Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1857-04-04

NASHVILLE AND NEhPHIS-DIPFOF RAILROAD
BETWEEN THEN

with lives, always with valuable cargoes. snd oar
readers have doubtless noticed the fact that four
out Ct every i've Of these accidents occur shove
Memphis and generally on the Ohio river.
That stream is annually becoming less and less
reliable for navigation, which was suspended By
ice at least two months during the past winter snd
the winter before, and which il generally suspend.
ed ever year, from August to January. Sand
bars, snags, ice, and collisions il HARROW chaRnelr
are 50 cJmmon above Memphis, and particularly
above Cairo as to cause I'll traVeleEs to feel that
locomotion by steam is becoming seri~usly DANCE
rous. Wrecks are encountered almost every
tReuty live miles; AID passenger, when Stepping
on boat as often anticipates 4 sand bar, Or
snsg, or collision, or fog as q safe arrival at
his journeys end. But Gay or two since, one of
our citizens, COL TopP, who was returning ilom
the North, took boat at Louisville. AS matter
of course, be got aground; but being anxious to
reach home, be chartered skii, got on board with
bis wife and daughter and started with the eur.
EeRt, pTsierring to risk being picked I'd by song
lucky boat TO remaining on . sand bar Week or
two.
Twenty four hours since, Insny OF "a, ,;,;,.r,
were rendered extremely anxious 4s q. Inc fass If
friends on the Nashville packet Gin, which rumor
said had blown up.
We ask Is there no REM ny Tor ell this2 Will
msn tnns continue, j. ia year to year, 10 trust
themselves men miles, ana their millions Of pro-
Pe''S - enamel Of communication yearly be-
coming less F::.s6ls and more dlpgerous1
a Iuere no way to avoid t1s danger TO life and
pTperty1 There is; and the whole country in
terested IN the social aud commercial intercourse
that low exists, and win constantly increase be-
tween Memphis and the Ohio valley and the lake
cities, Will endorse what we say.
Can any man tell ns tie number Of people who
would have passed over thO Memphis and 01io
Railroad, from the Ohio valley 10 New Orleans and
| back, had that Road been completed two years
| ago2 Can be tell US how many thousands were
| detained by ice for moths, and by low water tor
a longer timer Can he tell the numbtr who were
deferred from travel by toe known peris of low
water and ics2 Can he estimate the amount Of
produce thus kept from market for long weeks2 and
| still again can be tell US the extra thousands thai
all this vast region had TO pEy on this accolnt Tor
! food and fuel alone?
| It'll computed by an able CiuCunati cotsmpo:a-
| ~, that from April 1855, to March 1856, the val
ne of property destroyed on the Oaio river alone
would build . railroad from Memphis to Louisville
! This may seem startling; but to one who has ne
| ticed the records Of disasters to came s. fat,
boats, keel-bosts, &c, it is not 80.
The larger portion of the commerce. between the
Ohio Valley and New Orleans, would pass over the
| Memphis and Ohio Railroad. II would be trans
ported from Louisville TO Memphis aud thence
take water to New Orleans, OF it would be shipped
| by steamer tom New Orleans, and take the road
| st Memphis Our merchants would thus d. the
receiving and forwarding Of an immensely vllua.
bic business that now passes by them; such q COM
merce as would soon become more valuable than
any other, because 30 very large. TIC arrivals at
our hotels, too, would be BY thousands instead 81
hundreds, weekly for every train that would
come down from Louisville, and every packet that
would come up from New Orleans, would have
their hundreds on board, who would take rueal,
and spend an hour, day or s week at Memphis.
The truth is, we regard this Memphis and Ohio
Railroad as 3 sort of pot Of ours.
We did some Of the first work years ago, whea
the press had to throw itself into the fight Il is
now a sine qua with our eitizens because they
all see lis vast importance to Memphis, sad iIS
magnitude grows upon Us, Ss we contemplate rs
influence upon our prosperity.
We see it stated by reliable authority, that four.
fhs of all the railroad travel in the Union ia on the
various roads Leading out Weit from the Atlantic
sesboArd the Ohio valley, tie upE er Mississippi ard
the lakes; and it is certainly Of great moment to
Us to make such connection in the shortest Possi-
bic time
Our Nashville friends, too, are deeply interested
in the early completion of this Road; net as Civ
ing it "maIersl aid but as creating pub ic opin-
ion RELATIVE to it. The day Of antsgonism be
tween Nashville and Memphis is gone by, but not
that of generous rivalry. Each will control its
] own Q6sklDyr GEu Tue u05tiL Va JUN PAGA4a1a "
be bright one. The beautiful capital Of our ohiV
slric State must soon be the centre Of large in
land trade snd the day Of her prosperity has but
lust dswned. Of our own city, we will say out
little; but thus much we will say OF both, that It IS
their mutual interest to Be connected By as dTees ana
short line Of railroad, and IN as short time al
possible We think every citizen of each place
will say "Amen" to this. Let Us cow see what line
thkt is
With the exception of few miles, the Memphis
and Ohio Railroad Company have their entire lice
under construction from Brownsville to Paris, II
Henry county. That Road crosses the Nashville
aud North Western Road near the corner Of Car
roll, Weakey and Henry, exsoty one hundred and
twelve miles from Memphis. From that pslut to
Huntingdon is about thirteen miles, by the Nash
vile and North Western Road; and it Is thus ent
hundred and twenty-five miles from Memphis t.
Huntingdon, by the Memphis and OHIO and th'
Nashville and North Western Roads We uams
Huntingdon, because this latter road passes thro
that place from Nashville to Hickman; ard because
it is the point from which another route to Mem
phis is spoken Of This other is from Nashville 4
! Huntingdon, ard thence to Jackson, Bolivar
Grand Junction, &c, via the Mississippi Cen "a
and Tennessee Railroad.
, The distance from Huntingdon to Memphis By
this route is as follows: Memphis to Grand June
ton nifty two miles, Grand Junction to Jackson
forty-eight miles; Jackson to Huntingdon thirty
Eve miles; total, one hundred and thirty five miles
This is ten miles longer than by the Memphis AnC
! Ohio Road. But the distance By the latter RsAC
msY be shortened still more It is 81 mile
from Memphis to where the Memphis and Oht
Road strikes the western boundary line Of Caro-
county.
From that point it is four miles to McLsmores
vile; and it is nine miles from McLsmOresvi.e Il
: Huntingdon; thus making it but one hundred AM
ten miles from Memphis to Huntingdon by thi
route. It is twenty-five miles Eearer than 40.
other line to Huntingdon, and saves an hours time
, and large expense in passage and freight betWee
] this lat and Nashville
If Carroll county will take this matter in han
at once And before rival routes and interests sPrln
I'D she may make her county seat an impOEtau
pace Let her people determine to give more G
to the North Western Road, and the Memphis art
Ohio Road and let them also determine to build
Branch Road from Huntingdon, through McLe
moresville, to q direct connection with the Mem
phis and Ohio Road, about four miles west OF tha
= village Let them do this, and when they zee h
: | benefits and cOnveniences that will flow iroI
these works they will never regret having aide
item.
. The county can do it, and we mistake the spir
Of the age aud of her people, if they do not do i
This done Nashville AID Memphis will no onge
visit by Lbe river; but the citizens of each plsC
t will breakfast at home, dine st Huntington, an
:, sup ct the other end OF the line Hunt ngdoa thu
becomes the half way station on either Road
whether be ween Nashville and Memphis, or Nash
t vile and Hickman; and Carroll county shoul