Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1867-03-30
AshtabuIa and il. rrarbor.

business Importance and Indirectly to censure
for hsrdsapptation Of the public iunds, bu upon con-
sideratin we concluded is ippant rfdicue and sour
ry and its gross igaorsaee and scckcssness Of truth
wond hardly warrant such ofour space. As, how
eyera,tsntiDn has been drawn IN that direction 1t is
perhaps wcll enough refer 70 tes and give such
statement Of the business Of the hsrbor past present
az win show to every fair and honest mind, that the
commerce of this, wen other lake harbors is en
tied to the fostering Of the government If the Cane
neoai the Sandusky Register and our oriental neigh
Dor feel any disposition 70 treat the subject with candor
ey can hardly refse give the following article pre-
pared by gentleman for many years resident al fhe
Hsrbor largely interested in its commerce and fully
conycrscn With the whole subject upon which he writes
place IN their-respeetive columns..
i. Mr. RrED-In consequence ofthe comments
efthe Cincinnati Consmerciat OF the 9th inst,
the lSandusky Register and the Corneaut Re
porter, have taken the liberty to address o
communications to your paper, with a statement
ofthe business of this harbor last year in order
to correct any nlisapprehension the public may
entertain in relation to the .loose habit of Con-
gress in voting away greenbacks from the u
81 Treasury Of this let an impartial public
judge but one thing is patent, that our Gov
ernment have in years agone been guilty of the
neglect of great and growing interest in the
omission or failure to make appropriations for
the Improvement of cur lake harbors; the eau
ses of which need not here comment upon !;
and l cannot see why local interests and mutu-
aljealousies should at this early period of the
introduction of new and better era attempt to
smother this foster child of the Government, le-
gitimate in its inception. under the sdministra-
tion, of Gen. Jackson and now resuscitated under
new and encouraging auspices Nowin relation
TO the appropriation Tor this harbor: Think that
when an impartial public are acqusinted with
the facts of the case, they win commend the
wisdom of the engineer in charge of the works,
whose estimates are based upon facts and which
Ibelieye Congress adopted in making the grant
Of funds to carry out those plans and estimates
1 do not propose at this time to deal in gener-
alities, ,abut confne my remarks mostly to the
business present and prospective of this harbor.
Your readers can see by reference to the annex
ed statement what the amount Of the business
could hardly be expected .'Sleepy oxen and
: worn our roadsters, could perform all the car
rying business over cow paths that lead thro
'spied meadows to this harbor. CAS- the crow
flies we have plank-road leading into the
country 25 miles, over which the hauling is
done, and is kept in repair principally from the
business connected with this harbor. In look
ing over the article referred to inthe Cincinnati
Commercial, l find but one statement that
bears the impress oftruth, and that is that two
and half miles inland one comesto a pretty
smart and thrifty village; but fhe statement
that it has no more affinity for the harbor, and
is no more dependent upon it for its prosperity
than though it were in the heart of the Andes
is like his,other Statements untrue. Beforethe
Railroad era the harbor was the only medium
of communication with the outer world Since
that has been allowed TO fall to decay much
Of the legitimate businessof the harborhas been
forced upon the railroad, as,the large steamers
which do most of the carrying of merchandise
on these lakes could not enter, and the business
here has since been mostly done by that cheaper
mode of transit-the sail vessel The truth is
that much of the prosperity of the village is, and
always has been dependent upon the trade and
business of the harbor One word more in re-
lation to the Cincinnati Commercial: / do not
know why its editor should "pitch. into" this
place for the purpose of venting his spleen a
gainst members of Congress for not voting more
money for the Ohio river. / do not say as John
Randolph did, that it was dry enc half of the
year and frozen oyerthe other nor will make
any false statements showing my ignorance of
the subject am treating upon, but one thing
l will say, that if engineering skill has devised
any means further than the removal of the
snags aud sawyers, of improving the navigation
of the Ohio at low water, am ignorant of it.
The editor ofthe Commercial might perhaps
be induced to try the plan of Prof Espy of
getting up a shower on his own account if Con-
gress were foolish enough tofurnish the funds
Iwish now to say something in relation to the
prospective Importance of this point For a
valuable consideration in the right of way, de-
pot ground and water stations, the Cleveland
Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad Co. have
agreed to build Railroad from here to James
town, Mercer County Pa, connecting at that
place with the Jamestown and Franklin R. r.
now about going into operation This road
will open road by rail from Ashtabula harbor
TO Franklin, a distance of 75 miles. Frarkln
it atthe head of navigation on the Allegheny
river, and the entrepot of most of the business
of the oil region of Pa. BY this road we reach
the extensive coal and Iron mines of Mercer and
Venango Counties, Pa, at a distance of 55
miles shorter by about 80 miles than any 9TH
er route connecting any of the lake harbors
with the mines of Western Pa. or Eastern Ohio
Some S3O0.00O have already been expended by
the Lake Shore Company and no doubt is en-
tertained that this branch read viii be compet-
ed Us soon as the barber is put in good repair.
This is not all should say in relation to the
prospective importance of this point. 1t is the
northern terminus of the Ashtabula ard New
Lisbon Rail Road line and intended to furnish
a,connection between tie harbor and the ex-
tensiFes Coal fields of AIahoning and Columbiana
counties in this state This isa shorter line than
any other connecting these coal and iron mines
with any other port on Lake Erie. From War
rem to Lake Erie, Al miles, for favorable grades
and alinement it is equalled onlyby the prair-
les ofsthe West. In all probability the South
ern Division. from New Lisbon to Niles win be
completed by the New Lisbon Railway Com
pany this year, leaving the distance from War
rem to this 'harbor to be completed On this
portion of the line nearly $500, ESQ has been ex-
>enf3ed in pradino Go tha riobA of Wow ba