New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-03-09
TEXAS PACIFIC RAILROAD.
Greatest Road Of the Age.

Greatest Road of the Age.
We copy the following editorial from the
Washington Chronicle:
No act of the FOrty-first Congress will be
longer remembered to it's credit than that
authorizing the construction Of the trans
continental highway from the eastern
boundary of Texas, near Marshall, via Ell
PasO, to the town Of San Diego, on the bay
Of that name, in the State OF California.
The route is the same that was SURVEYED
some eighteen years ago, under the admin
istratiOn OF Franklin Pierce, while Jefferson
Davis was Secretary Of War. 1t was, in
fact, the t;tvOrite project Of the late head of
the Southern COntederacy. Itextends along
the thirty-secOnd parallel Of latitude. The
bill which has passed both houses Of Con
gress, over every test, by more than u two
thirds vote, provides, in addition to the
main line, iOr two branches-One from the
eastern terminus, near Marshall, to New
Orleans, IL distance of about three hundred
miles. and one from u point about one hun
lred miles distant from its Pacific terminus
which is to form q connection with San
Francisco. The company under whose
auspices this bill has been carried, are
already the owners of the franchise through
Texas, known as 1.-The Tr;lnscOntinental
Company"
This franchise gives them the right Of
way through Texas distance of eight
hundred miles, and is strengthened by their
recent purchase Of the Southern Pacific
railroad, corporation extending from
Shreveport, Louisiana, to PalO Pinto, Texas,
and connecting with the main lines at the
latter point. 1t is now, and has been for
some years, in profitable operation. In nd
ditiOn to these advantages, the Transconti-
mental company have entered into 4 negO-
tiation for the purchase of the Memphis aud
FL PasO railroad and its rolling stock,
which includes the line from Memphis, Ten
nessee, to Little Rock, Arkansas, u distance
of two hundred miles. The whole IOute,
exclusive of the branches, is AN aggregate
OF some two thousand miles. The region
traversed is one OF surprising fertility, with
the exception OF about seventy miles.
Almost the entire length is singularly level.
The reports of the government engineers
and the engineers OF the company concur
in the statement that a railroad can be laid
more rapidly and cheaply along this line
than over any other section Of our country.
San Diego. the Pacific terminus, is five
hundred miles from San Francisco, and
that much nearer Philadelphia and New
York than any other competing Organiza-
tions.
The value of the Texas cotton belt can
hardly he estimated, when we consider
that in the reservation us far west as the
twenty third degree OF longitude west from
Washington, every acre is capable Of pro-
ducing six hundred pounds OF ginned cot
ton. Much Of the cotton lands Of Georgia,
Mississippi and Alabama have been worn
out and turned out to common. The great
cotton field Of this continent, and we may
well say Of the world, lies west OF the Mis-
sssippi river, in a belt of country the heart
OF which is pierced by the proposed line Of
railway.
Whatever may be said by the people Of
the North to the contrary, the fact still
remains that cotton even now, under our
disOrganized system of labor, holds the
supremacy aa an element Of our foreign
commerce.
The following data, gathered from the
statistics of our exports to foreign cOun-
tries for the year ending June 80, 1870, de-
nOnstrates this fact: