Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-05-04

u ~. L.
see, and another to Jacksonport, Arkan-
sss, are prime necessities. If trunk rail-
/ ways are the arteries OF a country's COM
merce, branch roads are the smaller yes
sells through which the life-blood is dis
| tributed and returned to the heart. A
[ village or town out of the reach of rail-
ways is practically out Of the world, and
thus the villages beyond Jackson should
| have their cheap narrow gauge branch
roads, costing little more than turnpikes,
cOnverging at that prosperous interior.
/ city to maintain and enrich the trunk
line, of narrow gauge, to this city. Jack
| son, by this means, escapes tn 9 danger Of
being transferred 20 Nashville or Mem
| phis by the construction Of great broad
| gauge thOroughfare. The common rail
road car weighs $1,000 pounds when
empty, and hammers the rail with 1000
| pounds on each wheel. The car of three
foot gauge road would only hammer the
rail with 1901 per wheel. The same facts
| are applicable to the weight of locomotives
Half the engine and tender, weighing fifty
! tons is dead weight. The entire weight
/ Of. the light narrow gauge engine, weigh
| ing twenty tons, is utilized, its pressure
being distributed over eight wheels. The
wear and tear of rails and machinery is
thus lessened, and the cost of mainte-
nance is lessened in greater ratio than the
difference Of original cost of the two de-
! scriptiOns of railways.
TIE GREAT RAILROAD,
! Marshall, Texss, is the initial point OF
| the Southern Pacific railroad as fixed by
| the act of Congress. In view of the value
of lands granted by Texas and by the
/ United States, worth Infinitely more in
| Southern than hyperbOrean lstitudes, this
Southern Pacific Rail way Company is the
richest corporation ON the continent. The
road will be finished to San Diego, at the
head of the Gulf of California, and thence
to San Francisco, within the next three
years, aud within q much briefer period
/ W. B. Greenlaw and Sam Tate will have
! com pleted the road from Memphis, De
| Vall's and Pine Blu II, through Camden,
Arkansas, one hundred and seventy
miles, TO Marshall, Texas, or to shreve-
port, Louisiana.
ANOTHER PACIslC ROAD.
/ From st. Louis, the Atlantic and Pacific
road richly endowed by the Federal Gov
ernment, has been extended into the In
dian territory, near Fort Smith, in Arksn-
/ sss. With this more northern route to
the Western ocean, Memphis will have
direct connection through Little Rock and
Fort Smith, Referring to map of the
United States, it will be observed that an
air line, drawn from New York oity to
/ Marshall, Texas, passes a few miles south
/ of Memphis. Cairo or st. Louis
therefore, cannot compete with Memphis
as point in the line of greatest future
traffic and travel across the continent. It
is only necessary to bridge the Mississippi
to secure beyond the possibility of doubt,
/ through all time, the whole trsns-eonti-
mental traffic and travel between New
/ York and San Francisco, and thus be-
tween the two oceans. If all this incalcu-
liable wealth and numbers of people be
drawn to this one point on the Mississippi
and all railways south Of the Ohio on the
eastern and south of the Missouri, on the
western side of the Mississi ppi, be made
to converge at Memphis, as would occur
II the Mississippi were bridgud, this must
become the mightiest city in the Valley Of
the Great River.
ST. LOUIS AND MEMPHIS.
These two cities are connected, as shown
By the map above, by railway line
through Columbus, Kentucky, distance
OF 35I miles. Contracts have bssn exc
cuted providing for the immedlste to COM
| pletion OF the unfinished direct road be.
tween Memphis and st. Louis on the
western shore Of the Mississippi,
| by which the railroad distance
between the two cities is reduced
to three hundred niles. A faint line on
the map designat,es the 81. Francis river,
between which and the Mississippi lie
the richest body of alluvial lands, some
five or six million acres, richer than
| Egyptian grain fields, which made Mem
phis Of old plethorie Of wealth, and en-
riched the builders of the pyramids. II
Memphis had no other than this st. Louis
road, protecting from overflow the sllu-
! vial district between the Mississippi and
st. Francis rivers, from Cairo to the
mouth Of the st. Francis this city would
become the seat Of wonderful Opulence
and industry. Within few years mil
lion cotton bales, and corn OF equal value,
may be produced IN the N Rtchless valley
Of the st. Francis.
The least of advantages acoruing from
the st. Louis railway are those, however
great, that are ordinarily incident to such
highways. It's sublime bui practical ben
efactiOn consists in the rsde mption Of this
broad, rich alluvisl district from annual
overhows. THE uDAnishe portions
shown on the me,p-of the Memphis and
st. Louis road will bs perfected, if exist
ing contracts be executed, within twelve
months
KANSAS CITY AND MEMPHIS.
Kansas City, in the past five years, has
outstripped in growth any American city.
Memphis has doubled It's population
within the decade, though 1t was
Bcourged for five years by the presence
of desolating arEies. Kansas City must
have a cheaper route for grain to
the ocean than over railway lines to
New York, and, therefore the line on
the map defining the route Of the Mem
phis and Kansas CITY road. Whenever
the mouth Of tke Mississippi is opened.
and vessels OF 5000 tons or more are lifted
over the bar a. New orlssns, the whole
grain crop OF the Northwest designed for
expectation 70 Mexico, the West In
dies, South American States, and even
to Europe, wiz adopt the Memphis
route to the ocaan, and at this point
the basoR, hsef and cereals Of
tho new Northwest viii be exchanged
for eoltonand proliu0ts OF the tropics.
sEhMA AID THE GULF COAST.
To conduct this Intercourse between
the Gnm States and the Northwest the
Memphis and Selma. road was put under
contract. The map properly shows the