The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1873-05-10
TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS.

Senate previous to its adjournment last moh'h
to occupy the summer months in an cNah''n
alton of the great transportation question DC
tween the East and the West. According 10
the despatch of May ls,, this committee HAS
chalked out for itself a pretty big JOB for inc
summer. 1t has prepared programme Oh
what it is going to do, and if the work III
volved proceeds as rapidly as the preparation
the committee must have something ike
o,ar1er of a ccntury's work before them Inc
committee have apparently come TO inc uc'
cision that there are five probably pracucaDlc
routes by which, with the expenditure o'
plenty of money, outlets by water OF western
produce to the Eastern markets, or the ocean
can be secured These are: /. by the Eric
Canal and Hudson River route; 2. by the
Canada canals and St Lawrence River route
3 By the James River and kanawha Canal
route; 4 By the Georgia Canal route; ahu' D.
By the Mississippi River route.
The committee propose, by visiting inc To-
calitics of these routes, to obtain, in the hrs'
place. all the information available from per
sona observation; then to make an estimate
as to feasibility and cost; and lasuy' 10 go
fully into the question OF merits
II Is evident of all the routes here named,
the one which will drain the largest part OF
the West by water transportation, ana Tor the
! LONGEST norton of the year, at as low rates OF
freight as can reasonably be expected from
abundant and continuous water transporta-
ton TO the sea,-is the one that ought first to
be taken hold of by the General Government
the expense involved being something like
equal.
In reference to the Canada and St. La"
renee route, few words are sufficient The
route is worth little unless the Canada canals
are enlarged, and that is matter beyond the
control of our government, unless il could be
done by liberal reciprocity treaty, which
Canada is understood to be anxious to enter
into. But the leading objection to the route
is, that it is closed up by ice six months IN
the year The same Inconvenience attends
the Erie Canal and Hudson River route, no
matter how much the Erie Canal is enlarged
While both these, duly enlarged, would be
excellent summer routes, the West wants
some more southern route as foil against
railroad inadequacv or cXtortion in winter
The Kanawha Canal and James Rivcrroute
would, in this respect, be an improvement;
but the route is regarded rs barely feasible,
except at enormous expense, while it is still
g,., 20 J, a,ailahln oil Viptpr \
to the Mississippi, we know all about that,
and though it could be much improved, yet
in its present condition it would be good
enough, if Western produce was at all natur-
seems not to be.
The only route then left to consider Is the
proposed Tennessee River and Georgia Canal
route. This route proposes to follow the
Tennessee river to its most southern point OF
navigation at Guntcrsville; thence by canal
to the Coosa, 30 miles, which it enters, and
follows to Rome, Georgia, FROM which point
to Savannah, the COosa is navi gable for large
steamers at all seasons of the year. The entire
expense of improving the Tennessee river, sol
as 10 be navigable for large steamers, and to-
build all the canals needed, Of sufficient ca
pacitv, is estimated at S36,00O00O. The route
would not only open to the West an outlet
superior To the Erie canal to the ocean, but it
would be shorter by severel hundred miles,
and would he open all the year round. An
other advantage would be- that it would give
the West vast new market for her corn The
proposed route would connect the West with
the entire river system of Georgia, Alabama,
South Carolina and Florida These states
now raise about - 100000 bushels of corn for
home consumption, and buy from the North
about j0,000,000 bushels a year The corn
they buy from the north never costs them less
than 800 bushel, and ottcncr $500. The
only reason why they raise any corn is this
cost Of getting it from the North or West.
Open this canal, and thus lay down corn at
Rome, or Savannah, or Montgomery, at go or
~ cts, land ii can be taken there for - cts.
bushciJ and the south would stop raising
corn on the instant In return the West would
receive her cotton, sugar, and all other South
orn products, which She now receives by the
circuitoUs and expensive route of the Erie
canal and the lakes or in winter by the
trunk railroads.
/ Tho route is not - far south as to cNposc
it, cargocs 10 injury from heat or moisture
while carriage from Savannah To Europe
would bc no more expensive than from New
York OF course, il would "cut in" on the
! Chicago grain trade and the operations and
profits Of the Chicago elevator and warehouse
/ thieves; and might, 10 some extent, affect
/ Buffalo and the trade of New York and New
/ England with the West, for which reason
/ those regions would stoutly oppose the route ;
/ bur the states through which it passes ask no
appropriation of congress in it, behalf They
simply ask congress Ia guarantee their bond,
10 the extent of Sl2,000,00O To build the canals
and pledge their tolls To pay the debt
OBITUARY.