The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1877-07-18
Resources Of the New Orleans Pa
CifiC.

Wheelock, of the N. 0. Pacific, Civ
ing an estimate Of the running ex-
penses of the n. 0. p, and its trade
resources and relations, printed in
the Democrat yesterday, is docu
ment of great interest to capitalists
and others having funds to invest
Mr.. Clarke is an experienced, saga
cious and courteous railroad man,
and his views upon this enterprise
are ofthe highest value. Even those
who are ignorant of the country,
land its resources) through which
the New Orleans Pacific is destined
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 it goes, is strictly
correct; but it largely understates
the trade resources of the New Or
leans Pacific; in other words, to
avoid the remotest possibility of CIV
ing an estimate that might be ques-
toned or of exciting an expectation
which might seem delusive, he has
given us only part Of the truth.
In estimating the probable earn
ings of the load for the first year,
Mr.. Clarke assumes that it will car
ry 100000 bales Of cotton, The
reader will readily perceive that this
is an under estimate, when it is sta
ted that Shreveport itself ships an
average of 10000 bales of cotton
per annum, and Jefferson $4,000
bales; while it is very reasonable to
say that the Parishes of Louisiana
and the counties Of Texas below
) Shreveport will ship over the line
10000 additional bales. Wea sat-
isfed 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 all Of that of
Northwest and Western Louisiana,
will use this line, as will vast army
of travellers from the West. Whcth
err Mr.. Clarke's estimate of 100000
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
nothing for sugar and molasses, and
yet the road passes for many miles
through perhaps the finest and most
productive 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 important 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 it's line. If we cs
; innate the gross amount of this trade
at only ten per cent of the very low
total Of existing business >Mr.
Clarke has made, i. e., $4,000, it
will amount to $S4, 900, and yet this
trade, created by railroad lines along
their routes, in many instances con
: stitutes as much as seventy per cent
of their gross earnings; and it should
be borne in mind that the New Or
| leans road will run for over three
hundred miles through country of
; unsurpassed fertility, whose staple
products are the richest in the mar
kets of the world and whose climate
is mild and salubrious.
We make these remarks not as a
criticism upon Mr.. Clarke's letter,
but simply to show that be has been
= cautious in his estimates and that no
man can be deceived by them. His
letter is absolutely impregnable.
: There is not o statement IN it that
, can be shown to be in excess of the
: truth; on the contrary, every one OF
his estimates is an Under statement
of the resources Of the road. 1t was
, wise in him to observe this modera-
ton of statement for it cannot pos
, sibly deceive any man who may rely
/ upon it, and it thus becomes docu-
ment of very great value to the COM
pany, who with the whole people of
New Orleans, owe its author cordial
thanks for having written it. New
Orleans Democrat.
FISHING TACKLE-A GREAT
a VARIETY SPOON BAIT