The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-04-19
A Cana7 from the Ohio TO Tide.wstes
fn Virginia.


A Canal from the Ohio 10 Tfde.wafes
fin virginfa. $780,.
To the Editorsof the Ciueianasi Commercial;
"The Physical Survey Of Virginia." to
which you called 8ttentionaa few Fdsys
since, is work which every businessmen
Of Cincinnati, and every man in the whole
Mississippi Valley should read, and not
only read, but study. fas Tgss. .,Is,s
- 1t may be the advantages Of the great
work there advocated are in some points
over.estimated yet, making oil due allow
ance for enthusiasm and skilful manipula-
,tion Of figures, the grand fact still remains
that with this work accomplished the
mighty West, with al its boundless wealth,
would have opened to its use a ehorter,
quicker, cheaper, outlet to the, ocean than
any other line can offer, and with the adj
ditional advantage that it would seldom or
never be subject to an Ice blockade. 4
canal from the Ohio to tide-water through
Virginia is not only called for by the needs
Of commerce, but also demanded as ma
tional, necessity, 49, .,-,7r--r.1yr,
That the whole West, requiring facilities
for importation we'll nigh unlimited, should
be restricted to two lines Of water commu-
nication-one along our extreme northern
border, and closed half the year by ice
the other going outside our own borders
into the Gulf, and both alike circuitous and
unsafe-is an anomaly in commerce and q
blunder in political economy. The Erie
canal was q great work, and has been OF
incalculable benefit to the country but the
country has outgrown the capacity Of any
one canal, however much it may be en-
larged. One canal, and that, too, located
far from the centre, is utterly inadequate
for transporting the supplies and pro-
ducts Of an empire. An outlet such
as is required from the Mississippi Valley
to the Atlantic lies within reach Of easy
accomplishment. Already the work is
well nigh half completed, and the
right Of way for the remainder can
be secured, free Of cost, from the State of
Virginia. With canal of large capacity,
connecting the waters of the Ohio with the
largest and most secure harbor on the At
lantic coast, the Ohio river would become
the great highway over which the whole
enormous traffic Of the West would be COM
PEELED to pass. 30 constructed as to permit
of towing by steamers, or by engines run
ming on tracks on the tow-path, freights
could be transported, east or west, quicker
and more cheaply than by any other route.
The whole of the West would be brought
within direct water communication Of the
Atlantic. Produce, or provisions of any
kind, could be placed on boats or barges on
the Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri, or any Of
their branches, and, without breaking bulk,
conveyed to the harbor or wharves Of Nor
folk, and that too in much less time, and
at less than half the cost, it is possible to
do by any route now open. This route
would seldom be closed by ice, and could al
ways be kept open by ice boats construct
ed for the purpose, giving to agricultural
productions the winter months for trans
portation when farmers are not crowded
with other work, and enabling them to take
advantage of the markets the whole year
round, thereby breaking up the huge grain
rings Of Chicago and New York. This is
work Of vital interest to Cincinnati, and
once completed, gives her command Of the
Mississippi Valley east Of that river. This
is no dsy-dream or imaginative scheme.
Whoever is skeptical, let him take the pam
phlet referred to at the opening Of this
article, read it, trace out the lines on the
map, compare the route laid down with
those now in use, and they will be compelled
to acknowledge its unrivalled superiority.
Not only would it be the means Of promo
ting the growth Of Cincinnati, but it would
be benefit to the whole Union. 1t would
cheaper the price of bread in the Atlantic
cities, ct the game time returning to the
producer better price. It would give q
new impulse to the productive industry of
the West, and stimulate trade through all
it's diversified channels into greater activity.
1t would be worth more to the West than
the Pacific railroad worth more to Cincin-
nati than O thousandacre park. TACK.