The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1875-12-03
THE NJ. LOUIS CONVENTION,
The Great Result of It's DelIbern'
Hons,

The adjournment Of the So Louis
Convention aud the return Of the dele
gates TO their respective homes, suggest
some thoughts touching the result Of
the deliberations Of that body.
The programme embraced Ia the
preamble and resolutions unanimously |
adopted, il concurred In by Congress, |
will be productive Of the grandest
results TO the country at large. ltshould
be borne In mind that the objects OF the
Convention were natlOnal--not sec
tional--that the contemplated railway |
across the Southern slope Of the conti-
nent IL projected for the good Of the
whole country, and not to advance the
interests Of any particular locality. II
Is not State enterprlse-not n South
ern enterprise; but an enterprise In
which the whole union and every
part Of the Union, is directly or i'll
directly Interested. II is only in this
view Of the subject that any Congress
sional aid can consistently with the
theory of the Government be relied
upon with confidence, All local en-.
termlses must he left to State develop.
Inent, whilst the national Govern
ment, especially under the practice
marked out by the Democratic party
concerns itself solely with enterprises
of national import. Hence the st.
Louis Convention, composed rs II was
to great extent of the old strict con-
structlon element Of the country, took
an enlarged view OF the subject IN
hand, and only recommended for Con-
gressional adoption n series OF meas
ures which, when taken all together,
embodieda programme emlnently ma
tional in It's character, and'one which,
from its very nationality, would
recommend itself To the favor Of that
strict construction element.
1t ii Democratic House OF Represent
tatives with which the Texas and Pa
ciilc enterprise has now TO deal--a par
ty whose distinctive platform in the
olden times was opposition to internal
improvement by the general Govern
ment a party which olung with te-
nacity to the principle that IL was the
province of States to provide dor all
such works, until Mr.. Calhoun, It's
great leader, announced that the Mis-
sissippi river was an inland sea and as
such entitled to the fostering care of
the national Government. And hay
ing now such party to deal with-the
descendants of race who adhere close
~ to the letter Of the Constitution, re-
ceiving with jealousy ali advances
| towards too liberal EXPOSE
ton of that instrument, it
was the policy of the Convention
just adjourned to present platform of
resolutions, broad, catholic and com
prehensive, taking in, rs far rs posi-
BILE, every section Of the union, and
avoiding with the same care ever ~
mere local and State advantage or in
terest
Inasmuch as the extreme northern
slope Of the union had been already
provided by lavish public expenditures,
with railway connections between the
lakes Of the North, and thus incident
ally the Atlantic with the Pacific
Ocean, the first object of the st. Louis
Convention, representing every section
of the country, was to provide for
more southerly trunk line from the
Mississippi to the Pacific. This line
was unanimously admitted to be the
one from Vicksburg, Mississippi, to
San Diego, ty way of the
thirty-seaond parallel of latitude.
The adoption of this line, whilst it
was considered just offset to the
Northern road now constructed across
the continent, WAS not of itself suili-
GENTLY national in the view of the
Convention, and upon its unaided |
merits and its apparent sectional local
ity, it was feared that it would not al
together meet the public demands of
the nation. 1t was conceded that its
construction would be eminently an
act of justice to the South, but the APP
prehension was that, to the Congress.
sional mind, it would be liable to the
same sectional objections as are so
much and so justly urged against the
Union and Central Pacific. To that
extent therefore it was feared
that its national character would
he abated, and that in national
enthusiasm in its support could
not with confidence be expected.
The completion of such trunk line,
confined to the SIND parallel, would
leave ten degrees of latitude between
that road and the Union Pacific with
out trunk line, vast expanse of ter
ritory seven hundred miles wlde-thus
giving to the extreme North and South
direct outlets 20 the Pacific without di-
rect provisions for the Middle States.
In this view of the question as ma
Lional one, the idea, which had been
foreshadowed in the bill presented to
The last Congress, was seized upon of