The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1882-03-11
The Ship-Railway Across the
Isthmus of TehuanteDec.

we are strongly impressed with
the belief that if the attention of
the farmers of the West and South
was properly and intelligently
brought to this great project of the
distinguished engineer, Capt. Jas. B.
Eads-the best and most practical
friend of the farming interests of all
the public men of the day-they
would support earnestly and enthu-
s1astlcally any wise and practical
measure on the part of the General
Government to secure its success
and place it under American con-
troll. No public measure of any
kind now before the country is of
such weighty importance and whose
success will result in such great ben
etits and advantages to the produ-
GERS of the West and South as
that in aid of the Ship Railway.
The farmers of the Cotton States
have greater interest in the success
of this project than in any and all of
the railroad enterprises now engag-
ing the attention of capitalists.
When completed, the Ship-Railway
will at once place them in position
to control the entire cotton trade of
China, a trade that will take i'm
mense proportions as soon as our
manufactu can meet it with the
superior and cheap cotton goods of
the South. Indeed, the demand in
Eastern Asia for coarse cotton
goods, which will follow the COM
pletion of the Ship-Railway, will
call for large increase in the cotton
| crop, and this in turn will stimulate
| the farmers of the Cotton States to
| establish Clement Attachment fac
tories and send their cotton crop to
market in a manufactured form. 1t
is this view of Capt. Eads' great
project that has excited our interest
and prompted us to bring it to the
attention of our readers.
The bill for the construction of the
Ship Railway now before Congress
will be most bitterly opposed and
fought at every step by the railway
monopolies and by all combinations
in the East whose interest it is to
| prevent any diversion of the cotton
trade from that section. They will
| spend millions of dollars to defeat
! the bill, and for this reason, aside
from other pressing and most i'm
portant considerations, every farmer
and laboring man in the West and
South should give the measure his
support by signing petition to
Congress for its adoption. We pre-
sent on our third page form of a
petition for the convenience of those
who may take an interest in the
matter to get up petitions.
The farmers should look to the
future, and give all the weight of
their influence to such public meas
ures as will build up and foster their
interests and those of their children.
Worthy Master Darden, of this
| State, told the farmers, during his
canvass last year, with great force
and eloquence, that one of the great
needs of their class is market, and
that such market should be reached
at the least expense and under the
fewest possible restrictions. All
intelligent farmers know full well
the needless expense and annoying
restrictions attending the movement
of their products to market. Under
the present system, their cotton goes
mainly to the. Eastern manufacturers
in the raw form by rail and to Eu-
rope through Eastern and Southern
ports at great expense. The open
ing of the Mississippi by the jetties
has greatly reduced the cost of trans
portation, but the high rates and
oppressions of the railway monopo-
| lies can never be avoided until there
is cheap and speedy transit across
the Isthmus.