Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-01-12

viii be the centre Of the commerce Of the
world. Business will revive, manufacto-
ries viii spring up everywhere along the
road as by magic, and near the land that
grows the cotton, and agriculture will
awake from the heavy sleep that binds its
limbs, and will arise like a giant refreshed
| by his slumbers, to renewed vig0r and en-
eTgy.
Upon examination [ find the Govern
ment has been muni6cent to railroads all
over the North. The first grant Of public
lands was made In 1852, to the Illinois Cen
trail Railroad, of 2, sos, 600 acres. The CON-
pany realized by the sale Of the largest por-
ton of this, S3,000,0OQ, and have $4,000
acres of the land unsold, which they are
Offering at S. and SO per acre. This was
a startling grant, at the beginning, Of the
peoples land, to one corporation.
At later date Congress granted to the
State of Iowa 8, $4,000 acres; 10 Michigan,
100000; to Wisconsin, 1,663,OOO acres. l
will not weary you by father details, but
remark the whole number of acres granted
by Congress TO Northern railroads amounts
to 2O0,0OO,0OO, equal to $4,000 square
miles, covering territory equal il extent
to the States Of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa combined.
1 confess to you l never did approve Of such
MAGNIFICENT grants Of land that belonged
to the whole people TO any corporations
whatever, railroad or otherwise. IL was
malapprOpriation Of the peoples inherit
ance to a favored few. ItshOuld have been
saTedly preserved as hOmesteads for the
poor, where, under their own rOOf-tree, they
might have found shelter from the storms
of fate.
That immense TERRITORY which was squan-
dered upon a few large and rich cOrpO-
ratiOns would have given 100 acres
Of land to l,250,000 heads Of fam
lilies, and would have made comfortable
100000 Of men, women and children,
American citizens, all quite equal to one
eighth Of our whole population, many OF
whom, to-day, are without home or land
enough in which TO be buried. Il does
seem to me they have been defrauded out
Of an inheritance purchased by the nl0ReF
and the blood Of their ancestors. j was,
therefore, rejoieed beyond measure when
| read the speech of Thomas A. Scott, the
President of the Pacific and Texas Rail
road. before a committee of Congress, 20
find the company asked for no subsidy, no
gift of bonds OF money, or lands, but sim
ply that the Government would guarantee
the payment Of the interest upon the bonds
Of the company in the hands Of the holder,
in consideration of being made perfectly
safe against loss by the company.
That railroad when built with branches
to New Orleans, Memphis and Louisville,
"Will reVOlutiOnize the commerce of the
world. placing us in the centre Of all, and,
morally, will be the means Of ciyilizing
and outstanding all mankind
Intimately connected with the Pacific
and Texas Railroad as a work Of great ma
tiOnal importance is the improvement by
Congress Of the navigation Of the Aissis-
sippi River, and the protection Of the rich
est portion Of the whole earth from mum
dalton BY the annual overflow of the river.
Mr.. Calhoun, who was famed for his strict |
construction Of the Constitution of the |
United States, declared the Mississippi |
was an inland sea rather than ariver, which |
with its tributaries, drained half the cOnti |
nent, the whole Of that great valley lying |
between the Allegheny and the Rocky |
Mountains, and that the improvement Of |
its navigation was a work beyond the |
means of individual enterprise, and justly |
appealed to the Congress of the United /
States for its fostering care, to make its |
navigation safe for the bOundless produce |
and tens Of thousands Of human beings |
transported annually upon its bosom. Il |
is a work too great to be accomplished by |
individual or associated wealth.
The question is now before CONGRESS, and |
is therefore legitimate one for the review, |
the censure or praise Of the inhabitants Of |
the great Valley, and especially for those |
who stand in the fore front Of the great az /
ricultural interests Of the Countryside Pat /
rons Of Husbandry. Whether the garden 1
spot Of creation, the alluvial lands of the /
Mississippi, unsurpassed for fertility, and |
which are capable Of being made the Crane /
" Of the world, is to be protected by Con- /
greSsiOnal legislation, or be suffered to be /
submerged by TIE overflow Of the river and /
rendered useless for cultivation, is a ques- 4
ton that must be decided now, and cannot /
any longer be kept in the background or /
Overshadowed by partisan legislation that /
brings no wealth TO the nation, but rather /
consumes it, that neglects to develop the /
rich resources that lie unappTOpriated /
around US, and contributes nothing to the 4
genuine prosperity Of the people. The
time for action has arrived, and the people
Of the grand Valley announce progress 10
be their watchwOrd. Whether the i'm
proved navigation is 10 be achieved by the
United States leyees, OF by deepening and
widening the channel of the Mississippi
river al its mouth, or by increasing the
number Of outlets to the sea, OF, by all
combined. is a matter to be determined by
scientific engineering and skill. But de-
termined it must be speedily, for the peO-
pie will not wait much longer for an open
navigation Of the greatest river in the
4 I
and cheap freight 10 New Orleans, the
natural market for the productions Of the
valley. The people are beginning to pant
with eagerness for the cheap and safe trans
pOrtatiOn Of their cotton and tobacco to
New Orleans and thence to the sea, in con-
trast with the heavy freights they pay to
New YORK.
Skill and capital would redeem the allu-
vial lands and open a passage to the sea
for ocean steamers, which would transport
Om produce and bring back luxuries from
every land that is washed by the ocean.
All these things being done, the dawn Of
the twentieth century would look down
upon our country glowing in prosperity
and teeming with a Christian and enlight-
ened population, from the Lake of the
Woods to the Gulf of Mexico.
Our own beloved Tennessee would
spring instinctiyely forward to the front
rank among sovereign States, and Mem
phis, our own commercial emporium, would
enlarge her borders and population in gen.
e-Ous rivalry with New York, and, looking
down from the grand bluff, perennial nav
gable stream, connecting her with the
ocean, will be the Queen City Of America.
At the conclusion of Mr.. HenTy's ad-
lreSs, the resolutions were unanimously
adopted.
The ClGrkSUiHe Tobacco Leaf, Clarks-
,Hle Chronicle and NASHVILLE UNION
AND AMERICAN were requested to publish
he proceedings. r. II. OGBURN,
Vice Prest., Acting Prest.
N. V. INGRAM, Acting Sec'y.
ACCORDING to a recent work Of Mr.. B.
A. Gould, Actuary to the United States
Sanitary Comm iccior, IL, Which Soma iufavf |