The Daily clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1866-1888, 1880-03-04
Gulf and Ship island Railroad. Mis-
sissippt Can have a Seaport of Her
Own.

l
MARION COUNTY, MISS, FEB, %, 1880
| EDITORS CLARION Permit me to infict
upon you communication from the Piney
woods of South Mississippi upon the sub
ject Of the Ship Island Rail Road. see by
the newspapers that there has been little
| talk upon the subject sincethe meeting of the
Legislature, but am fearful that the mat
ter will end there. This has been the case
for the last thirty years, and nothing practi-
cal has been done yet In 1856 some inter-
est was taken in the matter through the ac-
ton Of the Legislature. AT that time do
nation of land was secured from the General
Government, an appropriation made and a
very impracticable survey made. | say inn
practible from the fact that the proper route
was not taken in a large portion Of the survey
and such is the case with the survey of the
Vicksburg ana Ship Island Rail Road. The
old route from Jackson to Mississippi City
is the grandest road-bed in the State, and is
unsurpassed in the whole South for the con-
struction of a Rail Road, and is the one that
should be adopted The Vicksburg and
Ship Island Road is a chimera and will new
er be built. 1t may be built as far as the
Chicago, Saint Louis and New Orleans Road
and become feeder to that road, but will
never go to Ship Island. The whole length
Of the line from jackson to Mississippi CITY
on the proper route does not exceed one hun
bred and seventy-five miles to connect the
Capital of the State with best harbor in the
Gulf of Mexico, and it being the first deep
water which can be reached by the Southern
Pacific Rail Road Ship Island has adyan-
tages over New Orleans that cannot be
raI 10 nt,,r % l.
that that the latter city will use influence
and money to defeat the building Of this
road as heretofore, and Mississippians must
expect to meet and combat them. 1t is fol-
ly for east and West Mississippians to sup
pose that this road will not be of any prac-
tical benefit to them. 1t will be compet-
tive line with the other lines cumming to
New Orleans and Mobile, and will cheaper
freight tariffs on these roads, besides deliver
ing cotton at point that willhave the same
advantages over New Orleans that the lat,
ter city has over Galveston and Mobile to-
wit; better shipping facilities and deeper
water with no towage, and if New Orleans
and Mobile make money by handling the
cotton crop of Mississippi, why cannot a
city of her own with all the advantages be-
longing to Ship Island prosper? And in
addition to all this, look at the large amount
of capital that would flow into the
State from the building ofthis road. No
place in the South offers better locations for
factories than this road would from Monti, |
cello to the point where the road would leave |
the river distance of fifty miles. There
are seven as fine water powers as there is in |
the State, with any amount of Yellow Pine,
White Oak, Maple, Ash and Beech |
besides other hard timber too numerous to
in inexhaustible quantities, in the
midst of productive lands capable of produ-
cling cotton, corn, peas, potatoes, rice, fruits
and vegetables. The lands from Monticello /
to Jackson are too we'll known to need any
from me. From the point where
the road would leave Pearl river to Missis.
,ippi City is an unbroken Pine belt unsur-
passed for lumber, turpentine and tar by
my region in the South. will venture to
say that the road from Jackson can be built
,ne-third cheaper than any other road or
quite that has been proposed. [ speak from
personal knowledge of the country through
which they must pass, and route can be
ound from Pearl river to the seacoast that
/ Railroad can be constructed upon, for
me fourth less than the estimate for the old
Jackson and Ship Island or the Vicksburg
md Ship Island survey, and L will take
great pleasure in pointing it out to any one
esirous of seeing the same. | have writ
en- this to- bring the subject to your atten-
ion, and hope that the Legislature will do
for the promotion of this impor-
ant enterprise. Very respectfully, yours,
IL M F0RD