The New York herald., 1872-12-17
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
A Plea fo< rats<nai Lines q water coumani-
cAtssa-

Il <@&s~8
/ wssasoros Dec. 0. isrx
| TO ran EouoR or rus iIgsALp:-
Ny attention has been caHed 10 an article In your
Issue OF the sth lust. reviewing certain recon-
mendations 10 the Presidents Mesaage relative TO
interior lines OF water communicate In which
you cast an impl,ed rejection upon an enterprise
In which the state OF Georgia is deeply interested.
| Az this question OF q direct water line from the
| Mississippi 70 the Atlantic Ocean. through the
State OF Georgia has not been generally discussed
| by the prcss. hope you wili induge nc IN few
| remarks upon q subject which ~ of very great
| Importance 10 . large portion OF the country and
| OF interest, no doubt. TO many OF your readers
| That some SAFE certain and cheap mode OF
| transportation between the different sections OF
| the country has become an absolute and pressing
necessity "a fact very evident when We remem-
ber that the three geographical divisions Of the
Union differ widely In pursuits, products and CHI
| mate. The West Ia an agricultural region. whose
staples are bulky and unable 10 bear the charges
| exacted upon long lines OF railroad. Yet these
products are not only needed by the other sections
but are absolutely necessary 20 their prosperity
and well being. The Eastern and Northern
| States devote their energies principally 10
mining, manufacture and commerce, while
| to the South belongs the production OF cot
l tVu buBuT uuu TlCc-dIblCcS VI SuCu CooiiOu uso
that they are classed among the necessari OF
| life. That the free Interchange Of products
widely different in character, and yet so essential
| to our wants, would result In more rapid de-
| velopment OF our internal commerce and In mu-
tual benefit to all Ia proposition self-evident, and
| one that needs no demonstration. Everybody
knows that the great need OF the West is market
| for the surplus food which she produces In such
quantities that it cannot be prohtably disposed or
! but remains worthless and wasting upon the
hands OF the producer, deprivng labor OF half its
| reward, discouraging industry and parayzing en-
terprise. Nor is the result of this need upon the
manufacturing interests OF the Northern and New
England States less deplorabe. Cheap food makes
cheap labor and cheap labor Is the life OF manuiac.
ture In this age of commercial competition.
without it these interests can never reach that
state OF development which will make Us not only
Independent at home, but enable US to become
successful competitors in foreign markets. The
same is true of the South. Dependent upon the
West for her supply offood, the great staples which
enter SO largely into our domestic and foreign
commerce are annually decreasing because the
cost Of living Is so great that their production
has In measure cease to be profitable pursuit.
Instead of raising cotton, sugar and rice, for which
the soil and climate are eminently adapted, and
in which she would find her most profitable en-
ployment, large areas are devoted to the prodIc-
tOn OF food the result OF which barely feeds the
producer, adds nothing to our commercial ad-
vaNement, deprives the West to that extent OF
prime necessity which might be produced cheaper
and in greater abundance at home.
But the price Of food regulates the price Of labor
OF the other our mining and manufacturing inter-
ests must suffer. Hence we find that so soon as
legislative protection IL withdrawn the factories
and furnaces of the country to some extent cease
operation and at the same time the importation
This is due solely to the cost Of production, and
this cost of production prevents not only the con-
successful competition abroad. The manufactur-
Ing operative, the miner and the artisan are driven
capital lands and labor to the production Of food,
and the West, with surplus on hand sufficient to
FEED not only TINS country but the greater portion
and manufactured articles, while the product OF
her labor remains worthless and wasting upon the
hands OF the producer, because the cost OF car
riage, South or East, exhausts the value OF the
ticle before it reaches market; These are grave
questions and they demand not only an examna.
tion into the cause OF the evil, but the proper REM
edy to be applied.
ihave discussed this question at some length,
because very unjust prejudice exists in a large
portion OF the country land especially In the agri-
turer OF New England and the iron manufacturer
or Pennsylvania from this cause They are charged
M ami h soh n Wes s[ wSes be R a.
is, real necessity forces them to demand egisla-
tive protection But the South sees that her in
terests are failing while she Is heavily taxed upon
the manufactured products OF her own labor, and
the West that she Is shut out from market, and
the products of other sections OF the country. 1t Is
also true that so long as protection is necessay to
the control OF our home market we can never hope
to compete successfully in foreign maris.
The able and statesmanike recommendations
contained in the Presidents Message meet all these
points, and II carried out, will relieve the country
OF a cause ef discomfort that is deep and almost
universal He clearly understands the nature OF
the evil and goes squarely to the remedy with that
promptnesS and decision which have ever been one
OF his chief characteristics. That remedy, he tells
us, Is cheap transportation, and that this can only
lie supplied by lines OF water communication
The present outlets from the West to the sea are
the Mississippi River, the lakes and Erie Canal.
Canal, and this TACT finds utterancein the constant
demands Of the West for other and and more commo-
quacy is due in great measure to the fact that 1t
Is frozen upon an average OF ive months in the
the West most needs 1t. The route BY way OF the
Mississippi River 10 long and expensive, and farm
produce Is liable to serious damage from the hui
midity OF the semi-trOpcal climate through which
it passes But there is another serious objection to
these routes which deserves consideration. They
both lie beyond the limits OF the United States and
in case of foreign war would certainly be OBJ
power OF lnterrupting not only our foreign COM
merce, but Of obstracting and destroying our inter-
nal trade.
These facts point to the absolute necessity Of inte-
rior lines OF water communication between the great
producing sections II we would render ourselves
Independent In times Of peace and give security to
our internal commerce IN times OF war. Two
routes present themselves-both feasible and both
possessing marked advantages over those already
named. one of these routes is through Virginia 70
Norfolk; the other through Georgia to savannah or
Brunswick. The merits OF the Virginia line have
been so ably and fully discussed that 1t needs no
comment here. To the Georgia line our attention
Is Just now more particularly directed. This route
follows the natural channel OF the Tennessee to
Guntersville, Alabama, where narrow neck OF
land separates the Tennessee River from the
Coosa. Across this isthmus a canal thirty miles
long is all that Is needed to connect these rivers
and open navigation. on the one hand to Mobile
and the Gulf OF Mexico and on the other to Rome,
Georgia. From Rome the route g?lows the Etonah
River to point where II Is feasible TO
connect this river with the Ocmulgce and
thus open an uninterrupted line, from the
Mississippi to the Atlantic, This route
under authority of the War Department and pro-
nounced eminently feasible. The engineer further
reports that 1t Will have abundance Of water In
summer, will never be closed by Ice, will be shorter,
cheaper and more direct than any existing or pro-
nosed route that nrOduce shipped IL Will not