Year: 1859

-COst OF the TOTk-NS Entire PrQctlcd0Alty-I |
The Contract System-IVheye the Labor WM


come from.


Special to the New Orleans Crescent


MrHATITLAN, Mexico, August II, 1853.


Eds. Crescent-In previous letter I drew |
between the route to California Uia this
Isthmus and those uia Panama, Nicaragua and Ell
Paso or Salt Lake. In that comparison ! claimed,
and presume no welliniormed man will dispute with
me- that by this route the trip to California could be
made eight days quicker than 1t has ever been made
by Panama, and that no such risk in the matter oi
health ventured, and that taking it altogether it
was pleasanter VOYAGE being less confined 70 sne
sea and through degrees Of latitude much cooler
also claimed that it superior in point Of times
comfort safety and variety to the route by Salt Lake
or Ell Paso. To the Nicaragua route it offers more
speed, more comfort, and prettier scenes. have
thus set Tehuantepec ahead of every other route in
every respect, except that by the way Of Panama
travellers are less disturbed, because the short rail-
road transit from Aspnwsl to Panama is soon fin.
shed and before aud after that it is uninterrupted
sea voyage, on magnificent steamers, where every
attention is paid to comfort, and where money can
buy every luxury. hope every reader Of these let
ters understands what have written for if be does,
and he is sensible man, shall have no contradic-
ton upon any point have advanced.


now come to the consideration of those other
questions, what drawback exists against this route
and can it be overcome? To the first interrogatory,


reply that good, comfortable, speedy overland con-
veyance is required on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
and to the second, reply that nature has interposed
stacle to the early and complete success of any
means OF transit which may be selected. line of
stages be established across the Isthmus which
will make regular and comfortable connections as
often required in SO hours from Suchil to Ventosa.
Or railroad be constructed from the head of sea
navigation on the Gulf of Mexico to sea navigation
on the Pacific at $50 900 per me which is less than
the amount required to build the Western or Eastern,
the Boston and Providence or the Boston and Wor-
cester, the Boston and Lowell or the Hudson river,
or the Baltimore and Ohio railroads. Each one of
the roads have mentioned cost from $4,000 to $685.
900 more per mile than would be required to build
the Tehuantepec road. The distance is estimated at
one hundred and sixty-sx miles, which would bring
the entire cost Of the statonhouses depots, steam
engines cars carriages, and everything else in the
shape Of running gear to s47 900. Practical rail-
road surveyors have made the observations and cacu
ations upon which the above figures are based, and
therefor take them to be correct, but in order to
satisfy the skeptcal am willing to add ten per cent
to the entire cost which swes the whole amount to
So 800. This is allowing 1886 per mile more
than expended in building that stupendous work
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which traverses
mountains and rivers from the point Of its
departure to the end OF its hundred and seventy
six miles OF length. No sane man who has gone
over the Isthmus and who has travelled from Balt
more to Ohio by rail, will compare the two in point
of difficulty, for though there may be few miles of
very rough road between Ventosa and Minatitlan,
there is not single point where tunnel is neces-
sary where the grade approaches that of the Bat
more and Ohio road within fftysix feet the latter
being one hundred and sixteen feet and the former
sixty.


| Having reached set Of figures which cannot be
denied except by ignorance or stupid prejudice, l
| have concluded a most important work. which was
to set at rest the doubts of people that road was
practicable this Isthnus at ALL few travellers
who jetted out Of dozen hours sleep, who did
not feed quite well they thought they ought to,
who were subjected to few inconveniences, more or
| less annoying, in their Ignorance have denied the
revelations of science and set up o work which
| defed human perseverance. Such specimens have
beset and sandered every great work since the time
| when skill and manhood first commenced gigantic
warfare against the obstacles nature has interposed
to our progress and these bels have almost served
to starve Fulton and Morse It is too late for me
| to teach them shame.


| We have the base of operations now before US


rsyin the fact that this is practicable route with
advantages far ahead of any of its rivals, and g
knowledge Of what it will cost to put it on foot
ing Of superiority to every other line Of communica
tion from East to West This ought to be sufficient
to insure the early completion Of the work. But il
default of the railroad, good wagon road could be
constructed, which would allow mails, passengers
and baggage, to be transported at the usual rate
speed say four miles per hour. By wagon road tt
Ventosa from Suchil, it is lis miles, which, at tht
rate of speed suggested above, will make the trip il
thirty hours. It has been done in twenty-five hours
without any very great difficulty and if the SAINT
rate of speed was adopted here as is common
the Alabama stage lines, the trip across could be
made in twenty hours. In fact this time has beer
made, and what has been done once can be dom
again. This wagon road, which can be completed il
eight months, and which will serve in most place
tor the grade OF the railroad, and which from toll


would pay large portion Of its own cost of constru
ton, will serve every purpose until the railroad i
completed and can be built at an expense Of $l3l,
900, according to Major Barnard, and at 100000
according to the bids of contractors now before th


Board of Directors Of New Orleans. Capable willin


and responsible men have actually made proposition


to this effect to the Board of Directors, and beev


but for Mr.. La Sere it would have been accepted


The Company thus undertook to do its own work


and where it has spent and wasted at least 800 90


it has nothing to show for it, and the road is S


much behind what it would have been it had relic


on the contract system. I cannot better define tn


difference between the contract system and that


the Company taking care of its own affairs, than b


reference to the relative expense of carrying til


mails between New Orleans on the Quaker City an


on tie Habana The Company will understand thi


comparison better than the public.


l might write book larger than Major Barnard


report, about the mismanagement which has resute


from the absence Of all contracts ; but as this is
matter which more affects the Directors than til


public and which the former have the sole charge


to the great benefit disadvantage of the latter,


cording as they it, proceed to the considerable
of another point which stupid people have urge
i. against the feasibility of this route-the want


laborers.


Under the immediate management of the Cor


pany, where no employee feels himself personal


interested this lack Of labor is indeed serious dra'


back, for the Company invariably selects as its owe


seer some favorite of the Presidents, OR the Seer
tarys, or some other hiring officer under it, Nobot
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