The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-11-08
THE NEW ORLEANS PACIFIC.
4 Large Meeting ef Merchants at armns.
waia Hail In lie Interests.

waia Hail In lie Interests.
Last evening large number or merchants
and capitalists met nj afunswald iinll, IN
response to MI invitation issued SONS days
back by n few ehterpfising gentlemen, In bs-
half of the New Orleans Pacific railroad.
Tho msetibg WIS organized by calling
MI, JOIN PHELPS 10 THH CHAIR.
aud the election of Mr.. Albert baldwin NJ
secretary.
MIR. Phelps, In explanation III Tho object III
tho meeting, said that II had best called for
tho purpose Of laying before tho merchants
Of New Orleans The iamehtabie condition ~
trade and Of considering The correction fof
The declining commerce VI New Orleans
" hieh. we wsre assured by the management
of tho New Orleans papne road. would bs
afforded by tho completion of that enterprise
The object of this enterprise was b. recover
The trade Of
TttH COUNTRY WEST or THIN sttsstHsitti.
which had formerly been tributary to this
city, but which had been taken from liz by
the aggressive enterprise Of either CONNER
eiai communities Mr. Phelps confessed that
he had been Ignorant II tho extent to which
our aommeies had been dlsastreusly affected
he lind been enlightened upon The subject by
visit Ia Arkansas. With the country west
| og Tho Mississippi our communication Id sits
pended entirely by low water. willis all the rail"
road systems Ia operation IN these regions
| converge upon Nj, Louis, hrs owned by Bt.
Louis capitalists. and worked solely IN the In
terest vi AZ. Louis, The only foad In ths
State of Arkansas that IL. however fem6tsly,
advantageous 10 this city Ii short and badly
built road from Gaines Landing b. Pine
Bluff Mt. Phelps. after All elaborate EXPOSE
tian Of the various railroads Ut Arkansas md
Texas and showing their
aosvHnaHNtits ON ~. Lotus ARD MEMPHIS
10 tho detrimeat or New Orleans, urged that
Tho New Orleans Pacific, tapping this system
ut Marshall mud Shreveport. WIS the only
but sure resort by which New Orleans
could eampete for tho trade Of tho States Of
Arkansas and Texas, He found that tho
common preference ut old business meti WAS
10 trade with New Orleans, and thsy maniD
faatad u great desire for facilities which
would enable them 10
n,tstsw THEIR RELATIONS WRIT TINS diTY.
lie then made n statement ri the present
condition III tho New Orleans Pacific. aud
concluded by saying that there arc now but
iib miles Of this road 10 DO graded IN order to
reach Marshall. Of which Marshall proposes
10 grade thirty miles so soon M tho read
reaches Manafsd, leaving but eightyailve
miles 10 DO completed. for which work he
asked subscriptions from those present. He
called upon Mr.. j. q, CLARK. vice president or
/ the N. o.. jackson and Great Northern Itond.
10 address the meeting.
| NH. CLARK RESPONDED
at length md with great enfnesthass aud
ability. tIs said that New Orleans bns not
| tho trade now she once had, yet she Inns all
the natural channels by which this trade was
once moved 10 our wharves, Tho trouble ~
railroad which centre upon lit. Louis. Nom
| phia aud tho East. Tho only way to recover
this lost commerce n by competing. With The
enterprises which have iilehad Il from New
Orleans He was satisfied that tho building
Of the Now Orleans Pacific would
ENTIRELY, ACCOMPLISH TnE OBJECT
we had III view, because Of the almost inonl-
e,,iabla advantages this rond possessed, lte
had scanned tho estimates for the building of
this road submitted by Major Green, tho en-.
Hineaf In charge. and y practical experience
III such matters extending through period
that
THESE ESTIMATES WE'RE AMPLE
for the completion OF the work II built by
New Orleans capital. Tho speaker then went
ON to urge many md convincing arguments
10 impress tho advantages That would eiufe
| to this city from the fact that tho road was
owned In New Orleans by mon Interested In
| her commerce.
Were tho stock subscribed to and controlled
by alien capitalists, IL could not DO expected
| that the road would DO operated solely In
the interests Of thia community. SO soon ~
the road IL graded and crosstied TO Marshall.
no had assurances from tho
BALDWIN LOCOMOTIVE WORKS
of Philadelphia, that all tho engines needed
would be supplied on long time ut per cent.
All tho needed rolling stock and Iron were AZ
sured on tho same terms. Tho speaker then
went on to show the advantages OF commu"
nication with
MARSHALL OVER HOUSTON,
or any other point In Texas, and enumerated
the towns that were nearer to that terminus
than to Houston.
sissippi had also been taken from here, and as
proof of this fact said that 70 per cent OF
the cars that left this city went away empty.
| Mr.. Clark sought specially to impress upon
the meeting the advantages that would result
from this road being
OWNED AND OPERATED IN NEW ORLEANS,
and for her benefit II New Orleans does not
build this road IL will be built by capitalists
who have no interest in her commerce, and
whose sole object will be to make their in
vestment pay. He sketehed history OF the
competition that waged for three years be-
tween the three great railway interests of the
North, resulting in the bankruptcy of all
three and then told how it had been compro-
missed This road would come In competl-
ton with the st. Louis roads, and the holders
Of its stock, If actuated by no other motives
| than those of men who had no interests here,
would do as those corporations had done.
They would
DIVIDE THE TERRITORY,
and compel, by discrimination In rates, the
trade of certain localities to go over certain
roads, and prove the earnings. There Is but
one way to avoid this and that Is for
NEW ORLEANS MERCHANTS AND CAPITALISTS