New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-02-11
ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.
General NJ. JEFF Thompson on Railroad


The regular meeting of the Academy Of
Sciences was held last evening and highly
! entertained by General NJ. jed Thompson,
| whose subject was q practical One--the rail.
road system of Louisiana. The :oom VAS
we'll filled, some ladies attending.
| The subject was one the lecturer proved
himself competent to handle. as his ex.
periencs has taught him valuable lessons
in the matter, az well As IL The ease Of
levees.
The speaker began by comparing old sys-
ten. OF transportation with the present, and
the compari -On was startling--aN Of which
changes have been maue wI,hiL bis dav and
generation.
He spoke ot his early experiences IN cor
structing railroads. under difficulties which
today science has turned into helrpee,s
1t was in the early stages Of Cailroad con
struction that ho learned practical engi
neering, and his first experience was found
when he started ont as commissary for
railroad men. lis soon found that railroad
making was an open book 10 tho8. who
II FURNISHED up all be knew OF mathe-
matics, geometry. eIc. He was soon pro
NOTED TO position of trust and Importance
on the St. Joseph, Missouri. read. and set
the Iirst fire in the first locomotive and
blew the first whistle in thar portion Of the
world, and today cherishes that knowledge
as something to be proud Of.
The speaker went into some intricate
passages concerning the science of CON
stTucting and maintaining railroads. which
can not be interesting unless published IN
full.
Taking New Orleans as the centre or
heart OF the Louisiana system OF railroads,
we can present a radiation OF roads toward
the east, north and west, which will, when
their connections are completed, pour into
our lap large portion Of the trade Of this
continent. True, lines OF commerce run
north and south, and only east and
west on isothermal lines. to overcome
some distractions to the direct ex-
change of the products Of .he dit.
ferent latitudes. New Orleans having
one of the safest and most convenient
harbors in the world for the loading aud
unloading of ships, will by the concentra-
tion of not only the traffic of our mighty
river. but by railroads from the east to the
immediate range of the Atlantic seahoard.
from the Northwest 10 the Blue Mountains.
from tie North to the great lakes. from the
Northwest to the Rocky Mountains. from
the West 60 the Sierras, from the South
west to the City Of Mexico, build up such
ii commerce with the world that the mo-t
sanguinr dream of cOmmcrcia! wealth WI!
be realized in another generation.
Main trunk lines will be built III the ''irac
tions named rs surely as the sun shall rise
and s@'. ard why they hav. not al beeA
built is question easily answered.
might speak OF some Of the :crIuer ~
tennis 20 build some Of these lines. tut |
will iet ,hG Nashville ana old Mobile !oa.i
~ turtE years ago, rest IN their graves with
their 2joct"'s, only stating that "ur good
people are .til paying interest "n the hona.
tiLat Were issued To these unfortunate enter
pulses. Possibly the EeNIcaI Gulf road
should ac hH:ird III the same iomh. Lu, /
believe that it VIII soon De resurg, ctyd
True to The principles of irade. ths Greet
Northern was the first to cross the delta 20
The .igE lands and on toward the Nelth IN
I'll lineage and the great LAKES arr with,
fifty hours of Us. The Great Western was |
thea forced across the trembling prairia. |
and swamps, until now il is within striking
distance OF the high lands Of the Teche. and |
the Gr.at Eastern has been pushed to th" |
i'ia"y woods Of Pearl river, and thence to !
Mobile. to connect with the various lines |
that converge to that city.
The Great Western is boldly advancing |
into the swamps above Donaldsonviil. on
its FOute TO Shreveport and ~ the Pacific, |
and ! am led 10 believe that shortly the
Great Northeastern will picl. up !ts stills
AID hravely wade Lake Pon,chartrain 10 |
Lewisburg, and theLce to the coal and iron
fields of Tennessee, Alabama and Grorsia. !
Even the backbone" project, though now
suffering from severe paralysis. NAV Vet
recover and have every hope THAI as soon
az the present political Chaos shall be
brought to order, all main trunk lines Will
be bIilt, and We will have that cOncentra
non OF trade and commerce which the
gentlemen of the Chamber of Commerce 80
tondiy anticipate and So delight to talk
about.
Oae unacquainted with the physical char
acIer OF Louisiana and the peculiar difficult
ties which presented themselves few years
ago. naturally asks, why were not these
roads built long ago! How comes i, that
Chicago. an infant in years. compared with
our proud city, has been able TO checker
the Northwest with railroad linesi And
how comes it that st. Louis. our own |
daughter has run her iron arms for thou
sands OF miles to the West Southwest and
South. to flank us and take our trade. Wa.
u ''io ""Itt VI energy VI our people. an /
'Wer no. Was 1t the lack of capital or credit!
No. Are the engineering difficulties insuf.
n0unfabie, Nc. Then what was It 1t was an
imperfect !e"ec system that made every
ire OF railroad subject 10 overflow and de-
ana elther compelled the build
ng OF most costly lines across the delta. or
III annual loss in time and money far eX-
'ccdlnS the snow storms of the extreme
Nprth on the roads in that region, and the
hort 70 use cheaply buils roads i'll the
.elts, with their occasional destruction.
anseG disaster to the companies. and both
he Great Western and the Great Northern
we're worked at loss until sold to parties
Who now expect 10 make them pay, !
But. gentlemen. let me con ugratulate YOU
n the fact that there is now an effective
5Nee system at work, and if no untOward
y islatlon lntcrvenes, or powerful comb. ! .
aIion oppose the proper construction OF |
BE levees, the delta below Red river will ,
e as saie from overflow as the lands be.
ond the leche, and each corporation. com. !
any or individual can have pocket rail {
Cau II they SO desire, and lay it down 7
atety.
We are unable TO publish the entire pa.
er. but the above is a portion of some of {
le most interesting pages. The speaker
as listened to with great interest. and the ,,
ocument Will be printed for the use OF the {
,ademy.
ccident 10 the Steamship General tfeade. |
The steamship City of Havana. while I
'ln@ into pier No. } North gver. New !,