Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1873-11-06

New York, with its carrying capaci-
ty per boat, not exceeding 200 tons,
and itsseason of navigation averaging
only about seven months each year,
carried from Lake Erieto tide water,
| or New York, over 48 per cent. OF the
entire freights Of series OF years,
amounting to about 2O,00O,0OO OF
tons. in the fullest competition
against the great Central and Erie
railroads, running their immense
freight trains every day in the year,
conclusively settles the economical
question and the utility Of ordinary
canals against railroad transporta-
ton. Besides this the Erie canal,
with all its engagements, has not
cost one. half the amount the Central
railroad alone cost, and has had ex-
pended upon it year by year; and
the annual wear and tear and expen-
ditures to repair and keep in..working
order either the New York Central or
Erie railroads far exceeds the annual
repairs Of the canal. Increase the
Erie Canal to the capacity Of 5OO-ton
boats, and it will annually carry,
against all the railroads traversing
New York, from west to east, Is per
cent. OF the entire tonnage Of the
West finding its way by Northern
routes to the seaboatd markets.
Now, what must necessarily be the
consequence or the result to the pro-
ducers as well as consumers OF
our country on the completion Of the
Atlantic and Great Western Canal,
&C.? Will the labor of the West and
South not be materially enhanced
and rewarded as it never yet has
been? Will not the wealth OF the
nation become morepermanent, more
tangible, more steady, more useful?
And will not the bonds Of the Union,
the fraternal unity Of the masses Of
the people become more than ever
I" one and indivisible?" 1t is GER
tain to the mind Of the writer OF
these articles, viewing the state Of
the country from his standpoint, that
no public work, no great enterprise,
not even the union of the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans by the iron bands,
had greater importance than the
immediate construction and early
completion Of these great works.
And when the Ohio and the James
rivers, and the waters of the Tennes-
see and Coosa and the Ocmulgee
shall commingle and be utilized rs
thoroughfares, then will the impor-
lance of these works be sources OF
national power and perpetual useful
ness, second to no other national
work ever constructed on this or any
other continent. From statistics
that are perfectly reliable, We know
that the cost to theproducer and con-
sumner Of moving wheat, corn, pork,
beef, &C., from, say st. Louis to New
York, at the lowest rates, via New
Orleans, is $S.19 per ton, the equiva-
lent of AZ cents per bushel of bread
stuffs. From st. Louis to New York
via Chicago it is 81 l.32 per ton, or 63
cents per bushel: and In winter.
when the great lakes and Erie canal
are closed with the frozen barriers Of
ice, by railroad 1t is $l4.65 per ton, or
G5 cents per bushel. From st. Louis
to Savannah, by railroad, now it
costs sl4.4O per ton or Al cents per
bushel, whereas, by the proposed ca
nal and slack water navigation it
would only cost s4.ssl per ton, or IA
cents per bushel.
We also find that the cost Of trans
porting produce or merchandise from
st. Louis, via New York, to Liver
pool, by the Northern route, in the
most favorable seasons Of navigation,
is $ll.77I per ton; from st. Louis, via
the Mississippi river and New Or
leans, to Liverpool, per ton, is sl3.9l,
while the cost from st. Louis, via
Savannah, by the proposed Atlantic
and Great Western canal, &C., would
be but 1911 per ton. These facts
speak for themselves and are, we be-
lieve, incontestable. 1t is also shown
by statistics that the State Of Geor-
gia, Alabama, South Carolina, and
Florida require aud consume not less
than about lO5, 100000 bushels Of
grain per annum. BY the census re-
ports of the year 1870, tile prodnc-
ton of these four States, was only, Of