The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-02-07

true, indeed, that the controlling influences nm
on govrnment and policy are not aiways. ana
perhaps not usually, TO be traced to the most
rich and populouS regions There are ,eIersest.
more subtle and strong that come into play
What ideas are TO govern the life Of the nation
70 question not yet settled :; and il 10 one that
physical geography can throw 70 light upou,-
But We know where the materials that sustain
life, and inst nourish commerce, will be found
The springs Of bur physical wealth, at sass, viii
belby the water courses Of thar great central val
ley.o5 And we can distfnguish already the char.
acterl of the population that u to occuuppyy n
clearly enough 70 be sure tina. thsylwAlo not Be-
slow in developing the natural, resouress that
are within their reach, nor backward n using
the power which, they will inevitably come to
possess. There is not 70 DO beyond IL ALL
ghanies great America China, swarnipp with
suggish races that only live to eat, and multi.
ply, and dies "A proud and restless people viii
WELD those magnificent energies Whate,e r Ella
they may omit to do, they will assert for them.
selves no doubtful material supremacy. Their
production will have it's channels for passage n
the ses. They will havei their marts for s.ads
along the tide waters. And It will not long lie
in the hald of any power on this continent t.
give them Law for she direAtiou their businesa
will take There cannot be ssy great and perms.
nent interest, either, in 6ppositions TO their
choice for the intercourse between interior and
marine states is one of mutual profit.
Second only in Importance to the Mississippi
river and its tributaries, 10 the system OF the
great lakea The two are closely interlocksd--
The upper portions of the. valley fad their easi-
eat outlet to the eastward BY the lattsr. II our
political connections are to be broken ID, and IL
there 10 to be temporary reconstruction with
new combinations. there will no doubt be q.
stfong tendency at the northwest to- associate
With the Canadas, 80 far az that may be posi-
BILE, and q disposition, at all events; to fnd il
avenues Of trade a. nearly as may be in the di-
rection of the ST. Lawrence. The harbor of New
York, wit b its means of interior communities
ton, would continue to be the best for western
trade through all the year. But Boston, and
especially Portland, which lies more closely by,
the st. Lawrence, would serve the purpose
Political impulse might lead to the choice of.ei.
Their of them In preference to New York. The
recent declaration Of the Chicago Tribune that
the West wouldlet go its connection with New
York sooner than with New England, is thus not
without significance. 1t gives the hint OF a
great commercial possibility to which as it seems
the peopIeof that section are not blind. An
ancient care has been taken by Providence that
New England shall not be long separated from
any great political association that lie to spring
up IN these regions For II the northwest, with
the Canadas, and the New England ports, might
perhaps be divided from southern New York, it
is not conceivable, that with the western sea-
board connection south OF the St. Lawrence. at
New York, q foreign Territory should be allow
ed to remain interposed between what would
then be the two great avenues OF passages from
the West, one BY the g. Lawrence and the 9TH
er terminating upon the bay of New York. a.a
But oil such combinations, if they are ever
formed, will be only for Q time The Mississip-
pi valley Is bound throughout to itself more
strongly than any parts of il can be drawn TO
the adjacent districts This may not be wholly
true with reference to the present course Of
trade, but it is true with respect to those broad
er facts that determine the connections of
neighborhoods through long periods of time
II is only its northern and eastern portions That
have easy access to the lakes; while even these
along with the whole region, must feel the gen.
eral drift down the stream. For any product
of the upper country, that is needed below.
there can be no transportation elsewhere 50
cheap. And the same is true of Whatever is to
be had in the lower valley that can be sold
above. Grains and meat, cotton and sugar will
be only the leading staples of this exchange
The navigation of the Mississippi and it's tribu.
ttry water courses ie already enormous, and RI
vals the shipping of an ocean. It is yet only in
its beginning. The traffic on the river ia des
tined to increase prodigiously throughout it's en-
dre length, and not the least upon the upper
streams. The filing up of countries already
occupied will contribute to it, and the opepinp
Of new districts to settlement on the Missour
and its branches will multiply it as the inaagi.
nation can hardly conceive. The growth of the
nations bordering on the Gulf and the Carribean
Sea will also enlarge greatly the commerce of
The entire valley. No step ofindustrial progress
can, be taken on the coast from Mexico to the
Bra1ils, that will not be- felt at the bases Of the
Rocky Mountains and the Alleghanies. $40
1t is still further to be noticed, and. the con.
sideration is Of decisive importance when the
unity Of our central valley is in question, that
there are vast regions that lie midway of it's
length yet to be occupied The impossibiity of
permanensly dividing it will be more and more
strongly evident as these are filed up The
immense political Importance Of the state9of
ansas AT the present time has arisen in this
connection, and 1t is most opportune for the
safety of the Republic. 1t has held Missouri in
it's place. Its settlement has snly begun a.
yet. The occupation Of its southern sections.
With that part of the Indian territory shss Joins
It, will render similar service for the state
that lies next below. sEs4 - ..r
we nave direauy ndQ occasion to refer TO the
water system Of this region as opposing the most
obstacles to the establishment of q
suitable boundary line from the mouth of the
Ohio toward the Rio Grande. To this pecu.
arityis now to be added the singular value of
its position, making the valley broad, where a
division is threatened across its middle. It's
also the geographical center of the country
He who looks may see the perpetual unity of
the land written there upon it. jIflofty noun
tain ranges had approached the river on either
aide at thisspart of its course, division might
have been suggested; though the foods from
above would scarcely have borne the restraint
But the great basin stretches away broadly east.
ward and westward, and on the further side,
long navigable rivers traverse it, eonverging
far down towards the Gulf As the vide plains
along them I'll with population, they will no
more be sundered by the lines of nations, than
that mighty af6uenee itself of waters viii be
stayed and cut asunder between isssprings and
the sea" 80. = .tktEEs. ...Eqf 80
From the delta Of the Mississippi to the lakes
and the crests Of the western mountains, the en-.
tire slope is marked nits formation for but one