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

extravagant to assume that the product
Of the West will more than double il
amount during the next twenty years
What has been done is shown in th'
following figures: The production O
corn and wheat in the States west of tht
Mississippi in 1S49 was 5,25Q.000 bush
els; in 1850, $4,000, 900 bushels; in 1859
$4,000, 900, and in 1877, 152, 900, 900 bush
els. Twenty-Five years ago no railroad hae
been completed from the seaboard to tina
river. In 1875 there were thirteen rail
road bridges crossing the river, north O.
St. Louis, which had been built at @ cos1
of over s2O,00O,0O0. and in that yeal
2,344,354 tens- of: freight crossed those
bridges going east. In 1878, 3,554,SSs
tons crossed IN the same direction, show:
ing an increase in three years of over
1000. 900 tons, q year.
Let us see what, this annual increase
would do for one city on the seaboard
should it get the whole Of it. It would
give it tens trainsaof forty ycars, each cal
carrying ten. tons Of freight every day,
rthree, ,huudted days, or, 4, 600 each day
and would require four vessels Of one
thousand tons every day to remove it;
Is not this prize worth striving tor
Shall Charleston remain inactive while
every other city and port on the Atlantic
aud Gulf is making the most strenuous ef'
forts to obtain it?; az ssstf!;l
There is now favorable opportunity
for the construction of additional lines
of communication, and there are special
reasons why the great West now looks
more keenly shan ever to the ports OF the
South Atlantic coast. .
From Alabama to Virginia, q distance
of more than 400 miles, only one line Of
railroad connects the railroad systems o.
the Northwest and the Southeast. 1t is
necessity to the different combinations
now forming for the development ol
Western and Southern business that
there should be at least one other line Of
railroad connecting the West with the
South Atlantic. Unless this be had
each and every Western line, whatever
its wealth and its. necessities, can be
choked ofr from communication with the
South Atlantic by any company which
has control of the single line from Chat.
tanooga to Atlanta. It is a geographical
necessity that the new and independent
line shalE pass East. of Chattanooga and
there are Substantial and obvious reasons
why the terminal point should be Char
lesion in preference to any other South
Atlantic port. Of the general advauta.
ges Of Charleston we shall speak bereaf'
ter. The special Importance Of this city,
now and in the future, is in connection
with the markets of Central and South
America and the West Indies, to which
the West must look. for a market when
Europe shall cease or be unable to con-
sumo her surplus productions.
In the West Indies and the States OF
Central and South America there is q
population of forty. two. MILLIONS, living
in lands unsuitable to the, production. OF
breadstufs and meat and the manufac-
ture of clothing, but producing in abun.
dance coffee, sugar, fruit, tobacco and
other articles of almost universal con-
sumption in this country. They have
what we need, and we produce what they
require. In the interchange of the pro-
ducts of such countries for the products
of the Northwestern States is the, surest
road to permanent and progressive com
mercial prosperity.
The countries we have described now
import yearly from Europe and America
provisions and other articles to the value
of S356,0O0,OOO. Of this amount the
United States supply only $6l, ,OOO, ,OOO.
The exports of these countries amount
to S4SS, ,OOO,O 900, out of which the United
States take and consume $150,00O,OOO.
The United States, therefore, pay to
these countries $50 100000 in cash annu.
ally as the difference between what we
buy and what we sell; while Europe
sells these countries every year products
valued at 1926, 100000 and takes from
them in return their productions to the
value of s2S8,000,000. What Europe
now does the United States can and, we
trust, will ultimately do.
The bulk of the shipments from the
Northwest to Central and South America
and the West Indies now go by way OF
Boston, New York or Baltimore, and our
imports from those countries take the
same circuitous route. 1t need lot be
explained that time and cost of transpor-
tation are essential considerations in
opening channels of trade. In this as
pect Charleston has surprising advanta-
pes az q substitute for Northern ports.
The distance from Havana to Cincin-
natl by way of Charleston is 300 miles
less than by way of Baltimore, 500 miles
less than by way of New York, and 900
miles less than by way Of Boston. TAX
ing St. Louis as the Western terminus,
the gain in distance is greater by about
$50 miles. Charleston has the same ad-
vantage as regards the whole of the West
Indies and Central and South America.
This, it should be rem emb bered, is on the
basis of the lines of railroad already
completed. The building Of the short
links now wanting east aud west of the
Blue Ridge would increase the saving in
distance more than 100 miles, and the
new lines would pass through the heart
of one of the richest countries in miner
ais in the United States region whose
resources are to-day imperfectly known
and entirely undeveloped. 1t should be
noted also that the completion of the
Carolina system of Western railroads.
whether by the old Blue 1:idge route to
Walhalla aud Knoxville or by the Ashe-
vile route to Wolf Creek and Morris
town, will be an extension of roads run
ming through a settled country already
enjoying large and profitable business
and able to contribute to the support oi
the sections Of road to be built, or to.
wards sustaining the work until complet'
ed. The lines which run from Charles.
ton 10 the Northwest do not need
Western connections merely to make
them profitable, for their local and
through business is already extensive
They look forward to Western trade a;
the great East and West lines of the