The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1858-10-06
BALTIMORE.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6. 1858.

ooro os a wretched village, composed of a few
GIthv loo huts and bark houses inhabited by
aaaorarate race of Indians and haf-breeds. After
making an official reconnaissance OF the village
and its surroundings, with view to ascertain its
advantages as a port of entry, he expressed the
oninon. that the dangers attending the naviga-
zion of the Lake-the scarcity of harbors along
A. coast and the sand banks which were in con-
tinual process of formation on the Eastern and
Southern shores, would prevent any works OF con-
commence from being undertaken to improve that
frontier trading post and Unjust even prove
sserons obstacle to the increase of its commercial
Importance" Never was the gallant MAJOR more
mistaken in his life The dirty and insignificant
Indian village has disappeared; safe and COM
modious harbor has been formed by constructing
n substantial mole on each side OF the chicago
r;,,or and far ont into the Lake, to check the
accumulation of sand upon the bar, and, in the
course of the past twenty years. the once aespised
and MISREPRESENTATION village Of Chicago has be
come the most popuous city on the shores OF the
Groo+ Iokos In 1910, Chicago contained some
fo,r tbonsond nhabitants-to-day its population
NAV be roughly estimated at one hundred and
twenty thousand. Two years ago Its annual re-
GENTS Of Grain amounted in the aggregate to TWEEN
tv-fva millions of bushels. Its receipts of lumber
~ fnr hundred and sixty millions of feet, and of
1ood 70 nire millions of pounds. The amount of
oor;t,, invested in manufactures in the year 1856
was nearly eight millions of Dollars, and the
,o1rc If ifs manufactured articles was fifteen and
half millions of Dollars Exclusive of the Lake
+odo which in itselfis immense, eleven truak and
vovanteen branch and extension lines of Railway,
f,rmino together network of roads three thousand
six hundred and seventy-sx miles in length, GEN.
ire in the city of Chicago. One hundred and TWEEN
~ trains of cars arrive and depart daily and the
total number of passengers moving Westward by
ro,, of Cbicaoo in one year, has been computed at
sovan hundred thousand Yet that city is in the
infancy Of ITS growth, and the movement OF popu-
1otion in a Norh-Westerly direction has only re-
Gently commenced. In the course of few years
other cities will doubtless spring up in the Lake
Rosin and will emulate, but can scarcely rival
CHICAGO in rapidly of increase and material pros
perity. But what is Chicago to us, that we should
trouble ourselves with statistics of her rise and
progress, or with speculations connected with her
present or future commercial importance? What
will it benefit the merchants of Baltimore, to know
that populous city has been built up on the
Southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, and that
it has already become the greatest grain market
in the world? Has not New York a mo-
nopoly of the trade of the great Lakes, and has
she not also, by her system of Railways and Ca
nails constructed at vast expense for this very
purpose made the whole region of the North West
tributary to her greatness? To these questions
we will first reply briefly. The growth of Chicago
is a matter of special interest to Baltimore. By
exerting proper spirit of enterprise, her prosper
itv may be made subsidiary to our own. New
York has, indeed, had monopoly of the trade of
the Northwest because, for number of years, the
Lake cities were dependenton the Erie Canal and the
Hudson river for the means of transporting their
products to the seaboard Hereafter, this will not be
the case for the Commerce of the interior will al
ways prefer to seek the shortest and speedes route
to market Now, as respects Chicago-and the
same may be said of all the Lake ports-New York
from her insuar position cannot at any time
possess an unbroken connection with the North
West, buteverythng that is sent from or to that
city, must be subjected to transhipment which in
wolves not only additional danger to merchandise
but additional trouble and expense. Besdes-and
we ask our merchants to bear this point distinctly
in mnd-New York is from hundred and
twenty-five, to one hundred and sixty miles, farther
from Chicago than the latter is from Baltimore
and we have also the further advantage of an I'M
broken connection. The completion of the Pitts
burg Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway not only
places US within forty-eight hours travelling
distance of Chicago-via the Northern Central
Railway-but enables us to carry freights directly
through to that city without breaking bulk With
this explanation it will be perceived that we have
q special interest in the future of Chicago and
strong incentive to open up valuable trade with
that city. More than already we have taken
occasion to call attention through the columns of
The EXCHANGE to the trade of the Lake Cities and to
our facilities for establishing commercial relations
with them. Buffalo is but fourteen hours distant
from us by rail- and is seventy-seven miles nearer
to Baltimore than to New York. We possess also
the same relative advantages with regard to Erie,
and Cleveland, and Toledo. We thus embrace, by
a shorter route to the seaboard than any other,
cry point of Importance the shores of Lakes On
tario Erie and Michigan and it remains with us
to say whether we shall henceforth be content to
leave to New York the monopoly of trade which |
invites competition, and over a route which
is not only shorter in distance but pos
sesses the decided advantage of an unbroken
connection By the force of circumstances the Lake
points have been, heretofore son proongation of
"the Hudson river and the Erie Canal or, in other
"words, on a line which held monopoly of
I" the western transportation" The trade by this
outlet has been for years greater and more valua-
BILE than the entire foreign commerce of New York,
and about equal to the total exports of the United
States. BY the recent completion of Railways
that have filled up the broken links which previ-
ously cut off our communications with Buffalo,
Chicago, Toledo, Erie, and Cleveland, we have
been placed in position which enables us to COM
pete with any of the cities to the Eastward for the
immense trade of that region, and it behooves us
to turn to the best account the advantages we
have acquired at so little cost to ourselves.
Had Mr.. SWAMI in his speech at the Temperance
Temple, confined himself exclusively to the denun-
citation of those who have opposed his administra-