The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1858-11-11
BALTIMORE.
r1JrRsDAY, NOVEMBER IL. 1858.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER IL. 1888.
Tho following additional contributions to the
-.5 for fine benefit of the Families of Officers
p,cnox and BENTON, were yesterday received at
this Office
M uook q. Benton 81, Rigdon s1,l.......s3 90
los " jenkins. M M
II w. jenkins. ....'.'''' '''''''''''''''''' "
SIS 90
"A, amount previously acknowledged. ......577 70
$685. %
The dav before yesterday the last rail was
laid on the Pttsburg, Fort Wayne and CHI
coco Railway. This simple announcement con-
,.ors intelligence, which, if rightly understood,
and promptly and judciously acted upon, might
he used with vast benefit to the mercantile lnte-
rests of Baltimore Chicago is the great CONNER
o;oI Fmnorium of the Northwest. Its Lake and
interior trade is already immense, and, with the
movement Of population Westward, it must event.
uallv become one of the largest and most popu-
Ions cities on this Continent But what is CHI
coro to rs. that we should paricularize the fact
that another railway has been completed to that
CITY? What special concern have we IN the
,roqres of an interior town, apparently so remote
from the sea-board? How are we to be benefited
h. a commerce which, for year,, has been monop-
olised by New York? These are questions that
anv ordinary Railway Map will silently, but most
cGcctualy answer. The common cardboard map
distributed by cur Northern Central Railway
COMPANY, will show, as accurately as any other
IF
with respect to tie great Northern Lakes, and the
facilities offered for direct and unbroken commu-
nication between Baltimore and the Lake ports.
An examination Of this map-which should IND
n place in the counting-room of every enter
prising merchaut-putS us in possession OF the
following facts: First, generally, that all the
chief cities of the Great Lakes and the most i'm
rortant towns of Western New York, are nearer
to Baltimore than to any other port upon the sea-
board In descending TO particulars, we find
assuming the connection to be perfect throughout
that Travellers leaving this city at O clock, p. NJ
can reach Buffalo by the hour of noon the following
day. That is to say in fourteen hours though 1t is
proper to state that the time usually allotted for
making the transit between those two points is
set down at eighteen hours. 1t has, however,
been accomplished in fourteen hours and can be
limited to that time whenever the pressure of
travel renders closer connection or additional
speed necessary. We wish also to impress upon
our merchants q consciousness of the important
fact that Baltimore is nearer to Bufalo by serenity
seren miles, than Bufalo is 10 New York, and
nearer to Chicago than is Neav York By from one
buadyeda and t,centy to one hundred and S1ty miles,
according to the route that freight and passengers
may take in leaving the latter city-the
nearest route from New York to Chicago being
through the City Of Philadelphia to Harrisburg,
which is the common centre of the freight and
travel Of the three cities of Baltimore, Philadel-
phia and New York, destined for, or arriving from
Chicago. Baltimore has also the advantage over
Philadelphia of being nearer to Harrisburg by some
thirty miles, and Of course is jdst so much nearer
to Chicago; while, with regard to New York, the
distance in favor of Baltimore is as we have
already stated, from one hundred and twenty, to
one hundred and sixty miles. Measured by time,
the distance from Baltimore to Chicago is forty-two
hours Or one day and three quarters. We possess,
moreover, the further advantage of an I'M
broken connection, not with Chicago alone
but with all the principal cities on the
Lakes, while from New York all the North-W estern
freight must suffer some delay, and meet OCCASION
ally with damage, from the fact that it cannot
reach its destination overland without tranship-
ment. If then it be true-and we have stated
nothing without the vouchers before us-that Bal
timore possesses a decided advantage over either
Philadelphia or New York in competing with them
for portion of the commerce of the Northwest it
appears to us to be the duty, as it certainly is the
interest of our merchants and business men to
use all their efforts TO promote extension of their
trade in that direction. IF such an enterprise is
undertaken with but a small portion of that same
spirit and energy which have been so successfully
displayed in establishing commercial relations with
the West and Southwest, the material advantages
that would accrue, not only to themselves, but to
all classes Of our citizens would speedily make
themselves manifest upon our wharves, in our
warehouses, and in the rapid development of
wealth and population. No nobler field for exer-
ton can possibly claim their attention than the
fertile region Of the Northwest, inhabited by a
hardy and industrious class of settlers, whose
numbers are annually augmenting by the continual
Influx of emgrants from Europe and from the older
States of the Union. Of a large portion of that
region Chicago is now, and must ever be, the
Chief Commercial Emporium. What such city,
occupying so commanding position, and drain
ing OF Its products and furnishing with supplies, so
vast an extent Of country, is eventually destined
10 become, we may gather from the extraordinary
story OF her rise and progress, and from the
wonderful network of Railways that has
already made her the largest grain market in the
world, and foStered commercial expansion
without parallel in history. We have referred
especially to Chicago, because we regard her as
The representative city of the Great Lakes, and
because the Railway connection between her and
Baltimore, which has been so recently completed
places us less than two days distant from each
o'her and affords us fitting opportunity to point
out the facilities we have for forming closer COM
merclal relations with region of country which
mas been thrown open to so suddenly and UNI
eXpectedly that we find it difficult to understand
now 1t has been done without any effort on our
parts and still more difficult to realize the fact that
we present TO the products of the valley of the
Great Lakes the nearest seaboard market, and
o"P|lloi liabilities LOT 1nelr transportation to the
point OF SALE or for shipment All our energies have
been devoted for the last thirty years to one OBJ.
Ject-that of securing liberal share of the West
ern and Southwestern trade We have utterly
neglected the North and Northwest. We had al
most forgotten that there was a North, and Ger
talnly did not for moment conceive that if
would become in the course of a few years, the
most densely populated section of the Republic,
or that the annual value of its commodities would
exceed that of the whole of our Foreign Commerce
Sui less were we aware that we were in a DO
sition that enabled us to grasp with ease to our.
selves, at least portion of that trade which ha,
hitherto been monopolizcd by New York. Such.
nevertheless, is the fact, and in view of til,
Importance of the subject, we propose to recur f.
it again at an early day. ..
-----.-----
On the 25th of this month, the citizens of Wos
tern Pennsylvania propose to appropriately cole
brate the Centennial Anniversary of the Capture
Fort Dnuupsne-an 9rpnt wb