Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1857-02-10
Forthe Meigs Co. Telegraph.
Railroad to Cincinnati.

Mr.. EDITOR MANY of your readers
were much gratifed to read your able arti
Gle in the Telegraph Of the Sd inst, on the
subject of supplying Cincinnati with fuel.
When | first read the article / was aston
ished at the amount of coal mined in Meigs
CO., and supposed that 10, ,ooo, 900 bush. per
annum was too high an estimate; but on
making the necessary examination, I found
that amount nearly correct. wish, how
ever, to make one small correction in the
cost at which coal can be delivered at the
mine. You stated that it might be deliv-
cred at four cents per bushel. find that
first quality of coal cannot be afforded for
less than FIVE cents per bushel. 1t is true
that the salt furnaces are supplied at three
and three-fourth cents per bushel; yet the
coal with which they are furnished, al
though equally valuable for making salt,
is not regarded as No. for shipping.
The great question, however is, shall
Pomeroy and Cincinnati be connected by
railroad? A more suitable time for agita-
ting that question than the present could
not be- selected. am credibly informed
that much of the coal which was sent to
Cincinnati by the railroad, cost at the mines
fourteen cents per bushel; and adding ten
cents-the cost Of transportation-the coal
costs in the city, twenty-four cents. Now
add five cents-the cost of coal at Pome'
roy-to the cost of transportation, and
you have fifteen cents as the price of coal
in the city. 1t vii! be unnecessary to add
that an almost indefinite quantity might be
produced for railroad transportation should
there be such demand, without any ex,
traordinary effort, as the business is here
constantly carried on for the purpose o.
supplying by the river.
The fact of railroad connection be-
tween Pomeroy and Cincinnati would ma
terially influence the price of the whole
consumption in the city. Now let us SEE
how much the consumers would gain by
it. 1t is stated that theaverage daily con
sumption during the winter, is about GO,
900 bushels. The lowest railroad price tC
consumers may be put at from twenty-five
to thirty cents. Could Pomeroy have sen
her coal in at the same time, the cost tt
consumers would not have exceeded fifteel
to twenty cents; a difference of ten cent
per bushel. The daily loss, therefore, t.
the people of Cincinnati, was at leas
Sc 900, or $3.50, 900 per month. This i
a large sum, but it is not an overestlmate
1t will thus be seen how immense the ad
vantage in pecuniary point of view, sucl
railroad connection would be to the cit,
of Cincinnati; and it would in the futur
prevent another fuel famine.
While the people of Cincinnati are SUI
ferers and losers for want of such commu
nication, the people of Pomeroy suffer ant
lose with them. The want of river navi
cation during the past season, has been al
actual loss to our citizens of over $1O0,OO
equal to the loss by the conAagration las
August; and the laborers have been chic
among the losers. This is indeedtearfu
to contemplate; yet every candid busines
man investigating the matter, must admi
its truth. Such are the evils to be amel
iorated if not abated by the constr uctio1
of railroad from this place to Hamden
in vinton county-a distance of 35 miles
Much might be said of how particular in
terest--such as the manufacture of Flour
Iron, Salt, &C., would be affected by tn
enterprise, but that must be left for the fu
ture. Meanwhile | would advise all kind
and classes of business men in Pomeroy
whose interests are involved, to think ant
talk about this matter. X.