Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-09-07
For thu Free rres. and l,lmr


| CANAL-TnE COMPETING LINES.
Units, ten, hundreds. thousands, tens of
thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions,
tens OF millions. hundreds of millions, bill
lions, trillions. quadrilions, quntillions,
sext- but it of no use the mind can
not comprehend, or the senses perceive, or
tAe reasoning powers appreciate. or get
even faint Impression. or any approximate
notion of the immense quantities of produce
that are annually gathered in this region to
be transported to the sea in the commerce
OF the world. And, as We !ail to appreciate
this vast amount of wealth. that increases
year by year. We likewise fail to understand
the great problems relating to the tram
portaiion OF this property; and, to see that
the results will effect the welfare of com
munites, peoples and States.
There are few persons in Vermont that
have any idea Of how much the future
prosperity of the State may depend upon
the traffic in Western produce. Every foot
of land will be more or less affected in its
value. Every dollar of estate both real and
personal will appreciate or dcpreciate IN
der the influence of the tide of commerce
from the West. The deadly warfare be
tween the competing lines should awaken
every son of Vermont to the subject. and
little examination will show them that nOtU
there is an opportunity for Vermont to
hold the key to the situation. and amass
great wealth in the future from this flow
of commerce But if the stream should be
| direriod, the result will be very different.
| People do not readily understand that the
railroad law suits which for the past five
years have been agltated in our courts.
| have deeper meaning than appear upon
| the record, All Nermonters do not under
tand that the mOtire p0rerS which moves
these actions may be traced to persons other
than the nominal parties to the suits.
Back OF what the industrious citizen may
see there are powers unseen. Powers are
fortified by the weights OF great corpora
tons, and backed by the wealth of cities,
as with the energy Of desperation they reach
out to grasp the control of the trans
portation eff this enormous quantity
Of produce as it comes from the great valley
and goes to supply the wants OF the world.
A large share OF this now passes over the
Grand Trunk and Central Vermont. Prob
ably more live stock il now carried on this
line than by any other route And the
Vermont portion being near to Lake Cham
plain and holding the principal pass
through the Green Mountains having also |
a railroad centre managed by men ofexperi- |
ence as well a. great executive ability, |
naturally is the point selected for the most |
violent attacks. Putting down.the rates on |
competing lines. insttutlng a multitude of |
lawsuits IN order that expensive and CON |
tinued litigation may be added to the en- |
bsrassments of the exceedingly hard times.
and SO by every means OF opposition to
break down and scatter great through |
business OF which the building up has been
the work of years. We shall see that the
natural advantages are in favor of this lire,
becauso-FIrst. along the lakes and the
valley of the St Lawrence. by land or by
water. We find the most convenient outlet
for this stream of wealth. The sand bars
and debris. a. well as tho great dis
lance, Will always prevent the Mississippi
river from being the easiest route.
Therefore We find that it WIS with the
Aborigines, and the early settlers. so il is
to-day, the most convenient approach to the
great valley is by the way of the St Law
renee and the lakes. whether you 90 by land
or by water. This is the way that Mar
quette and toilette penetrated to the Mis-
sISsippi. where they lshOred among the gen
tiles of that region five years before Elliott
preached to the Indians near Boston. open
ing the way for LaSille and that happy
OF settlers near the mouth of the
Illinois river, while the lower waters OF the
great river were comparatively unknown.
The history OF civilization shows Us that the
Il. L. L. |
will ultimately become the principal routes
Of commerce, while the traces of the Indian
villages mark the site of our larger towns
and cities, as We find at Montpelier, Bur
lington, Chicago, Council Bluffs. and many
o ther places, because the sayages followed
the EASIEST route, and gathered in their vii ,
lagos where it was most Convenient. They ,
followed the laws of grayltatlOn. Traffic. in
the end must follow the same law, as sure
" as water runs down hill. True, water I
may be forced up hill and through
channels; but that will
always prove mp hill business" and will q
not be continued for a great length of time '
when an easier way can be found. So com
nerce will follow the easiest grades unless !
forced by some great power into other chan :
1els. Therefore a. the chain of lakes fur
nishes the easiest grades, it will require a
|
ira tfic into other routes, if it is not alto c
,ether an impossibility Whether by land t
" by water, this possesses advantages above
III other routes The railroads find almost !
dead level, and can, in some places, follow !
N lair line" for nearly a hundred miles.
The Welland canal is being enlarged so as
o bring vessels OF fTeRiy.four huHdred tons J.
round Niagara Falls to Montreal, each
With cargo of agility thousand bushels OF :,
rain If the Csughnawaga canal was
'uilt these immense cargOes would come :,
NO Lake Champlain-to the shores Of Yer 4
lOnf-to be distributed and sent to the !,
tiles on the sea coast. This would build u
ID large cities IN our State, and would 50
Increase our general wealth that Vermont :,
hight well afford to build the canal But =,
,hateyer may be done to open communica- =,
ion by water. il is evident that the railroads /;
ill always take an important part in carry "
lg the produce OF the West. The st. Law il
ence river and the canals will be frozen I,
uring several months of each year. Then /,
gain all live stock with every kind of ri
erishahle good, and all such as require n,
espatch, will follow the same course. | ?,
ven for grain. there will he many times nj
hen the market requires haste, and the W
ore speedy passage by rail will be en- ca
lOyed although it may cost more than the II
over passage by water. Therefore the "
.ilrOads will always carry large pro- Ia
Drtion of the Western produce and this III
rings us back to the great problem in
llved in The irdr bsfrccn The competing
,GdS
The grea. elements in computing the cost A..
carving a given amount OF freight. are -
le inclination of grad,S and the siorfness
r CtrrtS The difference between the cost ~
l,v vi |
It moderate grade is simply enormous.
is not only in the extra power required r
haul Il train, but also in the wear and Vi
ar of the machinery. Short curves are ht
Ipedments almost a. great as heavy
AIDES Where We find concurrence of mr.
ID, short curves and heavy grades, re
c cost is cO1cspOndinEly increased
ID We almost always fiud free
lency of curves where there are d fiji u,
1t grades. The road from Swanton to ST.
bans would not strike the casual ob>erv W,
a u hard grade. ordinarily 1t would e.
It be noticed at all. Yet, by careful test an
has been ascertalned that 1t costs as much
draw a freight train from Swantjn to St
bans, a distance of nine miles, a. To draw pc
e same tram from St Johns to SwantOn tn
distance of thrty-slx miles. That is, 1t Ito
is four times a mach to Draw a train up
lt grade as 1t does IL draw the same train H.
equal distance on the Montreal and Yer ::
mt junction road. We begin now to see ~
lat great advantage is possessed by "a
road that follows the level Of the lakes TIL
er one that runs over bills and mountains.
nee the Michigan Central and Grand sc
INK, having road bed comparatively wa
cl and free from short curves, will of
Ways be ablo to carry Western freight alta tina
Ich less cost than the Baltimore and Ohio. No,
nnsylvania, Erie. or any other road that
obliged to 90 climbing and curvlng across
mountains. To draw loaded train ant
ng the tortuOus winding wav." the
'eading the narrow valleys, SKIRT
the hIllsideS, tugglng through in
rocky chssmS, climbing from crag to I,,
z like an Alpine goat, will always IN
We an expense 50 great as to ruin the
stern producer, or the Eastern consumer, the
hey pay the cost of transportation, or else all
II ba runt he ratlrnpI. n thgV gu rrv AT fhp