National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1876-04-20
THE UNION RAILWAY.
A Spicy Letter from James 2. Russell.

To the Editor of the National Republican:
SIR: ! much regret that am compelled to IN
dertake the enlightenment of your venerable cor
respondent, Mr.. Gideon L. Walker, on the Union
Railway of Washington, Georgetown and North
ern Virginia.
1t is a little surprising that an engineer, " who
is willing to undertake the construction of tun-
mel Of two miles length the larger portion through
solid gneiss, on the northern boundary of Wash
ington, should find an insurmountable dificulty
to the building of the river portion of the road
above named, in the fact that once or twice with
in the remembrance of the Oldest inhabitant the
water in the Potomac has risen to heights that
might temporarily prove inconvenient to a road
along the river from Georgetown to the west line
OF the District. If 1t would make Mr.. Walker
supremacy happy the committee might be Induced
to change this portion OF the line, and locate it
north Of the canal. Though SO able an engineer
should know that it is an axiom seldom dlsre-
garded by railroad projectors to follow the banks
Of all streams not too far removed from the direct
line sought. Bot TO felieitate Mr.. Walker as fur
as possible, 1t may be practicable to make all
necessary connections with the Virginia roads
and thus reach grounds sufficiently high to avoid
all anxiety on the subject Of semieentennial
freshet. ....
projected road Will make no connections with
other roads, is very apprehensiye lest it should
not yield a profitable return. Let Mr.. Walker
has not been neglected. The local trade between
Washington and Georgetown is deemed amply
sufficient to fully justify the very slight outlay
required for so short o connection. Besides, Mr..
Walker must not be too despairing on the score of
the Rock Creek connection. He must not forget
that the past two have been very IniySr
building of the Union railway Of Washington,
Georgetown and Northern Virginia will do much
towards stimulating the completion Of this desir-
Able connection. And than ALL II he
that The anxiety Of =, M walksr. lest our road
aT IN ibs o,.0s mi %sT rCaes the
and they may report 1t with the important add.
tions he has so kindly suggested. But realizing
we have asked for what is most needed, leaving
the remainder to the wisdom Of Congress and the
kindly solcitude Of disinterested friends like Mr..
Walker to come TO our relief.
Mr.. Walker is also apprehensive on the subject
of the location of the bridge over the Potomac,
thinking he has discovered in this q mares nest
Of huge proportions. We are perfectly willing to
leave all such details to the wisdom Of Congress;
there can be no possible objection to their naming
whatever site may seem to them IrdiciSus or to
tary Of War or the chief engineer Of the army.
The people Of Georgetown alone are to be af.
iee.ed: they want this rad. and II they choose to
ask Congress to locate ii where Il W.! best suit
them, why should Mr.. Walker make himself 50
dreadfully miserable on the subject? Moreover,
the language Of the bill is near Georgetown"
There is much reason to fear. however, that Mr..
Walkers chief occasion for unhappiness is that
he was not permitted TO become one Of the ineor.
porators OF the Union railway Of Washington,
Georgetown and Northern Virginia, and that
their effort to obtain charter was begun consid-
erably in advance OF that of the Union railway Of
the District Of Columbia to secure from Congress
the approval Of the ''route and termini'' Of said
project. There are several i'm Portant points ad-
vanced against MIR. Walkers scheme that he has
not had the hardihood to deny, namely, that his
effort is one merely of speculation In his own
language, that he "has nothing but brains to
depend upon in executing his grand conceptions;
that he wants Congress to grant him q quit claim
deed to hundreds Of acres Of the water front of
Washington city, and that his grand tunnel
through miles Of solid rock affords no immediate
solution Of the present difficult problem of the
introduction into the city Of the Baltimore and
Ohio road and its locates to less Objectionable
ground than it now occpptes:
Very respectfully JAMES F. RUSSELL.