The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1890-10-30

witnessed the Brazos blow up. Ney
Orleans, prior to the civil war, was fas
getting ground, and after the victor,
OF the Union, the same man who bull
our war vessels on the Western water
laid the jetties below New Orleans, are
to that emporium now can come large
sized ships. Even Philadelphia is abou
half water-bound through the sand-bar
in the channel of the Delaware. Phila
delphia and Baltimore are both agita
ting from time to time in favor of canals
out to the ocean. New York itself had
no depth or safety of water upon Hell
Gate rocks until within a few years past
1t we had been doing nothing in the
direction of commerce, why are these
people surging around the American
Congress every year demanding FROM
$15,0O0,OoO to 10000. 900 to improve their
harbors? The world did not grow in a
day, and the replacement of wooden
ships by iron hulls is briefly done in the
space of thirty years. It has not yet
been thirty years since the Civil War,
in which one-half of our people attempt
ed to tear up the commerce of the other
half.
But on the other hand, facing inward,
looking over the great ocean of our own
great interior, we have buoyed out, found
paths through it's depths and made
States of all our Territories. The dis
lance from New York to Great Britain
is less than from New York to the Pa
cific Ocean. In 1861 we ran three or four
lines of steamships, including the for
eign lines, from the United States to Eu-
rope, not as many steamship lines in all
as we now run railroads from the Allan
tic to the Pacific Ocean. And yet peo-
pie tell us we have lost our commerce
Yes, we have lost per cent. a year in
order to make 30 per cent.
The English have been manufacturing
American cottons at Manchester, in the
inland of their country for nearly 100
years, and yet, until yesterday, never
thought to put ship canal from Liver
pool to Manchester. In 1849 the idea
prevailed in this country that the only
way to get to California was to build a
canal across Panama, and In that inter
est the Clayton Rulwer treaty was made,
we and the English guaranteeing each
other not to use the said canal for purely
selfish nationalism. was talking only
yesterday with Judge Fisher, of Della
ware, who was the Assistant Secretary
OF State under John M. Clayton when
that treaty was made, and he said:
"Alasl poor Clayton could not believe,
nor be led to believe, that it was feasible
to build railroad across the United
States to the Pacific.n In the meantime
after the French had broken their glory
to pieces on the altar of the expedition,
they undertook to resuscitate themselves
in the Western world by building the
Panama Canal. In that ditch they
have sunk a large portion of the saw
ings of France, and there seems to be not
the least chance that they can finish the
ditch for less than $3.50, 100000
On the other hand, the Americans,
taking up the course of their own mani
fest destiny, built the Pacific Railroad
from the Missouri to the bay of San
San Francisco for some sections of land
and a loan of $57,OOO,O 900 Along that
line sparkle all the gems of vigorous col
onization. The building of our railways
has been an adjunct to the development
Of our manufactures. The metal men
would take the bonds of the railroads at
risk and guarantee to furnish iron or
steel rails for the same. In that way,
the one system has propelled the other,
until we find ourselves able in this coun-
try to do almost anything in the metals,
and it is impossible for persons who are
not in something material to know how
cheap nearly everything is in this land
connected with the metals. / was build
ing house during the present season
and the carpenter handed to me the fig
ures OF the nails, spikes, ETC., required
thought to myself, here is an item I
have overlooked. But when the kegs of
nails of all sizes came back, I found that
the whole bill was something like So to
$12. The element of labor in this country
is really the only bar between ourselves
and the commerce of the globe.