Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-08-25
NEWS AND GOSSIP.

| HE FUTURE OF THE RAILRoADs.-The New
York Herald, in recently arguing to show that
all the railroads in the country are destined to
become bankrupt in the-cogse of ths'next six
Or seven years, has caused q terribIs futter in
Wall street, where railrosd4 are simply the
means Of specializing. Journals well knoyn as
representatives of stock-speculating opinions
have replied with great warmth to the Herald &
views on the subject, and perhaps with as much
truth as the Herald itself brings forward in its
argument, This controversy, on the whole, is
an interesting one; insomuch as it serves to en-
tighten the world as to the shortcomings of rail.
road management at the North, no less than in
the matter of using newspapers to decry the
value Of the property of honest people, as the
Herald is certainly being used for specializing
purposes in this case.
AT the South, no railroad stocks-and, in.
deed, no other stocks whatever-are regarded
as at the North, as simply cards with which to
gamble without violating written law. The
fact that they are so used at the North by those
who habitually trade in them, and therefore
own controlling interests in them, is the secret
Of the population, extravagance and ruinously
Wv AaiSS uHu NCibuts WHICH, TtUueT t0eul un-
profitable. But for stock gambling on the part
Of their owners, and undue competiton-the
construction Of competing roads where the bust
ness fails to warrant building them-there is
no earthly reason why half dozen railroads
in the United States should fail to pay hand
some dividends.
Everywhere in the land the production of
freight and the travel is increasing enormously;
even faster than the increase of prices of nearly
everything. The business of the country can
well afford to stand higher railroad freight
charges and passenger fares. Yet their tenden.
cy is downward; while stockholders are rarely
reaping dividends. We here refer to Northern
railroads. Those of the South are doing far
safer business generally, simply because they
are in the hands Of persons not engaged for the
most part in stock gambling. The South will
rue the day when her public works fall under
such management, which will only be when the
business of agriculture ceases to be the con-
trolling interest in her midst. We are not un-
prepared to witness the failure of hundreds of
competing railroads in the nOn-slaveholding
States from the causes mentioned above, while
it strikes US as probable that the business of
nine out Of every ten Southern railroads must
continue so to improve, as to make them, as
property, more valuable year by year.
WELL SAID.-Mr. Dallas deserves the thanks
Of his countrymen at large for the straightfor-
ward way in which he rebuked the prevailing
tendency, in some quarters of the Union, to
toady England in the matter of protesting that
our people are altogether of and from her. As
the phrase goes, we are all I" Anglo Saxons''-
which is by no means the truth. The occasion
on which Mr.. Dallas pricked the bubble to which
we refer, was in his speech delivered not long
since at Boston, England, at the festival in
honor Of the memory of the Rev John Cotton;
when and where he spoke as follows:
There are topics, I confess, should like to
touch on, but the advanced hour of the evening
fOrblds me. There Is one, however, I must beg
of you to excuse HE for introducing heard the
distinguished gentleman on the opposite side
make mention of what is called the Anglo Saxon
race. Well that no doubt is very distinguish
ed race IL is entitled to high praise, for il has
accomplished wonders. But do not think that
the United States of America as they now exist
can be considered as confined to the Anglo Saxon
race. u is matter of fair truth to say TO Won
there is very large proportion of the citizens of
the United States who are Celts, not Anglo sax
ons. If there he any Irish here, they must under
stdIid tndt tnelr fellow cOuntrymen constitute
very large proportion of what may be termed the
character of the United States of America Nav
10 20 little further-one of our States is almost
exclusively Spanish; another of our States is al
most exclusively French; and the very State
TO which am proud to belong, a State which Ia
called the Keystone State. has so many of its pop
nlation of the German dialect that we are actual
~ Obliged TO publish our laws in that language
10 accommodate them, Now all those races
blended together constitute the national character
oil the United States of America. That country,
therefore, is not exclusively Anglo Saxon IN.
some of its most distinguished sources
OF origin are Anglo Saxon, but Us now Organized
AS il is now f1xed-under its present constitu
ton and present population. it is a government
and country composed Of all people and races,
and not confined exclusively to the anglo Sax,
on'' S"N
HE TRANSATLANTIC TELEGRAPH-Wo can
compare the existing popular excitement con-
corning the probable success or failure of the
experiment for bridging the Atlantic with tele.
graph wire, to nothing short of that for news
from Mexico when General Scott was gradually
the end of his plans for taking the
capital Of the Montezumas. We are questioned
a hundred times daily on the avenue, to know
whether we have anything later from those en-
gagged in laying down the cable. The news
published in yesterdays Star goes to prove the
probable success of the experiment, which how.
ever, is not yet clear. There arc hundred
unforeseen contingencies that may occur, any
one Of which may prove sufficient to dash the
hopes Of those engaged in the work, and of the
so interested public. Everything that science
and human ingenuity can do to guard against
them has certainly been done; yet no one who
has narrowly watched the progress of the grand
event and is well informed concerning the diff.
Guilty Of the undertaking, feels by any means
assured of the ultimate triumph of the hercu.
lean enterprise. They can only wait, watch,
and pray.
RUNoRED REMOVALS.. Washington
quidnuncs are in dingling way just now, de-
cidedly. They are without the slightest legiti-
mate cause for local excitement and are there
fore pulling their brains over the probabilities
Of removals. The city is full of such rumors
ori TING WI fh distant r.,