Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-04-06
LOCOIOTION.


The Boston Globe las al instructive ar.
ticle on the subjecs of locomotIon, from
which We obtain the following statements,
correcting however one or two errors Of
date:
Julius Caesar, and other Romans, had
made so good roads that q years before
Christ lie was able to go from tie river
Rhone to Rome, $50 miles, in eight days.
The news of the battle of New Orleans,
Jan. 8, 1915, was tWeniy-nine in reaching
Philadelphia. Napoleon BonaparLe died a.
st. Helena, May 5, 1921, ard the news
reached New York on ths fifteenth of Au-
gust, In 1860 there were but six stage
coaches in all England, and the time Of
passing from London to Oxford, 81 miles,
was two days. Fifty-two yesrs later,
'Q7l2), the Newcastle COurdnt of
Oc:. IL, has an advertisement which
says 'all that desire to pass from
Edinburgh to London, or from London to
Edinburgh or any place on the road, let
them repair to Mr.. John Bailier's at the
Coach and Horses, at the head Of Common
gate, Edinburgh, every other Saturday, or
to the black Swan in Holborn, every Mon
day, at both which places, coaches start and
perform the whole journey in thirteen days,
if God permit" 1t was not till 1926 that
daily line of coaches was established be-
tween the two cities, and accomplished the
distance in forty-six hours. In 1885 there
were but seven coaches running daily be-
tween London and Edinburgh. In 1887
the London mail arrived in Edinburgh with
one letter in it.
The Boston Globe says: "The import
ance of canals was not felt until 1917, when
Dewitt Clinton conceived the idea of unit
ing the waters OF the great American
Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean," At
the session of the New York Legislature
in 1Sg9-1O De Witt Clinton, Gov. Morris,
Peter B. Porter, Peter Van Rsn5elaer, ST.
neon Deayit, Thomss Eddy and William
North, all men of distinction, were appoint
ed a committee to explore the country be-
tweea the Hudson and Lake Erie and re-
port to the next Legislature such improve
menis as they might think necessary for
the internal prosperity of the State, and for
securing to the city Of New York its pres
ent high standing" These commissioners
lett Albany in June, 1910, and faithfully
performed the duty assigned them. This was
two years before the commencement of the
war with England. At the United States
census of 1890, the great State of New
York, with its several Dutch cities, had but
34O,1 inhabitants. At the census OF
1870, it was 4, ,3S2, ,759. At this time it is
very little below five millions. At the time
the above able Commission was appointed
by the legislature of New York its popu-
latioa was $4,000; and the total
of the States 1929, ,S8l. In 100 Pennsyl-
vania had nearly 100000 more people than
New York. The remarkable growth of
the last nam d State in population and
wealth is probably due more to the facili-
ties for cheap locomOtion and transporta-
ton than to all other causes combined.
The contrast between the common high
ways in that State and this is most striking.
Without easy locomotion, neither one man
nor million can amount to much. Old
men know that human legs and large KNAPP
sacks were all very well in the war of
1S12-15; but an easier aud better way is
now known of carrying freight and travel
ing from one part of the country to snoth-
er. Tennessee needs only cheap transpor-
taipn of men and things to raise at once the
value of her taxable property fro N five hun
dred mi liol dollars TO one thousand MI
lion, precisely as the people Of New York
doubled and quldruped the value of their
farms and city property.