The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-01-15


fore, that our railroads are working for 10
or IL mills per ton per mile for those
outside Of the. State, while, our own people
have to pay five times these prices for the
transportation Of their products and that of
the commodities purchased and consumed
by them. 1t IS evident that either the rail.
roads can work for cent per ton per
mile, or that the losses incurred by them on
their through traffic are made up by laying
additional burdens on the farmers of the
State. In the State Of New York the Erie
canal has always been the regulator of the
railroads, and invariably as the winter sets
in, and the canal is blocked by Ice. they
put up their rates 40 per cent, It
is believed that the completion Of the
james River canal would have similar ef-
feet in Virginia. The rates of transportation
by water are necessarily cheaper than the rail-
roads can afford and river: course or canal
has this marked advantage over railroad or
a number Of railroads: that the latter inyari-
ably become monopoly, while the water.
course is like public highway, on which all
may travel. The rates Of transportation on
the Mississippi and the Ohio rivers when
there is plenty Of water are not more than
Il or 2 mills per ton per mile. The present
rates on the Erie canal, exclusive of tolls. are
about mills per ton per mile by the horse
boats. But the rates on this canal are con.
siderably greater than they would other wise.
be, in consequence of the boats being com
PEELED to lie idle four and half months
in the year. The season Of navigation is
only some two hundred and twenty-five
days. The charge on u hushel of wheat
from Buffalo. TO New York has been for
the past tive years about u cents, In
Guiding tolls. a great revolution is now
in progress, however, on the Erie canal.
After continued experiments for four years it
has been demonstrated beyond all doubt that
steGm can be successfully substituted for
animal power. and already there are some ten
or twelve stcam.propellers running on the
canal. These during the past season have
Deen, it is stated by New York paper. car
rying wheat from Dufillo to New York for
5 cents q bushei. which is less than laif
the charges by the horse-boats. These
steamers make alsc double the speed made by
the horse.bonts, and are securing return car
goes Of general merchandise which have
heretofore been monopolnod by the railroads.
The scheme tor the completion Of the
James I.;yer ana EGnaWba CANAL contem-
plates p,uGl larger boats than those now
used on the Ilrie canal and this will also
materially diminish The cost OF transporta-
ton. 1t is believed that with boats of $40
tons and steam on the canal the charges, in-
GLIDING tolls, would not exceed mills
per ton per Eiile; while the opening of such
communication bel wecn tide-Water and the
iron-Ecids of Virginia and the coal.feds of
West Virginia would develop branches of
industry in the valley Of the james river
whose benefcent influences would strengthen
and add 10 the prosperity Of the whole State.
Every day is adding new confirmation to the
wonderful character Of the mineral depo-
sits which extend from Louisa, and Orange,
and Buckingham, to the capital of West Vie
ginia. The Quinnimont coal vein, which has
been just opened between the Hawks Nest
and Meadow river, is yielding coal Which
is regarded as superior to the Conuellsvile
coal for coking purposes, and as superior to
the Cumberland coal TOR steamirg purposes.
The tobacco manufacturers in Richmond are
diScarding the Cumberland coal and using
the Quinnimont. One iron furnace, yield.
ing 10000 tons of pg.iron a year, is said to
he worth 100000 in the way of annual reve-
rue to railroad which passes by it. And
if it be true, as We have reason to believe ii
is, that pig-iron on the line of the canal can
be manufactured for far less than the present
cost outside of Virginia, we may fairly ca!cu-
late on seeing many such furnaces springing
up, as they are now doing on the line of the
Chesapeake and Ohio railroad
While il is obvious from the foregoing
statement that the completion of the water
line to the Ohio river would greatly diminish
the cost Of transportation in and through
the State, it is equally plain that it can only
be constructed by the Federal Government,
for not only is the State prohibited by lis
Constitution from making appropriations to
works of internal improvement, but the i'm
poyerished condition of our people renders
all investments in any such enterprise hope
less. Nor will it do TO rely on the old and
hackneyed recourse Of appealing to the local
communities, in or out Of the cities,
to guarantee the bonds of a bankrupt
company that has long ceased to meet
its Obligations, and whose receipts
barely suffice to meet its necessary eX-
penditures. Indeed, other considerations
apart, the interest on the debt Of the iucor.
porated cities becomes every year more and
more onerous, and no hope can be enter
tained of constraining or inducing them to
make such guarantee except by arraying the
united vote Of the pauper class against the
property y-holders. If any appropriation can
be made to works of internal Improvement
by the General Government it is easy to
demonstrate that this great water-line is en-
titled to paramount consideration by that
Government, as it must become the chief
highway from the great W est to the sea-
board.
The abuses of the present railroad system
arc too notorious 10 require proof. They are
run in the interest Of con. paDies-most OF
them foreign to the Statc-and they have
never been known to have been visited by a
generous impulse, or to feel either remorse
or pity. They arc ready III is The genius of
trade) to sacrifice the State the cities OF the
Safe, and the individual citizen. to any ar
raugement which will benefit the limited
rings who control them. One OF them bas
spent Ton paper fabulous sums of money to
reach its terminuS-a sum so great that none
OF US IWho are mere lookers-on) can BIZ any
ingenuity account for the expenditure. The
city OF Richmond was frightened into making
it a present at the last moment of $500, 900.
In favor of another the State has practi.
cally surrendered within few years 81 ,00O,-
900 Oh the express condition that it should
completes connection running west and the
first spade hes not yet been stuck In the
grould, although the period set for The com.
p.ction of the work has passed. One is
owned in Baltimore, two in New York, a
fourth in Pennsylvania, aud two others are
owned by majority of stockholders residing
in the northern States and in Europe; and.
while remote from each other, are under the
same management aud control. One of them,
having been guaranteed by the State against
competition for thirty years, needs no pro-
lection nov. and deties opposition. Most Of
them disreg ard their obligations and utterly
ignore the maturity of their bonds; and
three of them have failed to meet their in
terest; while fourth only accomplished this