New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-10-05
THE NEW ROUTE TO LOUISVILLE.
Another Great Thoroughfaret to the Nortb-
Prospects of Rich Fields for New Or
leans Commerce.

I a SAohAouS opportunity is oHefeQ TO the
merchants of New Orleans to gain rich
| and ever increasing trade if they will but
reach out and grasp it. If they will but
throw off the lethargy which has character
lzed them heretofore, and get rid of the idea
that the commerce of adjacent sections is
theirs by right, compensation may be gained
for the patronage wrested by st. Louis in
Arkansas, North Louisiana and Texas from
our Crescent City. But they must be quick
about it. Their agents should already be
among the planters and country traders Of
the rich section through which | have Just
passed. Their wide awake rivals in this
city, Cincinnati and st. Louis are already
up and doing; but the friendly disposition
of the people toward New Orleans will give
her success in the race if her merchants con
tent themselves with small profits, and her
railroad establishes low freight rates
AN EXCURSION PARTY,
as your readers have been informed, left
New Orleans over the new route to Louis
vile and all points North on Sunday eve
ming, September %. Superintendent g. W.
r. BayleY, of the New Orleans, Mobile and
Texas railroad, was the responsible party
for this trip, aided and Allotted by Pay
master A. L. Graham twho proved an ex-
cellent ne0jtre deS cereD1onieSJ, John FL. lis
ley, Jr., general agent and attorney, Nor
man c. Jones, general freight and ticket
agent, and D. FL. Feger, ticket agent, all of
the same line. Messrs. j. E. Zuntz, A. w.
Bosworth, Robert Bailey, J. Motion, O.
Ellsworth, D. H. Graham, E. F. Fisher,
Luzenbuelt, Dowty, Abbott and others &C
companying as invited guests.
This new trunk route is called the
LOUISVILLE AND NASHVILLE AND GREAT
SOUTHERN
railroad, and is destined to prove a power
full rival to all competitors for the favor OF
all travellers who value beautiful scenery,
good roads and cars and good eating as
agreeable adjuncts to their journeys. The
roads comprising it are the New Orleans
and Mobile, the Mobile and Montgomery,
the South and North, the Decatur and
Nashville and the Nashville and Louisville.
It was to celebrate the opening to the first
through passen ger train by the South and
North railroad, the last spike in which was
driven on the twenty-frst of September,
and which gives stone-ballasted road
every mile of the route from Montgomery
to Louisville, that we left home.
The South and North is controlled by
that enterprising and wealthy corporation
which Mr.. Fink manages so advantage
ously for the stockholders and the public.
and which owns the Louisville, Nashville
and Decatur and the Louisville and Mem
phis roads, and this fact is supposed to be
significant for the future prosperity of the
new route, and correspondingly disadvan
tageous to the old route via the Mississippi
Central and jackson roads. This concIu-
sion is based on the fact that the interests
Of the great corporation will be better sub
served by sending freight and travel over
a route wherein they derive profits from
some 500 miles of rails than by one in which
their interest is not half SO great. This |
theory seems reasonable, and as the cor
nections, etc, absolutely at this end, it is |
probable they will take especial care Of the |
new line if they, too, think it the more |
profitable for themselves. Railroad man
ayers, you know, unlike editors and preach
ers, generally keep sharp lookout for the
main chance.
WE LEFT NEW ORLEANS Y
on the 500 train of the smoothest cunning
and best managed route in the country, |
passed Mobile on time, and struck out for
This part of the trip, in
spots, reminded one strongly Of the jolting
journeys of Confederate days, although
rapid improvement is making, and when
fifty more miles of new rail has bridged
these spots reduction of two hours in the
running time Of through trains is promised.
One of the "spots" alluded to broke our
engine, and caused the loss of connection at
an annoyance, however,
which was amply repaid by the courtesies
Of Superintendent Shaw, H. T. Curd, audi
tor of the South and North road, and other
railroad officials in waiting to receive the
voyageurs.
Being a special train, we passed but slow
" along the new road, circumstance
which afforded gratifying opportunity to
examine the country. And, truly, it is a
glorious land, which labor and capital is
certain ere long to make surprising rich
and its people consequently happy As it
is, the number of new saw-mills and brick
yards is simply astonishing, but not half so
much SO as the new towns and villages into
which their products are being erected.
What promise for the prosperity of the
South is contained in the single fact that
ten months ago was not in ex-
stence, yet to-day ranks as city of 1000
inhabitants, its buildings built exclusively
II brick, and justifying no mean preten-
,ions to architectural beauty and finish.
Coal mines, too, abound. We passed per
naps dozen in operation, whose yield sup
lilies the locomotives and the people with
ueI. IF its gas-making and burning quail
les will sustain but half Of what's asserted
n favor of the coal, this source of wealth
must rapidly develop, particularly if it can
,e employed in smelling the superior iron
re which is in inexhaustible quantities be-
ide the already opened mines
COTTON
GEMS to have been cultivated as extern
ively as ever, but the feeey bolls remain
n immense supply on the stalks untouched
md apparently uheareq for. did not.see
ifty hands picking between Montgomery
md Decatur, nor could / get any satisFac-
orv. reason for this disastrous neglect. The