The Opelousas patriot. [volume] (Opelousas, Parish of St. Landry, La.) 1855-1863, 1858-07-17

.ausi
,re, not 70 lie z dogimatic T in my reply
nnd, as he says was in answer to his Hrst
IL, S. seieisss information Z only, 1t is %ratler
hat he should persist in adding TO cur DIS
AsSaSacting from his own, when have
Sekthe desired e information y hi cor
-iistormer statements. For instance, he
4 that the distance from Opeionsas "
sahss BIZ the Great Western line, is 40
when I have told him that this distance as
.aly measured by chain, Is but 1875 miles he
the distance via the Baton Rouge Crosse Tese
lOpelonsas line as hut 90 miles, when on an mr.
ne, opelousaa and Baton Rouge are about 90 miles
apart, aud the distance between these towns va .ns
| crosse Tete line, IL fully 81 miles. Again, ne VIII
| have it that ii ID 40 miles nearer from opeionsss sc
| NewOrIeans via Baton Rouge than ~ the Treat
Western line, sssaen BY dedacting we extra hye maes
| which he tsa6s on TO ours, and the seven mlies
| which he deflucts ffpm his own, 1t leaves but zSs ~
/ niace, Of forty miles, az the saving in distance. But
| the distance from New0rleans to Button Rouge, wa
the Great Northern and Baton Rouge roads, is, !
believe, about so miles this, added 70 o., makes
the distance to opeloussas Il. mules, Is q fs my y = IKE NE
distance Of eighteen miles would ne fuiiy COM
| pensated, even in the passenger and man .fansppr.i
tafion, by the loss Of time IN crossing tte Mlsslsslpp'
river and tla~nshipments OF mails and baggase--
| Which would require four landings--Whlie INC tihe
from the Great Northern Depot, or IRON the ureat
Western Depot to Canal street would besas neatlya s
possible The same. In o similar maIinery Win r..
gardstp freight, ~. 8 pssr;estifnates car siaegaaa
Underestimate lis side of the question throughout.
According to the elaborate report Of the New ORE
| and Erie Railroad, for 1866, the cost per ton per
mile Of transporting freight. which includes tie
whole expenses Of the whole road IN every depart
i ueut, was less than 0ie-ana-ashalf cents, While the
| expenses attendant upon q change Of conveyance,
II even with all their facilities and cheap labor for exs
/ pedjting such work, was equivalent TO q uniform TAX
nf S4Sa cents upon each ton handled. The railroad
II Commissioner sof New York, in their report for 1885,
4 after averaging ail the roads in that State, give The
leverage cost Dc freight transportation, per ton mile,
lat rs 9Stl00 mills. This includes every item Of ex-
Epense incurred by the various roads ] Will admit,
However, that not less than three cents per ton per
III milcH should be charged to Insure . profit, but II rs
/ aIso true that when Mrs. places the rates on sugar
a, and cotton from Baton Rouge to NeW0rleans By
Steamboats, ut 621 cents for sugar and Sl3 cents for
he underestimate. 1t ia also true that q
1 savip i III insurance Of about so cents per hhds. Is in
fayor Of railroad transportation, sshile the items Ut
wareheusing, booking and way billing and unload
ing and loading, will fully equal another so cents
per hid. leaving ont of the CATS On the loss and
] damage resulting from the extra ~handlings
Let Us now see what the new data will furnish in
4, relation to the cost of conveying one hid, of sugar
from Opelousas TO NewOrleans By each route:
II 0pelgasas TO NewOrleans, per CIV.
r.. r., onehalf ton at 8 cents per
nile, Is5 miles 81. ........ s247i
DEAousas to Baton Rouge, same, at
saSents67 miles, go ssd
n Extl4eost Of iE rance per hid 49,. 80
Expeissea Of change OF conveyance,
Ffeight steamboat d Nesworieanns IS
Total s,.s. 50 cog NJ
Difference In favor Of railroad route is Gel $ per
hid.
And so it ia with about all Of Mr.. Sage's d ieula.
tions they only need sitting, To separate thu! chat
from the sound grain, and abundant ~talIacies &Speaf,
Mr.. s. asseverates over and oyer again tat the
Great Western line via Opelousas to Te las was
adopted solely and entirely BY my advice. through
my representations, etc, etc. This is entirely I'M,
i true, and although ! would be glad were the honor
mine Of having proposed 40 excellent, 50 perfect q
route, yet truth constlains me to say, what is well
known, that the charter to construct q railroad via
} 0pelousas to Texas was obtained long before my
connection with the enterprise. The original charter
& was for such a route only. Prior to the adoption 81
any route beyoad 0~pelousas, the u, s. Land Gram
. was made in favor Of the road. Subsequently, after
/ a thorough examination of the country, / felt con
strained to recommend the short and direct route D
only 30 miles length to the Sabine river near ths
! parallel Of 31or IN place Of the long and cirruitgi
ItoAtSs "a AfVt Aitto. viz, iACti v NhllSf itlt
E Logansport as BY far preferable for Tie ertensio,
contemplated By the charter. Dir. sage's own argsi
mcnts abnndantly confirm the wisdom Of this section
, for according to him, had the cifeiitaus route beei
: selected, and the road built mp the valley Of Rec
River to Logaisport, while we should none tn,
more have found a chartered road to meet us, w
ii would have but carried freight to Red River fo
shipment by steamboats,. u ia somewhat strang
! that inas'nuch as railroads cannot compete will
water carriage, and as people living on or adjacen
9 to.iavigabie water courses do not need, nor do the,
want them. as he says, and perhaps truly, that h
has never applied these objections 10 his gran,
j Louisiana Central Stem Railroad, which he propose
q to run near to, and nearly parallel with, the Mjssjs
sippi, the Atchafalaya and Red River the Who'll
e distance.
The very reason which mainly governed me in re
( commenting tho line which was adopted was that
would not run parallel to any vayigable stresm !, tina
it would cut across the country and penetrate to TIL
n heart OF upper Texas by a short route, which woul,
be beyond rivalry by steamboats,. while it weul,
make Of every Texas railroad E feeder, and tap til
future Pacific Road TO the best possible advantage
thus securing to New0rleans the trade of uppe
Texas, OF tile Pacific Road itself, and divertins frnr
Cairo the whole Of both, which by the. completion q
i the Cairo and Fulton Roilroad would otherwise Oh
!, Evio,lsiy tend that way. The Cairo and Fulton road
Y and none other, Is the rival to BIZ feared hy NewOl
leans, and The Great Western Road, running direc
from Neworleans to upper Texas, via the lin
adopted, will he the only one which can successful
+ compete With that road. No other route could az
"AP ehSy Nht u III ESDpItbt lNsNOIlGdHh lee
disposed to surrender to tile Cairo and Fulton roa
the monopoly Of the carrying trade and comnerc
OF all northern Texas. / would advise them to liste
o TO BIS. That this subject may be better undel
stood and appreciated, i will here give Il table {
y comparative distances TO Cairo, to New Orleans b
The adopted line via slo, and To Neworleans5 Vi
Houston and Madison, tas urged by Mr.. Sage fror
n various points in Texas
To Cairo. To NewOrieans via 80. To N. O. Vi
a Houstols and Madison.
y Fulton !. y, i. ..375 miles sos miles e75 mile
: Marshall ..465 % 40 .. 5ao a.
y Henderson. -. !. 500 g $50 " 550 a.
Nacogdoches. ..545 g $40 q. ain "a
l lyleI.. . ..oz0 +" 40 = $50 q
d Hilsboraugh. $50 q" as5 " st45 a
4 Sabine Crossing 622 @t $50 :.
= Madison to New yrleans 245 miles.
1t will thus be seen, that from Marshall, Honda,
son, Nacogdoches, Tyler and all Northern Texal
u IS l7o miles further, via Houston and Madison /
Newofleahs, than it is via the slo crossing Z
ne Sabine. The distance from NeworIcaps t
Aaaisol, IS 245 miles, ard to the SIo ctossing.' b,
z5S miles, or only ID miles more. This extra i
mile, saves to NewUrleaus, in her epnDectipn wit
al Northern Texas, ITO miles and this in lie vie,
d 81 b.. :. IS OF no Importance at al. The distape
l. from AewOrleans to Nae1siuches, via the 3,o ryns
! ING, Is 3t0 miles and to Houston 345 miles VI