The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-09-16
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me Virginia Tide The Ohio Valley

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{ me Virginia Tide-.-ag The Chic Vailey.
We refer to the subject Of oarI wessern
connections through the CHESAPEAKE i anu
Ohio railway with the West and SoI.nMes.
With the more pleasure because the p.essase :
mon them IS grown and growing 10 s y. gu :
manner that we can see that sney VIII eIe
,nne no forced into accomplishment: We
I a. satisfied als that our citizens are Inn
nressed with the idea that It cannot be long
before this Is done. 1
From the beginning OF the great work q.
making railway to the Ohio the people, 81
Virginia and the people OF the West were
full OF hope that It would bring them to-
gether In social and commercial intercourse.
That hope has never been abandoned.
Though encouragement aud disappoint-
ment have from time to time fallen heavily
upon them they have never despairea. g as
.the railway dragged itself slowly along the
gan between the Virginia tide and the ONO h''
Valley has been diminished andhope slowly
strengthened. Is ,,.f
All must see. however, that now the dis
lance between Huntington and the two
points Of connection westwardly and north
westwardlye is so short the hope for their
completion must be bright. That north
erly line which follows the KanaWhat 70 IT'S
mouth will put Richmond directly In COM
munication with tue greatest lake CITY, anu
omen to us the vast system OF railways "hlch
w;,, snread before us all northern and
northwestern Ohio, and it gives to all that
rich region facilitated access to virginia
tidewater and Chesapeake bay.
The line OF western connections DIVORCES
from the Kanawha river ut Scary ana
strikes the Ohio river at Huntington. Inat
is but eight miles from Catlettsburs' on tue
Rig Sandy. where the Lexington ana Big
sandy road will terminate. There the rail-
way projects become most interesting. Ihe
whole south shore OF the Ohio from Coving-
ton. opposite Cincinnati, to Big Sandy, Is
occupied by projected and partty'hnisheo
railways. On the north shore stands PORTS
mouth. the terminus Of the Scioto valley
railway which pursues the valley from Co
lumbus. the capital Of Ohio, to Portsmouth.
! The friends of that road and the people OF
Portsmouth are exceedingly ANXIOUS 10
Mace it in connection with the Chesapeake
and Ohio road at Ashland, on the south
hank OF the Ohio, or CatIcttsburg. 1t is but
foriy miles from Portsmouth 10 HuntinS-
ton. The proposed connection would ac-
commodate large manufacturing communlI,l
ties, and also extensive mineral wealth.
There ia already railway connection DE-
tween Lexington and Louisville and Mays"
Vile, on the Ohio. The prospect OF rail-
way from Maysville to Catlcttsours OF
Huntington is promising. But the ultimate
construction OF the road from Catlettsburg
to Lexington uia Mount Sterling. we be-
lieye, is beyond doubt.
On the north side OF the Ohio there must
be road from Cincinnati to portsmouth,
and another thence to Ashland and Catletts-
burg; for large companies in Cincinnati
and Portsmouth are proprietors OF nch
mineral lands in the Big Sandy Valley. They
arc working the mines and are obliged to
have railway to transport ores ana coal
along the Ohio to Cincinnati.
Looking at the "s!tuation," we see that
the demand for connections is such that we
cannot doubt that the connection by the
northern branch OF the Chesapeake and OHIO
road uia Point Pleasant and Gallipolis, and
the western branch UiG Huntington and
Catlettsburg, will be completed in the very
w
cause the open gaps at this time are narrow
and the motives for filling them up are
strong, and growing more and more so every
day.
With these gaps filed up we must all
know that no chance can do us any serious
harm. The tendency Of commerce from the
vast centres west and northwest from us is
towards the Chesapeake bay by the James
and Kanawha valleys, which are unequalled
for their advantages and facilities for COM
merce. The trade and production that will
naturally flow through the capacious Vir-
ginia artery will be OF that magnitude that
will be sufficient to build UP several cities
OF great wealth AM population. This CON-
merce cannot be diverted from its natural
channel.
The sooner the country becomes quiet and
the sooner confidence is restored, the sooner
will the hoped-for connections that will put
Richmond upon rapid upward movement
be acquired. The delay OF this important
event is one of the terrible consequences
which flow from the untimely and foolish
financial agitations which some Of our Vir-
ginia people are taking part in, to their
own discredit and to the serious injury OF
their Commonwealth.
Let us imagine our city actively engaged
in the large commerce which the western
connections Of the Chesapeake and Ohio
railroad will bring TO her, and we cannot
fail to feel eated at the prospect. Our mer-
chants will prosper, and our population
will RAPIDLY increase. It is to the prospec-
tive increase OF the wealth and population
of Richmond that we mainly look for the
reduction OF the burthen OF taxation and
the solution Of the vexcd question Of the
public debt; and when we are so near the
long-hoped-for completion of the connect
ing lines which are to bring us these bless
ines we can but feel that we almost have
them. 1t seems, indeed, but a leap from the
present termini to the goal we desire. We
desire the consummation; the people in the
Ohio Valley desire it; the demands OF
commerce, the wants of manufacturers, all
combine 70 Dress on the final work that is to