Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1858-03-28

lpon It.
The Postmaster General was not selecting, nor
he contractors bidding for q railroad, but Tor
,fdqe Inc to be put In operation within fvetse oR,As,
and to be run in the short tine Of tusHtyfUe days
But the complaints and criticisms now being made I
relae 70 Il az selection Of railroad route to the
Pacific Estimates are made as to the relative area
Of country West and East Of the Mississippi But |
what number Of acres oil land-mueh Of which
Is vet 10 be inhabited-to do with mail stage line
70 be established ia single year? The desired SER
vice related 70 population, to present correspondence
IN the immediate transportation Of passengers and
not TO the facilities of railroad, which could not
be constructed during the entire period that this
cosch service was 10 be contracted for What means
it. then to subject this location for one service to
criticisms and arguments which can have no rela-
ation but to another and different object Congress
never ordered railroad to be laid of by this de-
partmenti nor its ma TO be transmitted by one,
and yet the two subjects have been strangely and
unnecessarily connected with each other.
The true solution of this error, however, is to be
found in the suppostiOn thatthe successful operation
Of this stage line and the settlements made along it.
may havea great influence the future location ola
railroad if one shall be constructed preudeial to the
interest Of some particular railroad corporation orin
furious to the prosperity Of certain rival cities that
have alreadyor other routes
than the one selected. These conflicting and rival
interests now press forward with their objections to
prevent the ADilaLi0n OF p pQnCy WHICH LQey ledE
may prove injurious to them. There is nothing
strange, perhaps nothing wrong, in all this; and the
only question presented to your committee is Wheth
er this department, acting il full and perfect har
mony with the Executive, has under sl the circum-
stances Of the case, come nearly TO a fair and
reasonable adjustment Of these conflicting interests,
as was 10 have been expected Why dill not Con-
gress establish The line both for the coach service
and the future railroad. Simply because they could
not agree OIL the subject They devolved il on the
Postmaster General to do perplexng piece Of busi-
ness which they themselves had tried unsuccessfully
during several sessions.
H has performed the perplexing and difficult
duty with a disinterestedness that challenges all
complaints but Witha distrust Of his ability TO do it
WELL which will induce him TO yield, with pleasure,
to the superior judgment Of your committee and
Of Congress If he had been left to the considers
ton Of mere geographical rights, and what was
due to the present and future population Of the
whole country, he would have made but one termi-
nus on the Mississippi river, and that terminus
would have been Cairo at the mouth Of the Ohio.
No mau can look az the map of this country with
out his eyes finally resting the mouth of the Ohio
as the great centre of population and Of commerce
of the United States. The outstretching valley Of
that noble river, in climate, soil and production, is
nowhere surpassed on the habitable globe.
If Cairo had a suitable site for city, it would
surpass any other island city of this continent, or,
perhaps, in the world. But this department had to
deal with things as they and not it believes
they will be in the glorious realizations Of the flu
ture. So dealing, it saw the great railways Of the
north concentrating the Mississippi at st. Louis,
and those Of the south concentrating on it at Mem
phis.
Look on the map which have used much in my
examinations ofthis subject. Thered lines will point
you to the concentration at St. Louis the blue ones
show you the roads that approach Memphis; Cairo,
lying not far from midway between them, l have
regarded IS the true point in the future, whilst Mem
phs and St Louis on the opposite sides at the present.
claim equal recognition in reference to either the
mail service or the construction of railroad to the
Pacific States. The act Of Congress made the Mis-
sissippi the base line, some point of which the
route was to be started Look along that base
line and see whether a larger region Of country,
both east and west Of that river, is not sccOmmoda
ted by the selection of Memphis and St. Louis, with
Cairo near their centre, than would have been by
the selection of any other place whatever.
From all the New England States. and from every
Middle State, whoever desired to 60 over this over
land route would most easily come to Cincinnati /;
from Cincinnati it is equally easy by railroad or the
river TO reach st. Louis, Cairo, or Memphis. Rail
roads (soon to be nished) take you directly to each
place Itmay be safely affirmed that the whole
Of these States would be as regularly accOmmOda-
ted by the route established as on the Albuquerque
route starting cut from st. Louis 1t is obliged to
be so, because if you 60 to St. Louis, you have still
to 60 south to Albuquerque, point due west from
Memphis. Memphis is on latitude $50, throwing
away small fractions, and so is Albuquerque. Even
nothern Indiana and nlineis are equally well &C
commoda ed at St. Louis or Cairo. So much for
the northeastern States. When you get to the
southern States including the region about Balli-
more and Washington city, the route to Memphis
over the Virginia and East Tennessee road Virgin.
ia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama,
Mississippi, and Louisiana, are all best accommOds
ted at Memphis.
In short there is no ten mile square of the terri
tory of the United States, east of the Mississippi,
which is satisfactorily provided for by the
mencement at Memphis and St. Louis.
Let us consider what would have been the state of
the caseif had made the terminus at either Memphis
or St. Louis alone? Would the people Of Louisiana,
Of Mississippi Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and the
rest have been at oil content TO have 10 20 far
north as st Louis? We know theyWOuld not. We
have therefore, accommodated them by letting them
start at Memphis to which all their railroads have
been constructed.
Now look at the other side. If Memphis had
been made the sole terminus, would Iowa, WscOn-
sin, Mennesota, and Michigan have been satisfied
We know they would not, and, therefore, we have
given them terminus at st. Louis
Here, then, We have two starting points, so situa-
ted, in their relation to neghbOring States, to
give the highest amount Of satisfac ton to all. So
true is this, that the st. Louis proposition itself
leaves these last mentioned northwestern States en-
tirely dependent on her, and the effort to break
down Memphis a terminus can do no good TO
them whilst it does immense injustice TO other por
tiOns o. the southeastern and southwestern Stafes.
It would seem impossible TO have made any other
starting points which would have combined the
interests and wishes Of greater number of both
States aud people in so large a degree
The main objection, we apprehend is not so much
to the starting points to the direction Of the route
westward from them.
The true and perhaps the only question on this
part of the subject is, whether, after fixing the
points Of beginning on the river, have 10 going
west located the road to the best advantage to all
parts Of the country as far as the same was pracu
cable not, Of course, to particular cities and
States but to the whole country large If it had
been located through the South Pass, and in a lsi
tude ~ degrees, it would have best accommodated
Minnesota Wisconsin, aud Iowa. but would have sent
il through the ice and SHOWS, away from nearly all
the other States.
If 1t had been located by Springfield Neosho and
Albuquerque it would have altogether lost the great
connection by Cairo, destined at distant day to
rival perhaps surpass in Importance, either the St.
Louis or the Memphis route.
Il would also have lost the connection from Mem
pills. and with 1t all the States which have railroads
concentrated at that point of the Mississippi.
In like manner would have been lost all connec-
ton with the Vicksburg and New Orleans road,
which under the present location, fall sintO it not far
from Preston.
To avoid repetition on this point, beg to refer
you to the 44th page Of my report, and to the map
which 7 send you with this letter, in order to show
that the road as now located, has really combined
the interest and convenience of more States than
any other route that can be devised.
But it is often written and ofteuer said that it is
absurd and unreasonable TO 60 down 20 far towards
the South. That St Louis is nearly in latitude 39o
whilst Memphis is not far from latitude $50. And
where Is Albuquerque? In about the same latitude
with Memphis So that, by the admissions Of the
friends Of the Albuquerque route you cannot 20
west from st. Louis TO San Francisco. Climate,
mountains and deserts all forbid it, and you are
compelled to 60 southwest untilyou reach Albuquer-
Que nearly due west from Memphis This great fact
is fatal utterly fatal to the claims fist Louis to have
this road starting out exclusively from her, and run
ming out through her western border by Albuquer-
que.
This whole effort to Overturn the present estab-
lished route is intended TO abrogate the route from
Memphis altogether, and to have but one starting
point and that at St. Louis and but one line run
ming through that State and passing out Of it into
the Indian territory or into Kansas This is the true
struggle. now being made, to abolish the Memphis
route altogether and to mOnopoze the starting point
no g. me and fbeDcp 10 run II If rhr0ugb ~, ~,