the paths of inland commerce-第20节

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ject　was　launched。　Adams；　Clay；　and　Calhoun　took　the　opportunity　to　ally　themselves　with　it　by　robustly　declaring　themselves　in　favor　of　widespread　internal　improvements。　Even　the　godmother　smiled　upon　it　for；　following　Monroe's　recommendation；　Congress　without　hesitation　voted　thirty　thousand　dollars　for　the　preliminary　survey　from　Washington　to　Pittsburgh。　Quickly　the　Chesapeake　and　Ohio　Canal　Company　and　the　connecting　Maryland　Canal　Company　were　formed；　and　steps　were　taken　to　have　Ohio　promote　an　Ohio　and　Lake　Erie　Company。

As　high　as　were　the　hopes　awakened　by　this　movement；　just　so　deep　was　the　dejection　and　chagrin　into　which　its　advocates　were　thrown　upon　receiving　the　report　of　the　engineers　who　made　the　preliminary　survey。　The　estimated　cost　ran　towards　a　quarter　of　a　billion；　four　times　the　capital　stock　of　the　company；　and　there　were　not　lacking　those　who　pointed　out　that　the　Erie　Canal　had　cost　more　than　double　the　original　appropriation　made　for　it。

The　situation　was　aggravated　for　Baltimore　by　the　fact　that　Maryland　and　Virginia　were　willing　to　take　half　a　loaf　if　they　could　not　get　a　whole　one：　in　other　words；　they　were　willing　to　build　the　canal　up　the　Potomac　to　Cumberland　and　stop　there。　Baltimore；　even　if　linked　to　this　partial　scheme；　would　lose　her　water　connection　with　the　West；　the　one　prized　asset　which　the　project　had　held　out；　and　her　Potomac　Valley　rivals　would；　on　this　contracted　plan；　be　in　a　particularly　advantageous　position　to　surpass　her。　But　the　last　blow　was　yet　to　come。　Engineers　reported　that　a　lateral　canal　connecting　the　Potomac　and　Chesapeake　Bay　was　not　feasible。　It　was　consequently　of　little　moment　whether　the　Chesapeake　and　Ohio　Canal　could　be　built　across　the　Alleghanies　or　not；　for；　even　if　it　could　have　been　carried　through　the　Great　Plains　or　to　the　Pacific；　Baltimore　was；　for　topographical　reasons；　out　of　the　running。

The　men　of　Baltimore　now　gave　one　of　the　most　striking　illustrations　of　spirit　and　pluck　ever　exhibited　by　the　people　of　any　city。　They　refused　to　accept　defeat。　If　engineering　science　held　a　means　of　overcoming　the　natural　disadvantages　of　their　position；　they　were　determined　to　adopt　that　means；　come　what　would　of　hardship；　difficulty；　and　expenditure。　If　roads　and　canals　would　not　serve　the　city　on　the　Chesapeake；　what　of　the　railroad　on　which　so　many　experiments　were　being　made　in　England？

The　idea　of　controlling　the　trade　of　the　West　by　railroads　was　not　new。　As　early　as　February；　1825；　certain　astute　Pennsylvanians　had　advocated　building　a　railroad　to　Pittsburgh　instead　of　a　canal；　and　in　a　memorial　to　the　Legislature　they　had　set　forth　the　theory　that　a　railroad　could　be　built　in　one…third　of　the　time　and　could　be　operated　with　one…third　of　the　number　of　employees　required　by　a　canal；　that　it　would　never　be　frozen；　and　that　its　cost　of　construction　would　be　less。　But　these　arguments　did　not　influence　the　majority；　who　felt　that　to　follow　the　line　of　least　resistance　and　to　do　as　others　had　done　would　involve　the　least　hazard。　But　Baltimore；　with　her　back　against　the　wall；　did　not　have　the　alternative　of　a　canal。　It　was　a　leap　into　the　unknown　for　her　or　commercial　stagnation。

It　is　regrettable　that；　as　Baltimore　began　to　break　this　fresh　track；　she　should　have　had　political　as　well　as　physical　and　mechanical　obstacles　to　overcome。　The　conquest　of　the　natural　difficulties　alone　required　superhuman　effort　and　endurance。　But　Baltimore　had　also　to　fight　a　miserable　internecine　warfare　in　her　own　State；　for　Maryland　immediately　subscribed　half　a　million　to　the　canal　as　well　as　to　the　newly　formed　Baltimore　and　Ohio　Railroad。　In　rival　pageants；　both　companies　broke　ground　on　July　4；　1828；　and　the　race　to　the　Ohio　was　on。　The　canal　company　clung　doggedly　to　the　idle　belief　that　their　enterprise　was　still　of　continental　proportions；　since　it　would　connect　at　Cumberland　with　the　Cumberland　Road。　This　exaggerated　estimate　of　the　importance　of　the　undertaking　shines　out　in　the　pompous　words　of　President　Mercer；　at　the　time　when　construction　was　begun：

〃There　are　moments　in　the　progress　of　time；　which　are　counters　of　whole　ages。　There　are　events；　the　monuments　of　which；　surviving　every　other　memorial　of　human　existence；　eternize　the　nation　to　whose　history　they　belong；　after　all　other　vestiges　of　its　glory　have　disappeared　from　the　globe。　At　such　a　moment　have　we　now　arrived。〃

This　oracular　language　lacks　the　simple　but　winning　straightforwardness　of　the　words　which　Director　Morris　uttered　on　the　same　day　near　Baltimore　and　which　prove　how　distinctly　Western　the　new　railway　project　was　held　to　be：

〃We　are　about　opening　a　channel　through　which　the　commerce　of　the　mighty　country　beyond　the　Allegheny　must　seek　the　oceanwe　are　about　affording　facilities　of　intercourse　between　the　East　and　West；　which　will　bind　the　one　more　closely　to　the　other；　beyond　the　power　of　an　increased　population　or　sectional　differences　to　disunite。〃

The　difficulties　which　faced　the　Baltimore　enthusiasts　in　their　task　of　keeping　their　city　〃on　the　map〃　would　have　daunted　men　of　less　heroic　mold。　Every　conceivable　trial　and　test　which　nature　and　machinery　could　seemingly　devise　was　a　part　of　their　day's　work　for　twelve　years　struggles　with　grades；　locomotives；　rails；　cars。　As　Rumsey；　Fitch；　and　Fulton　in　their　experiments　with　boats　had　floundered　despondently　with　endless　chains；　oars；　paddles；　duck's　feet；　so　now　Thomas　and　Brown　in　their　efforts　to　make　the　railroad　effective　wandered　in　a　maze　of　difficulties　testing　out　such　absurd　and　impossible　ideas　as　cars　propelled　by　sails　and　cars　operated　by　horse　treadmills。　By　May；　1830；　however；　cars　on　rails；　running　by　〃brigades〃　and　drawn　by　horses；　were　in　operation　in　America。　It　was　only　in　this　year　that　in　England　locomotives　were　used　with　any　marked　success　on　the　Liverpool　and　Manchester　Railroad；　yet　in　August　of　this　year　Peter　Cooper's　engine；　Tom　Thumb；　built　in　Baltimore　in　1829；　traversed　the　twelve　miles　between　that　city　and　Ellicott's　Mills　in　seventy…two　minutes。　Steel　springs　came　in　1832；　together　with　car　wheels　of　cylindrical　and　conical　section　which　made　it　easier　to　turn　curves。

The　railroad　was　just　beginning　to　master　its　mechanical　problems　when　a　new　obstacle　confronted　it　in　the　Potomac　Valley。　It　could　not　cross　Maryland　to　the　Cumberland　mountain　gateway　unless　it　could　follow　the　Potomac。　But　its　rival；　the　canal；　had　inherited　from　the　old　Potomac　Company　the　only　earthly　asset　it　possessed　of　any　valuethe　right　of　way　up　the　Maryland　shore。　Five　years　of　quarreling　now　ensued；　and　the　contest；　though　it　may　not　have　seriously　delayed　either　enterprise；　aroused　much　bitterness　and　involved　the　usual　train　of　lawsuits　and　injunctions。

In　1833　the　canal　company　yielded　the　railroad　a　right　of　way　through　the　Point　of　Rocksthe　Potomac　chasm　through　the　Blue　Ridge　wall；　just　below　Harper's　Ferry　on　condition　that　the　railroad　should　not　build　beyond　Harper's　Ferry　until　the　canal　was　completed　to　Cumberland。　But　probably　nothing　but　the　financial　helplessness　of　the　canal　company　could　have　brought　a　solution　satisfactory　to　all　concerned。　A　settlement　of　the　long　quarrel　by　compromise　was　the　price　paid　for　state　aid；　and；　in　1835　Maryland　subsidized　to　a　large　degree　both　canal　and　railroad　by　her　famous　eight　million　dollar　bill。　The　railroad　received　three　millions　from　the　State；　and　the　city　of　Baltimore　was　permitted　to　subscribe　an　equal　amount　of　stock。　With　this　support　and　a　free　right　of　way；　the　railroad　pushed　on　up　the　Potomac。　Though　delayed　by　the　financial　disasters　of　1837；　in　1842　it　was　at　Hancock；　in　1851；　at　Piedmont；　in　1852；　at　Fairmont；　and　the　next　year　it　reached　the　Ohio　River　at　Wheeling。

Spurred　by　the　enterprise　shown　by　these　Southerners；　Pennsylvania　and　New　York　now　took　immediate　steps　to　parallel　their　own　canals　by　railways。　The　line　of　the　Union　Canal　in　Pennsylvania　was　paralleled　by　a　railroad　in　1834；　the　same　year　in　which　the　Allegheny　Portage　Railway　was　constructed。　New　York　lines　reached　Buffalo　in　1842。　The　Pennsylvania　Railroad；　which　was　incorporated　in　1846；　was　completed　to　Pittsburgh　in　1854。

It　is　thus　obvious　that；　with　the　completion　of　these　lines　and　the　building　of　the　Chesapeake　and　Ohio　Railway　through　the　〃Sapphire　Country〃　of　the　Southern　Alleghanies；　the　new　railway　era　pursued　its　paths　of　conquest　through　the　very　same　mountain　passageways　that　had　been　previously　used　by　packhorseman　and　Conestoga　and；　in　three　instances　out　of　four；　by　the　canal　boat。　If　one　motors　today　in　the　Juniata　Valley　in　Pennsylvania；　he　can　survey　near　Newport　a　scene　full　of　meaning　to　one　who　has　a　taste　for　history。　Traveling　along　the　heights　on　the　highway　that　was　once　the　red　man's　trail；　he　can　enjoy　a　wide　prospect　from　this　vantage　point。　Deep　in　the　valley　glitters　the　little　Juniata；　route　of　the　ancient　canoe　and　the　blundering　barge。　Beside　it　lies　a　long　lagoon；　an　abandoned　portion　of　the　Pennsylvania　Canal。　Beside　this　again；　as　though　some　monster　had　passed　leaving　a　track　clear　of　trees；　stretches　the　right　of　way　of　the　first　〃Pennsylvania；〃　and　a　little　nearer　swings　the　magnificent　double…tracked　bed　of　the　railroad　of　today。