American union. [volume] (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1855-1859, 1858-10-22
THE OVERLAND MAIL.

The OVERLAND MAIL. 8
The FIRST California Overland Mail
arrived in ST. Louis on Saturday in
twenty-thrse days and four hours from
San Francisco, bringing dates from our
Pacific emporium ten days later than
had been received by way of the Pan
anna route, and from the interior Of
California of course still later.
In the fact thus briefly stated, We
have a striking condemnation of the
policy blindly pursued by the Federal
Government throughout the last ten
years. During these years, the Treas
ury has suffered at least two millions
per annum for the support of Ocean
Mails, about one million per annum of
which has been devoted to mails by way
of the Isthmus of Darien to California.
Had this money been expended in car,
rying the mails through our own ter
ritories on the most direct routes from
the Mississippi to the Pacific, the SER
vice would have been far better perform
ed than it has been, with the incidental
result of opening great National high
way across the continent, lined with
| settlements and villages and provided
with every accessory to comfortable
and expeditions travel, whereby the
mails would now be carried at least
twice week from San Francisco to st.
Louis within twenty days, with side
routes from Memphis to San Diego, and
from st. Paul to the Dalles in less than
half the time now required by the round
about ocean transit. Grant that these
mails would, at the outset, have been
interrupted or delayed for two or three
months in winter, and still the gain to
the correspondence and business of the
whole country would have been i'm
mense, while the advantage to emigra-
ton and travel would have been still
more palpable. The pioneer from Wis
consin or Iowa who resolves to try his
chances in California, must now Jour
ney a thousand miles eastward in order
to begin his voyage of seven thousand
miles to San francisco, whence he must
take another expensive eastward Jour
ney of several hundred miles to reach
the mines, from which he wes but two
thousand to twenty five hundred miles
distant when he started. The cost to
him of this circuitous journey. both in
time and money, is far greater than
would be that of passage by stage
coach over the direct route, While the
filth, discomfort and danger to health
of the sea route are inconceivably the
greater. Shall this be continued
Had the direct route or routes been
| opened at first---that from st. Louis to
San Francisco in 1849, and side-routes
from Memphis or Alexandria to San
Diego and from st. Paul to Portland
or Oregon City in 1851 and 1S52-we
should have been ere this in daily tele-
| graphic communication with our Pacific
brethren, and with stages running dai-
ly for two'thirds of the year on oil three
routes over good and safe wagon roads
for emigrants, and with railroads COW
ering at least twothirds of the distance
on one route and we'll started on the
others. All this we have lost through
Government patronage and partially
favoring the Isthmus route. And to-
, day we have confederatcd gangs of
spectators, including men high in Of
fee, intent On the squandering more
money on the Nicaragua, Tehuantepec,
Honduras, Chiriqui and other far.away
routes-safd money to be taken out of
the Federal Treasury and to- flow ulti-
mately into the spectators pockets.
Fellow. citizens of the whole country,
but especially of the Free West watch.
the votes of your representatives ON the
questions of opening new mail routes
across Mexico or Central America, and
of renewing existing contracts for mail
service by way of Panama. See that
the Yeas and Nays are called on every
such question, and we will take care
that they be published. Y. Tri-
| bNne. IL 9gH rtnHaa Ha.r
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