The Weekly Washington telegraph., 1872-01-31
RAILROAD ITEMS.

'' N'"'N'" Pi"tNu ~ iic dCtiNc tdpitdlletS
and business men of st. Louis. The
St. Louis Times of The 4th says:
The project for carrying a new line
of railroad, to be known as the st.
Louis and Mexican Gulf Branch of the
Atlantic and Pacific railroad, through
from Pierce city southwestwardly, via
Arkansas, the Indian territory and
Texas, TO Sabine Pass on the Gulf of
Mexico, is to become an accomplished
fact. The corporators met on January
lst and performed the necessary legal
acts to complete their organization.
Sabine Pass, the terminal point of
the line on the Gulf coast, is said to be
the finest harbor and port Of Texas,
there being more water on the bar than
at Galveston, while the bar itself is
composed of soft mud through which
any vessel can force her way in case
of necessity. The country for forty or
fifty miles around this point is very
rich and admirably adapted to the
growth of the finest sea island cotton
and sugar cane, only requiring the
facilities this road will furnish to be,
come one of the richest planting sections
in the south. North of this district is
a splendid pine forest, the lumber from
which will be an untold source of wealth
to the trade of st. Louis, while the rich
prairies of the Red river country are
excelled by no section of the territory
Of the United States in their capacity
for the production of grain, cotton, etc.
Altogether the enterprise bids fair to
become Of vast importance to the COM
mercial interests of this city and is
worthy of every encouragement, while
the distinguished names of the directory
are guaranteefor the energy and good
faith with which it will be conducted.
The Mobile Register is in favor of
the construction of the Southern Pacific
railroad. 1t concludes an article on
the subject with the following para.
graph;
"The Northern route, iocosoly called
The Central Pacific Il. H., was big
JOB d had to be put through. But
it is rather rough joke on the engin-
eering skill Of the country and on the
wisdom of its land-granting Solons, that
the job was not run little out of the
area of constant snow blocks. There
seems but one remedy now--the one
that has all along been silently but
steadily urging its claims to the pre-
ference of practicability and common
sense. Every train turned back is
new argument for Southern route;
ana another winter can scarcely fail t.
make it plain even to the average
American.
The road is at this moment impas-
sable, and may remain so for an in
definite length Of time. We must have
a Southern Pacific, whether it is to be
known by that name or not. Such
dispatches as the following argue the
great necessity Of more reliable route
to the Pacific very eloquently:
Omaha, Jan. 24.-The worst stJrm
of the season is reported in the neigh.
borhood Of Cheyenne-snowin and
blowing a gale. No train from the
west has arrived at Cheyenne for sew,
eral days and the road is reported
blocked on both sides of that place;
The topic of conversation at Little
Rock just now seems to be railroad
from that place to Camden. We have
not been favored with the opinion OF
either Tom Scott or Tom Allen with
regard to the project.
The Camden and Red River and
the Trenton and Fulton have not been
heard from since navigation opened.
The whole line ot the Cairo and
Fulton from Little Rock to the Missouri
line has been put under contract, aud |
is to be completed by the first day of
October next.
CONGRESSIONAL ITEMS In the .