Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-11-16

ANU SANAAs
Baltimore is some what excited over
project for ship canal to connec. Chesa-
peake with Delaware Bsy. Such q work,
cutting eff the long peninsular which in
Guides most of the States of Delaware snd
and the Eastern Shore Of Maryland, and
reaches fully one hundred and fifty miles
southerly from Baltimore, would practically
save to shipping three hundred miles of
navigation between New York and Balti-
more and place the later city as near the
ocean as Philadelphia. Taken in connection
with the proposal of an ocean steamship
line, this shortcut may become important
to tie future of the Monumental City, while
lis completion viii be welcomed by the
commercial men of New York as opening
another of the many avenues by which the
vast product Of Western agricultural and
mining industry may reach our wharves.
Surveys are in progress, the generally level
character of the country and its slight eleva-
ton apparently Offering no very formidable
obstacles to the work, which is roughly es-
timsted to cost four million dolars.-N. Y.
Herald.
Nothing will contribute so much to en-
nance the market value of our Southern
lands as the construction of navigable Ca
nails in The Southern States. It is not I'M
possible to make either canal or a rail-
way where it will not pay; but an error OF
this kind proves nothing against their value
where needed. A canal 10 connect the
Tennessee river with the navigable rivers
of Alabama and Georgia, extending TO the
Gulf ard Atlantic, will be of inestimable
benefit to all farmers living in the valley Of
the Tennessee, and west of it. Our crops
should 20 TO market at a cost not to exceed
one half of the price now charged, to make
our farms salea lie at sums worth having.
Intelligent men prospecting for farms in
Tennessee, want to see our farmers making
money and improving their lands under
cultivation, before they purchase. Now,
they see poor buildings, bad roads and
fences, few school houses or schools, but
large excess Of dogs 20 hunt rabts in old
fields, and prevent enterprising farmers
from keeping sheep. This non-improve-
ment practice makes our State the best in
the Union-to emigrate from, if an indus
trious man has a spark of real progress in
his constitution. RABBIT raising and hunt
ing in old sedge fields, with little or no COM
mon school education, properly belongs TO
past sge. For this purpose, land is not
worth over ten cents an acre. The Hol-
land Company paid only l2R cents an acre
for three or four million acres of the best
lands in Western New York.
What the Erie canal did for these lands,
a canal from the Tennessee river to the
navigabIe waters of Georgia will do for the
farming and mineral lands of this State.
All parties united in New York to build
the "grand Erie canal" which has done so
much to populate ard enrich the West.
Brunswick, Savannah and Port Royal are
nearer seaports for Illinois, Iowa and Mis-
soari farmers than New York. Let US
bring this rich carrying trade through Ten
nessee. DR.. Franklin never said better
thing than the maxim "God helps those
who help themselves" In place of wait
ing for immigrants to help US build school
houses, make roads and canals, and take
care of our sheep killing dogs, we must do
all these things ourselves.
Tennessee is much richer to-day than
New York was ffty-fve years ago when
New Workers took off their coats and be-
gsnin sober earnest to dig Clinton's "Big
Ouch" 363 miles in length. The digging
of the Champlain canal was In progress at
the same time. Let ore million people in
State be united in any lsudable work,
ard not many years will elspse before its
completion. 1t is labor and cultivated COM
mon sense that conquer all things. TIE
Cumberland and Tennessee rivers need i'm
provemeut for commercial purposes. Shall
we waif ten years, or fifty, before we make
this Improvement? Shall we drive capital
anl enterprise out of Tennessee to find a
y more .corgenial community, or give them
encouragement IN our midst?