The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-04-08
THE SEAPORT OF THE SOUTH.

THE SEAPORT OF THE SOUTH.
Charleston Asserts Her Claims to Consid-
Grafton. -
A special meeting of the Chamber OF
Commerce was held at II o'clock Mon
day. President Tupper stated the OBJ.
ject of the meeting to be the reception Of
the preliminary report upon the advanta:
-ges Of this city as port of import and
export, and the consideration of the ad:
visibility of recommending National
bankrupt law.
The committee on Western trade pre-
sented their report, as follows: x
The Report.
TO the Chamber Of Commerce Of Charles
ton.
The, special committee appointed by
the, Chamber ;of Commerce for the
purpose CT exhibiting the varied ad-
vantages of the City OF Charleston, as a
port Of import and export for the trade
end commerce of the United States, and
Of Central and South America, the West
Indies and Europe, beg leave to submit
the following preliminary report, in the
hope that it will have the effect of d.
recting public attention here ana else
where to this important subject.
Fifty years have passed since South
Carolina FIRST projected the building of a
line of railroad to connect this city with
the great food producing region of the
Northwest. Upon the uncompleled Blue
Ridge Railroad, and upon distant lines
in Tennessee expected to be connected
with the South Carolina system of rail-
roads, this State and city have expended,
at different times, several million of dol
lars. The breaking out of the war alone
prevented the completion of the Blue
Ridge line, and the State in 1865 found
herself without the Western connections
to which. the people had looked forward
for thirty years, while the railroads in
the State were worn out or shattered.
The first task was to reconstruct and
equip the roadsaIteady id operation, but
at no time, early or late, has there been
an abandonment of the hope and pur-
pose to carry out the plans which our far
sighted citizens proposed in the earliest
days of railroad building in the United
States.
From 4ebe&i &innifg:of American rail-
road history the objective point was the
great grain growing region of the West.
Before that time produce and manufac-
lures were hauled in wagons or followed
the watercourses. The great tide of i'm
migration had not set in, and States
now teeming with population and over
flowing with agricultural wealth were on
the outer limit of civilization. The
States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wis
consin, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Kan
sas and Nebraska had q population of
u million and half and were barely
self.supporting. To-day net work of
eighty thousand miles of railroad covers
the country, and in the States we have
named have a population of thirteen
million souls, who, in commerce and in
agriculture, are conspicuousiy active,
clear-sighted snd enterprisiug.
The first Atlnntic city which succeeded
reaching the mine of commercial
wealth in the West was New York. There
it was effected by the Erie Canal, which
was completed in 1925, The products of
the West then began, to find an outlet at
New York. twenty-five years later no
iron road had yet crossed the mountain
barriers which separate the seaboard
4 from the great heart of the Continent,
Hand the movement of the Western pro-
ducts vas confined to transportation upon
4 the great rivers that drain into the Gulf
Of Mexico. Still with each succeeding
year the food of agricultural wealth rose
higher, being swelled by the. unceasing
influx of population and the improve
ments in agricultural appliances which
enabled one man to do the work OF many.
The hrst railroad that penetrated to the
West was tbs New York and Elie. Next
came the New York Central. The re-
suit of their completion and of the oper-
ations of the Erie Canal is startling and
encouraging.
In the year 1859 the total tonnage
MOVED East and West by the Erie and
Centsal roads and the Erie Canal was
5,5OO,0OO tons. In 1869 it had increased
to 12,5OO, 900 tons, and in 1878 it reached
1880, 900 tons. The tonnage of vessels
entered at the port; Of New York increas-
ed in the same proportion. In 1859 it
it was 1850, 900; in 1869, 100000 and
in 1879, 6,661, 1925 tons. The imports and
exports Of New York City for the same
periods were as follows In 1850, 1884,
100000; in 1870, .S504, ,000, 900, and in
1879, s653,00 900.
Philadelphia was the next Atlantic
city, to tap the Western reservoir, and
, W we accordingly find that the tonnage of
vessels entered at that port gradually
increased from $4,000 tons in 1858, to
27S,OO0 tons in 1868, and 1,315,649
tons in 1879, while the import and
export trade kept pace with the tonnage.
In 1860 it amounted to $4,000, 900; in
1870 to $31,500,000, and in 1879, to
s71 900, 1000.
Baltimore was the next in the race,
and having overcome all difficulties and
pushed her splendidly equipped roads
ACROSS the mountains, rapidly gained on
her next door rival. We find that the
tonnage of Baltimore, which had fallen
off during the war from 225,0OO tons in
1861, to $4,000 tons in 1865, rose again
quickly, and was $4,000 tons in 1868,
$4,000 tons in 1874, and 1,374,554 tons
in 1879. The imports and exports ad.
vanced from s., SOC, 900 in 1860 to $34,
100000, in 1870, S57 100000 in 1875,
and s7l 100000 in 1879.
Boston has been the last of our Allan
tic ports to reap the benefit Of Western
trade. Shut out by an almost impassable
barrier, Boston began more than thirty
wears ago, to cut her way th hrough noun
tains that could neither be surmounted
nor passed around. Only within the
last three years has she completed her
masterpiece of engineering skill, the
Hoosac TUNNEL, but already she has
felt the effect of her perseverance,. The
tonnage which had remained almost sta
tionary for over twenty years, being
7OS,O00 tons in 1855 and $4,000 in 1877
suddenly began to imProTee,, Ue, reacnlng : n1d
93S,OO0 in 1873, and l,l37 900 in 1879
The import trade Of Boston so far shows
M Improvement, remaining about S:40,-