The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1869-12-02
ssSkies Bright and Brightening."

WCdlluy AtCW 1Olh Cupilollato WAiSH hili VII
sure the speedy completion of the Chesapeake
& Ohio r. r. from Richmond to the Ohio
River We hail this suspicious result as the
harbingcr of innumerablc benefits not only
to the counties along the line Of the improve.
ment. but to the whole State-indeed We may
say to the Nation. 1t is in fact, work of
national importance. It will bind together
the East and the west by bonds of iron. 1t
will stimulate agriculture, manufactures and
commerce, not only insthe country through
which it runs, but will develop an Interstate
trade, the magnitude of which can hardly be
imagined. When the road reaches the Ohio,
it will form connections with roads diyerg.
ing, in all directions, Northwest, West, and
Southwest. and we hazard little in predicting,
that, at no distant day, it will be the ac-
kaowledged continuation Of the great Pacific
railway from San Francisco to Richmond
and Norfolk Any one who will take map
of the United States and apply one end of a
string to San Francisco, and stretch the other
to Norfolk, will find that these two points are
in almost the same latitude, and that the Ches-
apeakc & Ohio Railroad is nearly on direct
line between the two points, and therefore
destined to be the eastern link in this won
,derful chain of inter- Oscanic communication.
Thus the best port on the Pacific coast will
be brought into intimate relations with the
best port on the Atlantic In few years
the trade between the East and the West, in
obedience to laws which are as immutable
and as irresistible in the commercial world,
as gravity is in the, material universe, will
settle down, in regular currents, along the
line of this national thoroughEare. And
strange as it may now seem, the day is not
far distant, when we shall see cars whistling
through our town, freighted with silks, spices
and teas, from China, Japan, and the East
Indies, destined for European ports t.i
). But we regard this great enterprise as the
pioneer of still greater The Chesapeake
& Ohio railroad is the ouant- coureur Of the
James River & Ohio Canal. The railroad
will open the way for the canal. 1t will de-
yelop the intermediate country, and exhibit
to the great West: the necessity for and ad-
vautages of ills admirable central route
through Virginia, ,.-te e.s ,ss. Il.
q Passing, as the Railway will, parallel to,
and not distant from the route of the propos-
ed canal, all who travel over the road, will
be enabled to see the inexhaustible supplies
of salt, coal, iron and timber which are now
locked up in the fortresscs Of the Virginia
mountains h The Farmers of the West, too,
will have an opportunity Of seeing with their
own eyes, the advantages, on the score of
chcapness, exemption from snow and ice, and
d;,ninution Of distance, which will be secured
by the construction Of the J. R. 4 r. Canal.
Ohio, and all TIE States along the Ohio and
Mississippi, want cheap and convenient-access
to the salt wells, and coal fields and timber
forests of the Kanawha, and the iron dcpos
its of the Alleghanies. The grain and the
pork and the beef of the West, will want
speedy and cheap means of transportation,
at all seasons Of the year, to the markets and
deep water of the East. These cansidera-
tons will prompt, the people. of the West
through their representatives in Congress, to
demand, that this great national acoyz, shall
be made BY national means and by national
a,t7sority.os ireifas1e ,..5.e a.9,ns
III Already the prospect of the construction
Of the Chesapeake s. o. r.. r. is exerting a
sensible Influence on the value Of property
along the line Within a few months, enter
prizing men from Pennsylvania, New York
and Maryland, haye bought valuable iron
properties west Of U.S. and are preparing for,
extensive and vigorous operations. The large
Furnace in BufalolGap, under the manage
ment Of Mr.. L-Sibert, win be in operation
in. few months A. company from New
York have bought the Mcbride survey, a. 7
few miles west of the gap, and we under.
stand will, during the next season, erect the
largest Furnace in Virginia. Messrs. Furm-
stone. Clymer, & Co, have bought four iron:
between Goshen and Covingtons
at cost of 1884, 900, and are now negotiat-
ing for a fifth at $4,000; And we hear Of
other parties, who have it in contemplation to
purchase the old Bath Iron Works, two miles
from Goshen, with agiew to large operations.
In few years the line Of the Railway from
Buffalo Gapto Coyington will be Illuminated
~ the blaze of an unbroken line of furnaces
Rolling Mills and foundries, and manufac-1
ories-of every kind will follow, as certainly f
s day follows night, and our whole country
ill flourish like "a green Bay tree -. T.
Nor will the other portions of our country
e deprived of their just share of this gener-
i and newly created prosperity. The thous-
nds upon thousands OF operators, in the
Employment of these manufacturers, must
70 fed and clothed. The country around
hem is too sterileto produce grain, grass, or
heats They must look to the fertile fields
f the Valley for food. We venture to say, .
hat during the next summer, the course of
radc of the Valley will be reversed. In !
sead Of seeking its outlet eastward, it will