Year: 1879

Some important points touching the
question of transportation MS affecting the
interests Of the State and tho commerce of
the city have been elicited by the investi-
cations of the Legislative Railroad Com
mittee which, viewed aside from the mat
ters at issue between the people and the
railroad corporations, are worthy of con-
sideration. OF these questions none is
perhaps, more important than that of dis
tance as affecting rates In railroad trans
portation. On this point Mr.. Jewett, pres
ident of Erie, made some statements and
drew some deductions which, from his ac-
knowledged ability and long experience in
railroad management, cannot fail to have
weight. While these do not directly apply
to the tariff system or want of system in
the matter OF local freights, they should be
largely taken into account when consid ering
the relations of our great trunk lines to
their Western connections It is easily
seen that New York is placed in this par
ticular at disadvantage as compared with
Pennsylvania and Maryland, whore. the
trunks lines being shorter, more advan-





Western business. So great is this disad-
vantage that but for local causes, quite in
dependent OF the railroad interest alone,
the State of New York would necessarily
lose the leading place as a highway for
commerce between the East and the West.
There is certainly no present occasion for
alarm lest New York should be compelled
to abandon her position MS the chief CON-
mercial city of America, but there are rea-
sonabe grounds for anxiety touching our
railroads as an item of value in the bust
ness interests of our State and the COM
merce of our city. Our one great advan-
tage, as an Offset to the disad vantage Of dis
are fed largely from the lakes, the Erie road
alone to say nothing Of other steam vessels
and the immense fleet of sailing craft, con-
trolling nineteen steamers with IN aggre-
gate carrying capacity OF twenty ive thou
sand tons, and that the Erie Canal COM
pletes water route all the way from Chi
cago, and tends, by its comparative cheap
ness, to hold the truck of trade in our di-
rcction. Otherwise trade would inevitably
take the shorter, and hence less expensive.
route through Pennsylvania, which would
naturally be the great line of communion
ton between the East and West were our
reliance upon railroads alone. A few
figures will serve to illustrate this. The
distance from Chicago to New York by way
of Pittsburg and Philadelphia is about
seventy-tour miles loss than by way of Buff
falo and Albany, the distance by the Penn
sylvania Central being nine hundred and
eight miles, while by the New York Gen.
trail it is nine hundred and eighty-two
miles. This advantage in favor of the
Pennsylvania road is, of course, still
greater as wo reach points further south.
Thus the distance from St. Louis TO New
York by the Pennsylvania Central il one
thousand and seventy miles, while by the
New York Central it is one thousand one
hundred and seventy miles. From Cincin-
natl to New York by the Pennsylvania road
is about seven hundred and seventy miles;
by the New York road, eight hundred and
seventy.


New York city is, therefore, in the matter
of distance the least advantagcously situ-
ated, with respect to the Western trade, Of
any of the principal cities Of the soaboard
except Boston, tho connection of Philadel.
phia and Baltimore with the great commer-
cial centres of the West being from one to
three hundred miles less than the connec-