The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1872-07-12
evening State Sai.rnat.
FRIDAY EVENING. JULY -, 1872.
COL. THOMAS SCOTT AND COL. FORNEY
f .w.Hl. AT NEW ORLEANS.

tended tour in tho southwest to advance
the Southern Pacific railroad, in which
Virginia has an especial interest. They
were honored with a great reception at
New Orleans. We make some extracts
from the speeches of these gentlemen.
The meeting was called to order by tho
President, Mr.. E. II. Summers, who said (:
We have assembled to-day in this hall,
the representatives of the greatest of the
commercial interests Of this particular por-
ton of the country, to welcome to our
midst the greatest representative living of
the great railroad interest. am happy to
introduce to you Col. Thos. A. Scott, and
we will be glad to hear from him his views
on railroad matters.
H. Colonel Scott then came forward, and
was received with a good deal of enthusi-
asm. He said:
am here to-day by invitation of your
committee, not to make a speech, but to
have a little friendly talk on the subject of
railroads, and particularly Of railroads re-
lating to this city. For the past two or
three weeks, in company with Col. Forney
and Gen. Dodge, | have been making a tour
through Northeastern Texas, which is the
location Of that line intended to be built from
the eastern line of the State of Texas, near
the thirty-second parallel, through to the
Pacific coast. In making this visit to
Texas, the first time in my life that l have
ever been in that region. | may state to you
very briefly the impression made upon my
mind in relation to that country for produce
tions and for the extension of railroad facil-
tiles. We found there, very much to our
surprise, o country capable Of producing
all your great staples to q degree that is re-
markable. We found there, within a circle
of a few miles, as good wheat, good corn,
good cotton, good tobacco, good oats, all
grown on the same soil, as | have ever seen
standing in any part of the world. believe
that country can produce-that the State
of Texas will produce more of those great
staples than are produced to-day in the bal
ance of the United States. CHEERS.
My object in coming to this part of the
world was to look after the building of the
Texas Pacific railroad Immediately and
for that purpose We found there all that we
need-a reasonably strong population in
numbers, a hardy, active people, plenty of
timber, plenty of water, and a good natu-
raj location for the road. And with all
these facilities, | may say that the work is
about to commence, and within the next
two weeks from this time the contractors
will be on the line to run due west, with
the view Of extending the road directly
through to San Diego, on tho Pacific and
think | am safe in saying TO the people of
New Orleans that within the next six years,
from this day, we shall have the privilege
of going through to San Diego on q train
of cars from his town.
The chairman next introduced Colonel
John W. Forney, who said (:
GentJemen-You have heard Colonel
Scott, whose words are always emphatic
and few, and therefore anything | may
have to say would be simply an attempt
perhaps to describe the effect produced up
on Northern men as as we passed through
the great empire of Texas, heretofore SO
entirely unknown to US that as
we progressed on our journey new won
ders and new revelations were constantly
presented. Ii is q curious fact that while
in the North we know something of Eng
land, something Of France, and n little OF
Germany, we know literally nothing Of
Texas. We have been prepared to encoun-
ter ~unimaginable difficulties alike Of eli
mate, manners and politics !; but yet, from
the beginning, from the moment we left
here from the palace ship James Howard,
commanded by good Captain Pegram, un-
til we worried our way along that curious
and unique river called Red river, and
were passed along over the sixty-six miles
from Shreveport to Longyiew, and then
over a country filed with marvels from
Longyiew to Fort Worth, we met nothing
but courtesy, and gathered information,
instruction and d~isenchantment as we
passed along.
And now, when it comes to return home
and reveal to the people of the north what
we saw, what we learned and unleaTned, |
confess | shrink from the beginning-hav-
ing seen so much and gathered so much
that | fear having doubted, before we saw
the country, to be correct when the plain
statement of our journey is made before our
people. [Cheers.l And there was nothing
more interesting to me than the manner in
which the people had adjusted themselves
to the events of the times, the cordiality
with which they had accepted the situation,
the heartiness with which they were adj
dressing themselves to the practical duties
of life. and their ignoring of all the bitter
ness of the past, and then their eagerncss
TO meet us more than half way, missiona-
ries as we felt ouselyes from the great north,
coming here with our great chief, bearing
no gifts but those of friendship, no prom
Uses but those that were to be fulfilled, no
works but works Of redemption, no tri-
umphs but those of civilization. They met
us not only as friends, not only as broth
ers, but in the spirit of that higher word,
SO long forgotten and now about to be re-
stored, let US hope, on that day which is the
anniversary of American independence,
the name of ''Americans."
Yet on returning from as well as enter
ing this marvellous empire, so rich in all
the gifts of q bounteous and bountlful pro-
violence, there was one painful thought, that
the queen city, the empress city of the
South, was literally shut out from this
great natural coinucopia; that New Orleans
was unapproachable save from a tempestu-
GUS and uncertain gulf, or along the tortu-
u ways of ariyer which, however, conve-
nient, we shall remember as a most dilatory
means; and therefore when Col. Scott
comes to you to present to you a practical
remedy by which you may reach these
treasures, not only for yourselves, but
that they may be returned to you
in a generous reciprocacy, may | be per-
mitted to say you ought to accept his propo-
sition and follow his counsels. May | be
permitted furthermore to add, that had
such an empire. had such a store-house ol