New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1859-06-03
THE TRANSIT ROUTES.

/ = IaE IhANSII ROUTES.
That Nicaragua is q prize worth fighting for is q
fact of which the magnitude is not, believe, gen.
orally understood. The steamship Commodores in
the great California passenger trade Morgan Garri-
son and Vanderbilt, knew what the control of Mica.
ragua was worth to the company which could COM
1 mand it or they never would have sustained Walker
at the cost of immense sums and have quarrted
the prize, and, finally cut their own threats by their
suicidal pickering the bone Of contention which
they had fairly in their hands, but which each one
| wanted to monopolize-to have the whole bone. The
Nicaragua transit was at first almost exclusively in
the possession of Commodore Vanderbilt when Com
modores Garrison and Morgan made an agreement
with Walker and before long Vanderbilt being ruled
out, Immediately commenced the task of annihi.
latng the iibuster occupation which gave the con-
troll to his rivals, and he succeeded. These things
are all recent matters of history, and the ways and
| means by which they were brought about are faml
lar to the reading public. It is known how Commo-
dore Garrison sent down recruits free of charge for
passage, and supplies of munitions, and how his
agency caused the annuling Of the grant to the Ac.
cessory Transit Company under which Commodore
Vanderbilt was operating how the latter then de-
voted himself to running bis rival how his agent,
Spencer, and other emissaries stirred up the Central
American alliance against Walker, and how, more
disastrous still, his influence exerted at Washington
accomplished what his Vaccinations in Nicaragua
alone could not have efacted-the uprooting of the
Amercanzation which was just being firmly planted
In this scheme of retrbutive vengeance, for which
he can scarcely be blamed, the world goes, in view
of the provocation the yindictiye Commodore is sup
posed to have invested considerably over million Of
dollars, and he carried his point. But there was no
profit in the triumph for he did not get the Transit
Route Grant back again the spirits he had raised
abandoned him, and, after driving Garrison and Nor
gan to the wall by expelling Walker, they would
neither let in their potent ally, the great Commodore
or any other transit man. This is the whole inner
history Of the Walker-N caraguan war in brief-"a
general outline Of it, something like the maps of the
seat of war in Europe which enterprsing contempt
raries are publishing. |
OF course, what all this bioodshedding and money
spending was about was matter of some consider |
ation and to give the reader an apprecative idea Of
its Importance, we make comparative statement of
the value and availability of the four routes for
transits-the Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras and Te-
huantepec-the estimates being reasonably near cor
rect. The only one properly open is the Panama,
traversed by a railroad of forty.ive miles, built at
the enormous expense of nine millions Of dollars,
Notwithstanding which it pays exceedingly large
dividends, the company grinding the public with all
the power of their tremendous monopoly, the steam.
ers in the line paying immensely and showing no
conscience in their charges or accommodations.
Across the Honduras route, it is reputed practical
BILE to build road of one hundred and seventy miles,
at cost of about twelve millions of dollars 1t is
estimated that the joint rail aud water route
Tehuantepec can be opened at cost Of nearly as |
many millions as the Honduras line. To open these |
routes will take years. and the enormous outlay as
above. The value and availability Of the Nicaragua
privilege, is at once shown by the comparative state
ment thet it can be opened in three months time at
cost of less than three hundred thousand dollars!
Was not the prize worth fighting for, aud is not |
this government doing a mighty wrongs in thus
allowing this magnificent avenue to be closed to the
injury of the commerce and other interests of its
subjects and Of all the world forcing their necks be-
meath the oppressive yoke Of an exacting monopoly
We could send costly embassies, and an adminstra.
ton could devote its whole energies to the task of
the gates Of the far-of and unmportant
empire of Japan, pointing to its success as proud
of American enterprise, while here, on
our own soil, "a semi barbarous tribe of hybrid inso.
Tents effectualy shut the gates which separate one
part of our own country from the other close up the
right of way between Eastern and Western Ameri.
ca, passage which should be free to the world.
Onetenth of the expense and politeness Or show of
force which converted JAPAN would have enabled
The opening of the Nicaragua transit. The interests
If the nation demand that the evil should no longer
,xst.