The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-06-03

year It was reduced to ',ss than half It's
former proportions. Let the curious
aak our Red River steamboat men
what IL is now. Fov r. lfths OF that trade
now passes over + all and New Orleans
and her rivers receive but an insigniIl-
cantportion oil '.t. Galveston has grown.
from little Town OF eight or ben thoi-
sand Inhabitants to prosperous and
still growing city Of thirty Ave thov sand
people, s,t Louis has drawn large
trade ov,.r her roads, and even Kansas
City In gathering part'of the. benefits
OF tar, Texas trade.
TAe lines Of railroad thror Ugh Eastern
Texas from the Gulf Oh thr ough Arkan-
sas TO st. Louis, have cut, off New Or
beans entirely. Look at tie railroad map
and observe the wall these longitudinal
lines constitute between Louisiana on
this side and the vast railroad sys.
tenn, with the trade and wealth Il has
developed, on tho other side. Natur-
ally the swelling tide Of Texas trade
surges toward Now Orleans. But
these lines meet, break and divert it
toward Galveston, and st. Louis.
That q railroad from this city to
Shreveport and Marshall will turn the
great volume OF that trade hitber is, II
seems to us, perfectly obvious. This is
its natural de Dot, and It has been d.
verified into an, unnatural and expensive
channel simply through the force Of en-
terprise and the power of capital. That
st. Louis possesses no peculiar advan-
tsges TO 90 ntrol this trade is shown by
the fact that Galveston, with her vastly
more limited resources, controls large
portion of 1t, and that even Kansas
City has captured part OF 1t.
W. Louis not only has no Irresistible
power over this trade, but holds
her share Of 1t only In violation OF
all commercial laws. Taking ad-
vantage of the unfortunate inabil-
ty Of this State and city to advance
their railroad lines with those OF other
States. st. Louis has arbitrarily forced
the Texas trade intean unnatural and
costly channel to her market. There is
no palmer evidence Of this than the
fact that, with sill her exertions, energy
and enterprise, theqron Mountain and
Southern Railroad, over which she
chiefly operates, is utterly bankrupt,
and has been recently appealing to the
st. Louis merchants for help.
M New Orleans is the natural depot OF
the SouthwesterR trade. She has the
| advantage OF being three hundred
miles nearer TO It than st. Lotiis.
aud can. with any reasonable ex-
ercise of enterprise and liberality, re-.
capture anti forever control It. An OPP
portunity is once more directly and ag-
gressively offered the people Of New
Orleans to do this. Are they fully alive
to the Importance Of the New Orleans
Paoiao Railrosd as part of tho
only system Of enterprises that
can possibly restore the CONNER
cial importance OF New Orleans 7
DO they fully realize that, before capt.
taiistsfrona abroad, or from other States,
can be induced to invest their money in
cur enterprises. or to lend sls their
funds for these works, our own people
must display a spirit OF enterprise aud
confidence In the commercial advan-
tages and power of our own city, If
these questions are answered in the
affirmative, surely the work ON the New
Orleans Pacific Railroad ought not to
be suspended single day for the want
OF money.