The Portland daily press., 1867-10-25

Friday Morning, October 90, 1857
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1
-4 WI An rnapertans Raiirsad neHsrm.
Great Is Cooper Institute. 1t Is Faneuil
Hall become rich, corpulent and practical. 1t
differs from the latter as middle aged gentle
man OF large fortune, who engages in COM
merce and manufactures, and deyotes laage
share Of the money be makes to benevolent
objects, differs from the same individual when
a pale student, dreaming Utopian dreams OF
universal philanthropy and the brotherhood
OF man. Faneuil Hall discovers the great
| generic ideas the deductions from which are
embodied by. practical men in measures of re-
form and progress. Cooper Institute is mar
rover, and devotes itself rather to the attain
ment of specific objects, though its spirit is as
catholic and its purposes as lofty as the "Cra-
| die of Freedom" can claim. On the whole it
seems filter that Faneuil Hall should have its
assemblages for denouncing spiritual iniqu;-
| ties and organizing crusades against sin in a
| general way, and that Cooper Institute should
aim rather at clearing material obstacles from
the path of the human race,-thoush very Of
| ten, OF course, each assumes and exercises the
| functions of the other. iirI .,.a-4... .l.t
One OF the m)st important meetings ever
held in Cooper Institute was that of few
nights since for the purpose of considering
the subject of cheap freight railroads. The
subject Is one which has received especial at
tention from Judge Sherwood of Texas and
Governor Pierpoint of Virginia. According to
their computations, arrangements can easily
be made by which ten times the freight car
rying capacity of our railroads, as at present
managed can be acquired and the cost of
transportation reduced two thirds. Judge
Sherwood was present at the meeting
above mentioned. Hon. Freeman Clarke was
chairman and Horace Greeley, Erastus Brooks
and other prominent gentlemen participated.
The principal features of the proposed re-
form are succinctly stated as follows In New
York exchange: .-.l..-..'..-...
1. To inaugurate reform in railway man
agement by which certain lines now in opera
ton shall be converted into freight transporta-
tiOn lines; the roads to be owned by one COM
pany; the rolling stock by whoever pleased to
pat trains on the loads, which are to be opened
with double tracks-as acknowledgements free
competition Ia transportation, as the Erie and
other canals are now; and 3. To indorse and
urge certain bills now pending before Con-
gress, to employ the public money in building
great national trunk lines for freight transpor-
tation--the roads to be owned by and subject
to the control Of the government, while the
facilities for cheap freight-carrying, aud the
general plan with regard to rolling stock /,
should be as In the plan for using roads now
built, or to be built, by incorporated companies
The seco nd measure spoken of may be op-
posed on political grounds and open questions
that have for sometime been held in abey-
ance; but the general principle upon which
these roads are to be conducted will insure
cheap freight transportation for the people all
the same, whether it is introduced on roads
already in existence, or whether the govern
ment builds new roads, as proposed by Messrs
Sherwood and cPierpoint. The principle Is
this: two tracks are to be laid, over one of
which all trains pass East, and over the other,
West They are to run at a uniform rate of
speed, not less than eight or more than ten
miles an hour, and at prescribed distance
ffom each other In this way the road will
be completely utilized, and there can be a
constant succession of trains passing over it
Under the present management, trains of DIFF
ferent characters and OF different rates of
speed interfere with each other. Freight is
delayed for hours ON side tracks waiting for
passenger or ''fghtning expiess trains" to pass.
The track Is unused during the greater part of
each day. But under the proposed system,
though the rate Of speed is very low, the use
of the track may be almost as constant as the
use of the waters of a canal. 1t will not be
necessary that a greater distance than one
and hall IL, a.
tween the trains, and in this way the arrivals
at the termini of the road may be almost con-
tinuous. 1t is estimated that running at
eight miles an hour the carrying capacity of
single road between the Ohio and the At
lantic may be increased to four times that Of
the Erie Canal The first step toward cheap
freight transportation Is thus attained by in
creasing many fold the carrying capacity OF a
single road. % lloy aaa 9ufGsjnHaF aGi
Another incidental advantage of theIsystem
Is, that at the proposed rate of speed the wear
and tear of the track will be very much less
than in cases where fast driving gives rise to
immense lateral pressure. An important
item of expenditure will thus be saved. But
the second great feature OF the plan, alter the
increase of carrying capacity, is the freedom
of competition which Is to be encouraged =
Amy individual company, corporation or State
may put rolling stock upon the road subject to
contain reasonable limitations and to such
uniform regulations as are necessary for the
safe and successful working OF the road. Any
thing like monopoly Is completely out OF the
question, and the public may have the advan-
/ 4
tage of competition as fully as in ma
rine transportation. Every business man has
data from which he may reckon with consid-
cradle accuracy the degree in which the price
OF freight transportation win be reduced in
consequence of this great reform. ,+..,,
1t is not proposed to compete with lines
already established in carrying passengers,
for In that branch of the business speed is
generally the prime object. It Is the purpose
OF the projectors Of the new scheme merely to
give relief from the stagnation OF business and
the high prices occasioned by the present inn
possibility Of distributing the mineral and az
ricultural productions OF the country as rapid
ly and cheaply as the wants OF the people i'm
peratiyely demand. With the present facili-
ties, corn and coal are transported only while /
navigation is open, the high railway tariffs
being absolutely prohibitory as respects at
least these two productions. Under the new
system all OF the commodities exchanged by
people residing In different parts of the Union
can be distributed at all times during the
year. 7i' -'
SENATOR WILSON'S vEws OF THE Pros
PEcT.-The more radical members of the Re-
publican party, who were supposed to have
been killed particularly dead by the late
elections, seem to be invery fair spirits after