The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1868-02-25

The country drained by tho road. The
architect OF the magnificent bridge
across the river above SteubenVllle has
been quoted rs saying that 1t is the best
route for a rail road In Ohio,
and his opinion is endorsed by such
men AS Judge Cowan as being worth
a great deal.
The distance between here and Toledo
In direct line Is $50 miles. Saw that
when the road is built 1t will be 200
miles. We should then have a most
direct route to the great Northwest.
We would not need to travel round by
Robin Hoods barn as we now do in
order to reach Toledo, Detroit or
Chicago. And the creat Northwest,
in order to reach Baltimore or Wash
ingtOn City, would not need to go
round by Pittsburgh and Harris.
burg or else come down by the
Cleveland aud Pittsburgh road.
Neither would that great and growing
section need to ship her exports for
Europe TO New York by lines mcasur-
ing, all of them, over 700 miles from
Toledo, when this shorter line shall
form a connection with the Bal
timore s Ohio road by means of
bridge over the river at this point.
The city of Baltimore is to-day the
growing rival OF New York on the At
lantio coast. She alone has, with New
York, lines of steamships to Europe.
Boston and Philadelphia have none.
Baltimore has line to England and
another to Bremen. When the South
recuperates and becomes once more a
great producer, and when the Balti,
more road shall have projected all its
contemplated lateral roads aud its di.
rect combinations, the future of Balti.
more as the rival of New York will be
more apparent than at present. We
can see that she is reaching out hel
arms Vid COnnellsville to Pittsburgh
and that she proposes to divert Phila
delphia trade from that point. We also
see that she has in contemplation 1
road down the Valley of Virginia to the
Virginia IL Tennessee road. A few
days ago the control of the Marietta &
Cincinnati road passed into her hands
and by that arrangement she has Sc
cured a close connection with Indian,
apolis over the Cincinnati 81 Indian
apolis road. What she yet lacks is :
direct connection with the North,
west, such as the Wheeling & Toledo
road offers her. The Central Ohio road
is nothing beyond Columbus. There
the ambition of the Baltimore road is
stayed. The Pennsylvania Central has
cut her off from any profitable
connections beyond that point
She must in self defense seek an.
other route to the points northwest
OF Columbus. She has made some
preparations for bridge at Bellaire,
but we are led to suspect that she hest
tates about prosecuting the work, con-
sidering the limited area of country
accessible to her by means of the Gem
trail Ohio Railroad. She will OF
course build her Parkersburg bridge,
and that is perhaps all for the present
until she sees how the new arrange
ment with Cincinnati and indianapolis
will work. Surprising that it works
we'll, is it not her next logical step to
seek an outlet via. n diagonal line from
Wheeling to the great wheat and pork
producing regions of the Northwest ?
She must seek such an outlet sooner or
later, for short lines and cheap trans
portation are now the demand OF the
times in which we live.
1t seems to be certain that the new
road from Cumberland to Connellsville
will be built. This leaves gap of say
80 miles between the present terminus
of the Hempfield at Washington, Pa,
and connecting point on the former
road. Thus we may have still shorter
line from Baltimore to the North west,
and when the Point OF Rocks cut off to
Washington City Is finished all the
travel from Northwest Ohio, Michigan,
northern Indiana and Illinois, and from
Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa to
the National Capital must pass over this
proposed road from Toledo to Wheel
ing. We thus see what its promise
is both as a local and through route.
Is 1t any wonder that the people over
in Ohio along its proposed line feel in.
terested in getting it under way? Is II
not rather strange that the project has
lain so long DORMANT And is not the
meeting TO be held here on the 18th of
March, to awaken still further interest
in the enterprise, gathering worthy OF
our attention? Thus far but little has
been said or done at this end of the
route. People have not looked into the
matter with any minuteness, and con-
sequently have not seen its important
bearings, We advise all who have
maps of the United States to spend
few moments in examining the
proposed line from Toledo to Wheeling
and Baltimore. Let us inform our
selves by examinations and discus.
sions as to what Interest we as com
munity have in the enterprise, before
the Convention meets, SO that we may
talk to our friends from abroad intelli.
gently and definitely as to our purposes
in connection with the project.
scenes at tne war once.
The follwing account OF General
Thomas last interview with Mr.. STAN
ton was written out by, a person who