Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1858-10-13
me Great Central Mall Route.

On the first of October the first mail coach
over what the Western Journal of Commerce is
pleased to style the Great Central Route from
Kansas City to Stockton, California. left the
Post Office in Kansas City, Missouri. The con-
tractors are Messrs. Barrow. Porter d Co., who
have already stocked the route with mules and
coaches, and have sent out Mr.. Crenshaw, one
of the Company, in charge of the mail. Mr.. c.
has had a quarter of century experience on
the plains and in the mountains. The route is
by way of Santa Fe, and is the shortest from
our Western frontier by 800 miles, and the most
feasible.
Recent accounts from the Southern route to
be followed by the overland mail to California
are not very favorable. The project of obtain
ing water on the desert part of the route by
means of Artesian wells, has proved failure.
The large appropriation has been used up, and
/ Capt. Pope has abandoned his machinery and
returned TO his regular duty in the army. Wa
ter was reached in some of the borings, but II
was of very bad quality, small in quantity,
and would nowhere rise nearer to the surface
than one hundred and eighty feet This, be it
remembered, is the pet Railroad route to the
Pacific of the South and the Buchanan Admin
istration, and if ever used, whether travelled by
stage or cars, persons must take along their
gallon bottles of water, or be content to travel
hundred miles or so without drinking. A
nice route for flesh and blood or iron horses.
The n. Y. Tribune in announcing the ar.
rival of the first California Overland Mail at
ST. Louis, on Saturday, in twenty-three days
and four hours from San Francisco, bringing
dates from the Pacific emporium ten days later
than had been received by way of the Panama
route, and from the interior of California of
course still later, with great pith and point re-
marks
In the fact thus briefly stated, we have
striking condemnation of the policy blindly pur-
sued BY the Federal Government throughout
the last ten years. During these years, the
Treasury has suffered At least Two Millions per
annum for the support of Ocean Mails, about
Ore Million per annum of which has been de-
voted to mails by way of the Isthmus of Da-
rieu to California. Had this money been ex-
DeuuGu III btuulAk -halis AlIuuEu OuE ONl tGI-
Titories Oh the most direct routes from the Mis-
sissippi to the Pacific, the service would have
been far better performed than it has been, with
the incidental result of opening a great Ma
tional Highway across the continent lined with
settlements and villages and provided with eve
~ accessory TO comfortable and expeditions
travel whereby the Mails would now be carried
at least twice a 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 re-
quired by the roundabout Oceln 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 correspon-
dence and business of the whole country would
have been immense, while the advantage to
emigration and travel would have been still
more palpable. The pioneer from Wisconsin or
Iowa who resolves to try his chances in Cali
fornia, must now journey 4 thousand miles
eastward in order to begin his voyage of seven
thousand miles to San Francisco, whence he
must nuke another expensive eastward jOdrney
of several hundred miles to reach the mines,
from which he was but two thousand to twen-
ty-fve 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 incon-
ceivably the greater. Shall this be continued
Had the direct route or routes been opened at !
first = that from St. Louis to San Francisco in |
lS49, and side-routes from Memphis or Alexan- |
dria to San Diego and from St Paul to Port |
land or Oregon City in 1851 and ls52-we |
should have been ere this in daily teegraphic |
communication with our Pacific brethren, and |
with stages running daily twO-thirds of the year
on all three routes over good and safe wagon
roads for emigrants, and with railroads covering |
at least two-thirds of the distance on one route
and well started on the others. All this we
have lost through Government patronage and
partiality favoring the Isthmus route. And to-
day we have eonfederated gangs Of spectators,
men in high office, intent on the
squandering of more money on the Nicaragua,
Tehauntepec, Honduras, Chiriqui and other far
away routes-said mouey to be taken out of the
Federal Treasury and to flow ultimately into
the spectators pockets.
Fellow citizens of the whole country, but es-
pecialy of the Free West watch the votes of
your representatives on the questions Of open
ing new mail-routes across Mexico or Central
America, and of renewing existing contracts for
mail service by way of Panama. See that the
eas aud Nays are called on every such ques-
ton, and we will take care that they be pub
ished.