The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1859-02-03

" tuc HlStOTy VI suis CouuHJs AuA@
high legislative trust must be transferred
to mail contractor, that members cf
this body perchance may void the oppro>
brium that may be cast on them, if their
particular locality should lose the great
Pacific railroad! Others may be guided
by influences like these; but I cannot
consent to be. / will conclude my re-
marks by expressing briefly my prefer
ence of route. The amendment now
pending proposes that the road shall be
constructed between the parallels of 43o
and $40 It seems to me that narrow
er limits should be prescribed I would
propose to limit its location by the thir-
ty-seveuth and forty third parallels Of
north latitude. If it is the object of
Congress to secure the construction Of
a. railroad on which to carry the great
national mail on which to bear troops
and munitions of war and Navy supplies
Ia railroad which is to bind togetht r
the discordant members Of this Confed-
sracy-if indeed there be such-a rail.
road which shall draw acress the center
and to the heart Of this Republic the
trade of the civilized world, no Senator,
it seems to me can vote in favor, OF the
extreme northern or Of, the. extreme
southern route. A minute examination
Of the reports will show that topograph-
ically there is but little advantage in IA
vor of either the extreme enorthern, the
central, or the extreme southern route.
Each one has Its precipitous mountains
to ascend, to excavate or tunnel, ard to
descend. Each one has its sterile plains
to cross. i Each one has its broad fertile
plains to cross, which are At. the same
time destitute of timber, and to some ex-
tent of water; but your engineers have
reported each enc of these three routes
practicable. A railroad can be built on
any of them, and built with the means
of the people Of the United States, as is
believed by the members of this commits
tee, within the period, of ten or twelve
years, without serious deranging the
great commercial and financial interests
of the country. s' 80 .a7i."moo faa1 -
- As I before remarked, there are advan-
tages peculiar to each Of these routes;
but when We compare them they are very
evenly balanced. The route near the
forty seventh and forty-ninth parallels,
from St. Paul to Vancouver, thence to
Seattle, is estimated by the engineers at
two thousand and thirty two miles. the
rout near the thirty second parallel, from
Fulton to San Pedro, and extension to
San Francisco, is estimated by the engi-
neers at two thousand and fifty eight
miles. -- a
That which is usually deUominated the
central route on the parallel of Al . or
As > is little too far north to traverse
the center::of our possessions, the extreme
north being 49o and the extreme south
near 32o. But whilst this is true, il
brings it all nearer the center Of popula-
tion and wealth. It may have been OBJ
served by Senators that south of Mason
and Dixon's line, in 1850, according to
the ceasus report, there were but little
over six million white people; north Of
that line between thirteen and fourteen
million. This relative proportion Of
the white. population of the two districts
has been increased largely in favor of the
North since that period. i The country
that | represent, in part, the great North
west as we sometimes style it, including
the five States north west Of the Ohio,
and Missouri, Iowa Minnesota. Kansas,
arG Nebraska, now contains probably,
one third OF the white population of the
United States. They cast at the lrece {
elections about million and half Of
votes, representing probably about eight
million people. aitsl tfHT &4ss,. -
i WHAT'S true Of the growing population
of the North west, is true, to some, ex
tent, of the States Immediately east, so
thai none can avoid drawing a couclu,
sion that the center Of population has
been steadily travelling northward sinob
the taking Of the last census. Then, if
forty one or f,rty.two be a little north
Of projection Of line from the geogra-
phical center Of the eastern portion al
this couatry, it brings it all nearer to
the center Of the line Of population.
Allthings else teing equal, no just Sem
ator can decide in favor of an extreme
southern or an extreme northern route.
That road which traverses the Republic
nearest its center in the one that is de-
manded BY justice to the whole count
try. rs - ''i q ''s'ri 81 -
The people that I aud my colleague
here represent are vitality interested in
this subject, admit; and this has in
.duced' me to make this rapid statement
Of the reasons that will control my vote
IF laft tn hnwavar snJ II shnnld ho