The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-03-04
The Atlantic Cities.

The Atlantic Cities.
We certainly feel that Baltimore may stlck
n feather IN her cap and strut abous a NV
;,un,i,r In view Of the effect her enterprise pas
wrought upon the minds of New 1orkefs'
New York is as gay, and as prosperous, anu u
opu,ent. and as vicious as city In TINS cou".
try could veil be. The rings and the soro.u
boards Of New York that prey upon the oss-
tresses and profit by the frauds OF the 'ano'
are as successful and jubilant as such instltu'
tons eau be anywhere not less vicious tnan
this country Is; but nevertheless, they pause
to consider what Baltimore has DONE ana
what Baltimore may do, that IS
harmful to the schemes and supremacy oil
New York. 1t is certainly great acnieve-
ment of the eommunity at the foot Of
"Jones's Fails" to attract tae attention OF
the great Gotham, and to saggest the inaui'
ry propounded by leading New YORK sour
nal: "1f . place Of only the size aaa re-
sourc es Of Baltimore can accomplish what
that city has in the way of public enterprise
what caa New York DEP" Exactly
Aud mag we not inQuire, under tine " hule
of Proportion" If Baltimore, with her ao-
yantares, car accomplish SO much, what can
,aichnenddo2 Itmust be remenissred that,
As coutendcd By New York jsarnal, While
/ Ba,tsSoere is one hundred and forty miles
nearer to the West than New York, she Is
one ftunar ed and fifty miles further from Inc
sea than New York is, and that klconohu 10
generally forty gniles nearer the west IMAM
gstimose and no further from the sea tnan
Size is. So, while it may be surprising tna1
Rnltimere, with her power, trenches upon
the commerce of New York, Richmond has
an even better means than Baltimore 10 par
tioipas. in that very commerce OF when NE"
Work COMPLAINS that Baltimore has taken
surpnsingiyand unduly large share.
= We here,see the potency of that principe
ve t,aye often referred to-that foreign COM
meree is prone to 60 as far into tue interior
es lis reasonably possible to find marhe''
i aut-the interior commerce gets on ooara Tue
sea.going,vessels at the nearest point posi-
BILE to that of production. In this respect
the CITY of Richmond has advantages OF the
most Admirable character. The tioe'"a'er
; trryels nteriorly in Virginia further than
arr where else on the Atlantic shed !;
, and Richmond is the favored point that
# .reacbes-this extreme interior point.
At Richmond this I" farther point L"
urstes with the upper James which
; bmnrs us to within a stones throw OF the
waters of the Ohio, which furnish the high
wsy to the vast products of the West. In
this respect the city of Richmond for iute'
riar.apd foreign commerce of the magic mid
die latitude of the Union affords incontesta-
big the ,nost admirable facilities for com.
mtrce.
"A, strong point, and one that the New York
advocates dwell upon with special emphasis,
is chat: Baltimore has no water coummunica-
ton with the West, while New York has
through her Erie canal. The friends of New
YeFk may ,indeed boast of this. 1t is an i'm
mense advantage. Time will never bring
about theday when transportation by water
wiz be substituted by any cheaper and more
.capacicas mode Of transportation. And at
thisvery point Richmond is especially blessed
byhhe admirable route she has for the build
ing of a canal uniting the East and the
West line that has already canal l9O
miles in leasth-and line upon which the
obstructive strosts of winter and the MAS
matic diseases of summer are equally avoided.
Baltimore, deprived of such water COM
munication, lr any chance to have it, sits at
the feot OF. Je ness Falls-a little stream dry
the greater part of the year, whose floods
upon a sudden rain threaten to wash that
1 city down up1n Cape Charles. An unusual
flood q few years since cost the city
some shalf-dozen millions of dollars,
and still .Jnnes,s Falls is an un-
chained demon Of destruction. To live in
peril of 6 !wateF,course which contributes so
Ettle to human ,bene tt as does Jones's Falls
is terrible. What oud not Baltimore give
for James river instead of Jones's Falls:
Yet what value do the people Of Richmond
set upon James river? People Of Richmond,
behold your advantage and your power, and
behold what Baltimore has done with adj
vantsges so much inferior to those you en-
joyt
Wecannot 600 earnestly impress upon the
people of Richmond the blessings which
have been bestowed upon them by Divine
Providence. Nor can they oyerrate these
blessings. Had they but used them as
| Baltimore has the KNITTED advantages be-
slowed by nature upon her, where would
Richmond now be-
The subject is one .fuis Of interest, and che
people OF Richmond cannot too patiently
and devently consider it.
The Extension of the Canal
Colonel CHARLES S. DARLINGTON, president
of the James River and Kanawha Company,