
Another important consideration is, that a
railroad should have a town, at least, at one
terminus, at which the country through
which it runs can find a market. The whole
Wabash Valley trade has for forty years pass
ed by the wharf Of Mount Vernon, and come
forty, miles up the river to be shipped South,
again repassing Mount Vernon.
The building Of railroad would not change
this natural course of trade. In any event
we should only have to change our front, and
look down the Ohio, instead of across the
Wabash. If the road were built, is it propos-
ed that Mount Vernon should supply Gray
Vile; or is it that GRANVILLE should, as the
greater market, supply Mount Vernon? In
either case the principal, in this mutual trade,
would naturally come to Evansville for the
supplies of both; and if Mount Vernon builds
the road and supplies GRANVILLE we must have
road to the former, to keep her in supplies;
or if the course of the trade be reversed, there
are additional reasons for pushing the road to
GRANVILLE, to keep our friends in good stocks
there.
The Rip Van Wrinkle editor Of the Advocate
thinks Evansville is cormorant, that has at
tempted to swallow more than she can digest
and is now suffering the pains and penalties
Of her appetite. We are happy to inform our
cotemporary that the patient sleeps we'll after
the surfeit, and when she awakes, she will be
in excellent stomach to take in few more oil
the small fry, to which she can extend her
iron arms; and those who would escape her
grasp, must keep awake.
Our rival for the favors of that beautiful
daughter of the Wabash Plains, Miss Gray
vile, is guilty Of Misrepresentation, in charg-
ing us with repudia ton 1t is sin of which
&c oh
feel SO much dread, that we have refused to
give our notes, which by contract we were to
deliver from nervous apprehension that we
might, at some distant day, be led, by evil in
fuences, into the temptation of repudiating.
1t is very gross SANDER upon the fair fame
Of our city, to say she has San accumulation
''of Indebtedness abroad, without visible
'means Of relief therefrom, and her creditors
threatened with reputation; and that it is
mot presuming over much to suppose that
cher credit is we'll nigh if not quite exhausted
''and that though she were DESTROYS of in
"creasing her obligations to the amount re-
'quired to build the GRANVILLE road, as she
"would be compelled to, her ability to do SC
might we'll be called in question. The drair
"of individual capital has likewise been such
''as to leave no hopes in that direction o
ability to prosecute further costly enterpri
"Ses 3D.
Our whole city debt is but $2O5, 900, paya-
BILE in twenty-year bonds, which we could pay
off in three years without any great distress
in our present circumstances ; and before any
of the bonds will mature the city will have
population and resources that would enabl
her to pay it at a single call, without making
one wry face at it. But the whole debt ha
been incurred for subscriptions to Railroads
whose stock she holds for the full amount
and which in five years will be worth pre-
MUM.
In truth, the city has no debt. She owe
nothing but what will be paid by the prop
erty for which she gave the obligations
though it may be at discount now. Evans
vile could at any date, pay her debt witt
about as little inconvenience to herself, a
Mount Vernon could discharge her paltr
debt of $4,000 or $4,000. 1t is an outrage t
talk of Evansville being oppressed by deb
of 100000. while cities like Mobile and Sa
vannah, not larger in population and resoul
ces, are sustaining corporation debts of thre
to Eve millions Our fault has been, and
now, that we have been too timid in the use
the city's credit 1t would probably hay
been much to her advantage, if her deb
were now a million, and she had the fruits {
it in railroads AS for the private resource