Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1859-04-01
Letter from Baltimore

BALTIMORE, March So have before re-
ferred to the prospects Of Alexandria, and
have expressed my opinion of the certainty
of her future growth, in which opinion,
have been greatly strengthened by we'll in
formed gentlemen not residents If your city
have advcrted To the fact that the terminus
Of your Canal and Railroads are really with
You, and that they cannot be diverted be-
cause OF natures barrier That your Canal
as well as your Railroads penetrate differ
ent sections Of the country which are i'm
mensely rich in minerals as we'll as agricul-
tural wealth, and if you fail to derive great
and growing advantages from said improve
ments, the fault must be among yourselves.
When we look soberly at your natural ad-
vantages, as well as those Of art. then
may we truthtully say that if yours Is not
a growing city, it is useless to look at
facts with view 10 arriving at Legitimate re-
suits. What have YOU on which "a build
solid hopes for success: would point first
to natures noble work, the broad and deep
river Potomac. on which Your city is located,
with splendid harbor, with a sufficient
draft of water to float the largest size ship,
not Il mile or more from your city, as is the
case here, and far worse at Richmond, but
up to your doors. On either side OF said
River you have country rich in agrlcultu-
raj productions. Then you have the Chesa-
peake and Ohio Canal to the Cumberland
Coal fields, and passing through country,
including its whole length, that Is hardly To
be surpassed in amy point Of view, whether
you refer To its mineral or agricultural
wealth. To secure to you the real control
of the principal trade to be done upon this
Canal, YOU have only To work for it-and for
the Canal to do heavy business. it i onIy
necessary to keep it in good running order,
which we now have every assurance will be
done. Look. again, at the Alexandria and
Lynchburg Railroad, with its most impor-
tant connection with the Virginia and Ten
nessee Railroad, giving you the nearest and
most direct route to q country which Is most
valuable in every sense of the word. To Sc
cure the products Of said country, rs well rs
to send them in return large amounts of
merchandise of every description, you have
only to buckle on the a:lnOr OF business
men, and do your rhoie iuty, not expecting
to reap the rewards Of your labor all at once,
but in due time you rW reap if You faint
not" Nature has dccrced that We shall
live BY the sweat of our brow, and il is 4
declaration Of Holy writ equally explicit
that, "hc who will not work, neither snail
he eat" Then if you will have a growing
city, work for it, Already it is said that
persons from beyond Lynchburg have been
examining your stocks Of goods, &C., and
looking around with an eye to the future
But where is Manassas what will she
do? The answer to that question may be
answered by asking where does she co.
Your readers are all ready t. answer she
goes into and through the beautiful and fer
tile Valley of Virginia: YES, and Il region OF
country once drawn "t from YOU ny the
Winchester and Potomac Railroad. connect
ing with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
AT Harpers Ferry, aud the whole of its
trade emptied without competition into the
lap of Baltimore-a trade which has done a.
much or more to build her up as any other
one section of country, and which will yet
do much Ia build You up. The trade of the
whole Valley of Virginia must now come To
Alexandria; and you have not yet felt the
weight of her influence in the scale of your
prosperity, because of successive failures in
her great staple, the wheat crop. 1t is Il
country yuu should nurse. and if they tarry.
wait tor them. for YOU will STE that their
day is coming. What shall say Of the
Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad speak
Of her last, but by no means regard her IA
last Nor will you have 10 wait for her 10
reach her rich and incxhaustble coal fields
before you reap at least some Of the rewards
of her doings. The calculation is, | believe
that this Road will be in running order to
the town of Leesburg during the coming
summer or fall. What of that? What OF it.
why, you at once secure a country that is at
present lost to you. The richest portion of
Loudoun County and Clarke, land rich they
are, instead Of dealing as they now do al
most entirely with other cities, will be com
PEELED FROM self interest To- cast i'll their lot
among you; and when such Il change takes
place, my word for il. You will not be inscn-
siblc to its effects. have shown that nature
and art has done and promises to do much
for you, and that the half has not been told
you il my belief, provided. however. You
arake out Of sleep. Go TO New York, and
you will see every business man e1erting
every nerve as if life depended upon it. Tell
New York merchant that you think of To-
eating there, and you want his opinion of the
proprety of such step, and his answer at
once is. well if you are willing to work like
turk, if You are prepared to say that you
will be in season and out Of season, come:
but il not. stay away, because you will GER
talnly be run down. But merchants cant do
every thing.
NV decided opinion is they do MARI srs'y
uhe,e for the advancement OF trade than any
other portion of the community. They are
to very great extent the support of cities,
and the very life of all internal Improvements.
To their aid let the wealthy citizens and
Banking institutions come. 1t should be
the aim of every retired capitalist and Bank
among you to afford to your active business
men all the facilities possible to carry on
trade. Banks and Bankers should not re-
gard themselves as lifted above or removed
from or rs being Independent Of the mercan-
tile or trading portion Of the community
because such is mol tie fact. Their interests
are identicai, and if one suffers the other must
suffer with it, 1t by no means a proper
conclusion that if an outsider ofFers for dis
count n New York draft and ut the same
time an active business man offers custo-
mers note known to be good, payable at
home, that it is the interest Of the Bank TO
accept the former and reject the latter; but
looking to general result and the good OF
all, should say take the customers paper