, 1865-12-19
BOSTON AND THE WEST.
How Boston is Bc&tIrrSnG Hcrsclt III
tho 15nx&cr 1f Railroads.

How Boston is Bc@tfrrsnG Herself III
tho NnEscr uf Railroads.
From the boston Journal. t:,h.1
Tic t1n1nistakable sense Of the press N tnis
<'itv, which il also the nensc os our mefcnants,
is that the trade Of Boston Is suffering Lousy,
not from any luck Of capita! o. y, ~ .Irs 81
here, or from any indislosit!oa on Tue par. ol
the people Of the Wcst TO transact portion
rF their business with us; but, simply aud
solely, because our transportation facilities
arc detective flour railrnads were That they
ought To be. "hat thc money expended upou
them and tic experience furnished by them
should have made ilIcn, there would be no such
..oplplaiuts a. nrc now heard In the West md
in The East, al stoppagc OF communication,
diversion ii traffic, aud incalculable loss II,
buth producer and consumer. Perhaps Just
such a state Of things rs lbs been Occurring
IT Albany, was necessary to convince gar own
community In Massachusetts OF the point
Vi. llcrc We bnye bcru the weakest. In the
West VIC fancy this las been We'll understood
inr some ,inso. Let tic words Of The Chicago
TEiBs-NE bc noted IL this connection:
t'1hesc l. a rp.paG lllAt ssrvc+ d the wcscfn
rp,.ot Of N...achu.c:ts. thai VIA. thrisleaed The
'Wcetc.n Raisoad,' about tic lime when tnon In
Ift1sle1d and IGuc1 looIci npoa themselves ns
10 Eaye :.roNn gray A.,hout learning anything, ari
ii time when Buelou IL 6ecao1inS Inc xode OF the
W.Al, aud u let:c. isdhposed Id respond oerally
On spr ngEcla uountsre there does dwell, tn the
words Of the old song. somebody 10 IN ottdA1 ca.
rac'ly wtlo srtns 10 hare tt:A.ncd nothing Of The
:rowt:' of tho ccultry b,yona tht nrd+oa Hsnr for
StAtr, II they ~!sa 10 solicit .t.stIn tFsle Cesn
will the rl:lruat.s Q: thu: osu slate, aaa
a,tuueA OF trade. A. .r.eA., ihe l'ineiI,al rnt;=y
:an er.stpse ot 'lf e. "ssn nnd n tssm
r Ii1liss, over which tail:o.d accoantanfs study
:ttt tlvre into lsope;ces tG:y IL tho yaiu a:cnpt
to adult The division Of ths receipts Of the t,So
Wat i the remedy. we d. moi know. It belongs
TO tic Boston tud Of 1c l!n.. The evil will mol Ge
removed and hot'on Halc happy uutil 1sstclass
men. sEl. le :uFR4- 4-fts b5 Tie New England diyi-
siots OF nr!st sLro,4.l Of railroad from Tho
West. VIII ta~ l;o+tof:tans look ut this thing. -
The Boste:.lans arc looking ut this thlnp !;
they arc dicussine I. ut the meetings OF tic
hoafd Q: Trade and on 'Chanse, ind they arr
Es1tatins II IL the newspapers Of the city.
Nor Will this be IN vain. i public sentiment
is forming. which will soon reach those who
are directly responsible Tor the management
Of our railroads; ; and 1ve venture the prcdic-
lion. that lung time will clapse before the
excuse Of no freight c.lts or no fuel. win
HEein lie heard for the suspension OF through
business on any Of the great highways from
tic seaboard of New England 10 tie West.
he feeling which exists among us on tits
subjee! caiulo: bc disscEa:dc1; nor 1ha opin-
ion which las been natured be mlsunacr-
stood.
tn .ivc dcfinltcness and unity of ain TO all
who arc nnlious TO remedy the present inc.i-
cheney in our transportation syEten, ne sug-
.cSt two Objects to be accomplished. First,
improve the lines now In operation. The
working power and capacity Of these lines
can he increased immensely, by the j1iiiclous
Investment Of additional capital. and by a.
:-acious and liberal policy In their general
management For tllis, a brief time only
will he necessary. It is ,nuci morc easy to
make m existing line, however detective,
whal II should be, thaa 10 construct new
one ; 70 lny down second track than to pre-
pare the road for the first 10 accommodate
and facilitutc the Gow OF t,:at3ic through well
worn channel, Than to attract and divert it to
fresh one. Before another crop Is har-
fcstcd, such Improvements may be secured
in our principal railroads. as will be equlra-
lrnt 10 the opening Of two or three addition.
ii routes 10 the West. Between Boston and
Albany. there is q zap Of thirty or forty miles
whic! has only single track; this Is being
II IL ID by atcw miles every year. and within
2!l;ee or four years it Will, according to ex-
lsettGtlon, bc entirely overcome In Illinois.
>uch q deficiency would not be allowed to
continue three months, Willie We have been
patiently bearing 1t, TO our loss In untold
sums, for years, and, what is worse, We are
proposing to be equally patient for years 10
come. The great line, also, to QgGcnsburEl
has only single track iron. Concord, N. H.,
through TO the 81. I.e.aTcncc. II the present
tsuck were wanf..lg a whole year would not
oc aloHco to pass be1orc 1t Eould be laid;
bu: F.Igle track Is just better than no track,
and thai Is Ill, for anythin. beyond the
Mcrcst local trattic luufle track IS indlsp.n-
sable. One more point must bc mentioned.
which We cannot now enlarge upon; our rail
roads must come to deep water at Boston, or
they never can compete for the Western trade.
But, secondly, We must open new lines to
the West us rapidly rs possible. This we
have repeatedly urged in our columns, and
still insist that withou. prejudice 10 any Of
1lc roads now In operation, the necessities Of
The vest with Ito ever expanding production,
and of on, own population In Massachusetts,,
demand the sho....e line through the Hoosac
Tunnel to Troy md r..ckctt's Harbor, and the,
boston, Hartford & Eric 1,allroau ~ :le Ind
son River. The Central Railroad Of New
York has almost Invariably shown itself re-
Cardless OF Massachusetts interests we shall
not long lie dependent upon # for our commu-
aication with the West When nc sh1n have
secured 3 direct connection with the Erie
Hallway, there will be no more bulletins from
the New York Central officials declining to
receive freight for New England; aud when
we can reach Lake Ontario by a line Of our
own, we shall be under no further obligations
either to Albany or to Buffalo. And all this
~ III he al m distant dav,