The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-07-07
RESOURCES OF THE NEW ORLEANS
PACIFIC.

The letter OF Mr.. Jas. @. Clarke, vice
president Of the N. O., Jackson ant
Northern Railroad, to Col. Wheelock
OF the N. O. Pacific, giving an estimate
OF the running expenses Of the N. o. p.
and Its trade resources and relations
printed in the DEMOCRAT yesterday, is q
document Of great interest to capitalists
and others having funds to invest. Mr..
Clarke Is an experienced, sagacious and
courteous railroad man, and his views
upon this enterprise are Of the highest
value. Even those who are ignorant OF
the country land its resources) through
which the New Orleans Pacific Is des-
tined to pass and the country it will tap
may safely rely upon the estimates and
calculations presented in this letter.
Our personal knowledge Of the country
shows us how extremely cautious Mr..
Clarke has been. His letter, as far as
1t goes, is strictly correct; but it
largely understates the trade resources
Of the New Orleans Pacific; in other
words, to avoid the remotest possibility
OF giving an estimate that might be
questioned or Of exciting an expectation
which might seem delusive, he has
given us only a part Of the truth.
In estimating the probable earnings
Of the road for the first year, Mr.. Clarke
assumes that it will carry 10000 bales
Of cotton. The reader will readily per-
nnfun that fhic su l.,
when it is stated that Shreveport itself
ships an average Of 10000 bales of
cotton per annum, and Jefferson
$4,000 bales; while it is very rea.
sonable to say that the parishes Of Lou.
isiana and the counties OF Texas below
Shreveport will ship over the line 10000
additional bales. We are satisfied that
Mr.. Clarke's estimate OF 1000 car loads
OF stock and 5000 car loads Of grain is
at least twenty-five per cent under
full estimate. The passenger travel
will be immense. Nearly the whole
Of the Texas and Arkansas travel, with
ell Of that of Northwest and Western
Louisiana, will use this line, as will a
vast army of travellers from the West. |
Whether Mr.. Clarke's estimate of $780,
900 from this source Is correct or not we |
are not prepared to say, but it seems to |
us to be less than half what would be |
derived from travel, even the first year. |
In his letter Mr.. Clarke allows moth
ing for sugar and molasses, and yet the |
road passes for many miles through |
parho nc tho fpoct md ~, r,ut ,,rod,, ot;..o
cane growing region Of Louisiana, and
It's revenues from the carrying Of sugar
and molasses will necessarily be very
large. There is yet another very i'm
portant source Of trade and profit not |
included in Mr.. Clarke's calculation.
We mean the local traffic the road will |
develop as fast as it extends its line. II
we estimate the gross amount Of this
trade at only ten per cent of the
very low total of existing bust
ness Mr.. Clarke has made, i. e.,
$40, 900, it will amount to $4,000, and
yet this trade, created by railroad lines
along their routes, in many instances
constitutes as much as seventy per cent
of their gross earnings; and it should
be borne In mind that the New Orleans
road will run for over three hundred
miles through country of unsurpassed
fertility, whose staple products are the
richest in the markets of the world and
whose climate Is mild and salubrious.
We make these remarks not as criti-
cism upon Mr.. Clarke's letter, but
simply to show that he has been eau
tious in his estimates and that no
man can be deceived by them. His let
ter is absolutely impregnable. There is
not statement in it that can be shown !
TO be in excess Of the truth; on the con-
trary, every one of his estimates Is an {
Under statement of the resources of the !
.oad. It was wise in him to observe !
his m liberation of statement for it can I
lot possibly deceive any man who may t
ely upon it, and it thus becomes doc ,
lment of very great value to the COM {
,any, who, with the whole people Of !
New Orleans, owe its author cordial 4
hanks for having written it. f
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