W. V. BUSKIRK, Esq.
Chairman of the Committee of Internal Improvements',
Sir,
I beg to offer for your consideration, a few remarks rela-;
tive to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, in order to shew the loss
the State will sustain by not making the slack-water navigation
from Cumberland to the mouth of Savage river.
It has been said, or argued, by some parties, that the Canal, or
navigation, if stopped at Cumberland, will pay the interest on the
cost of the work, (which will amount to about nine millions of dol¬
lars,) so far as this State is concerned.
A communication appeared in the 'Patriot' of this city in March
when the same question was under consideration by the Legis¬
lature, in which the writer says : -
'What? take the Canal to Westernport, (30 miles,) when the
Frostburg coal field presents the most illimitable beds of the rich¬
est coal and iron ore, only 9 miles distant!' He then quotes the
opinion of a Major John Powell, of Frostburg, 'a gentleman of
profound general acquaintance with the science of geology,' who
states himself to be well acquainted with the prospects and inten¬
tions of four of the coal companies in that neighbourhood, who
have never contemplated sending less than 150,000 tons of coal,
each, to market—and that ¿/"half the companies in that neighbour¬
hood go into operation, 800,000 tons may be expected to be sent
down the first year.
I select this as a fair specimen of the promises that have been
made to the Legislature from that quarter of the district :—let us
examine their value.
Admitting that the upward trade on the Canal will be the same
as that on the Schuylkill navigation of Pennsylvania, (which was
constructed exclusively for the anthracite coal trade,) that is to
say, 19 per cent, of the whole toll received : it will require a ship¬
ment of 470,322 tons of coal from Cumberland to Georgetown, at
a toll of 93 cents per ton, to pay the interest on the nine millions
of dollars.
Deducting 52 days in the year for Sundays, this will require an
arrival of 1,502 tons per day at Gumberland, all the year round.
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without any interruption whatever; and as a coal car, both in this
country and England, contains about 2 tons, this amount of trade
will require the daily arrival and discharge of seven hundred and
fifty one cars—a trade of 800,000 tons would require the dally
arrival and discharge of one thousand two hundred and seventy eight
cars, or 2556 tons?
But as nature has thrown a few difficulties in the way of such a
trade, let us see what they are.
A short distance above Cumberland, there is a narrow natural
pass, or gorge, through Wills' mountain, through which Wills'
creek passes, the National road passes, and the Baltimore and
Ohio Rail Road must pass, together with all the coal cars that are
to reach Cumberland : unless coal rail roads be made down to the
Potomac above Cumberland by way of Warrior run, and therefore
connecting with the proposed slack-water navigation.
This pass through Wills' mountain is already occupied, almost
entirely, by Wills' creek and by the National road. It may be
possible to construct one rail road track, and even two, by great
expense and labour, along the same line—even that is disputed by
some engineers—but a greater extent of accommodation is con¬
sidered impossible by others.
Now as the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company have also
the right of way through the same pass, it follows, that the trade
of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road Company, whether for pas¬
senger cars, ordinary burthen cars, or coal cars, must be crammed
into exceedingly narrow limits at that point, and suffer very serious
interruption by the slightest derangement.
It is to be considered too, that the Baltimore and Ohio Rail
Road Company look chiefly to the passenger trade as the most
profitable, and that they will hardly set aside the whole of their
burthen trade in order to accommodate the coal trade only.
Is it not plain then, to any man of common sense, that under
such circumstances, it would be absurd to expect the regular daily
arrival at Cumberland of seven hundred and fifty-one cars of coal
along such a road—or even one-fourth of that number, to say
nothing of the one thousand two hundred and seventy-eight coal
cars that would be required to bring down the 800,000 tons
predicted by Major Powell?
If it will cost two millions of dollars in State bonds to finish
the Canal to Cumberland, and we are to look to the coal trade
from that place only, to pay the $120,000 of annual interest upon
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them, to say nothing of surplus tolls to redeem the principal, or to
assist the Slate out of its present difficulties, it will require a ship¬
ment of 104,515 tons of coal per annum from Cumberland to
Georgetown, (allowing for the usual upward trade) and a conse¬
quent regular uninterrupted arrival of 167 coal cars per day at
Cumberland all the year round, except on Sundays.
One other trifling objection may also be worth the consideration
of the Legislature—which is this, neither the Baltimore and Ohio
Rail Road, west of Cumberland, nor the coal rail roads that are
to connect with it are yet made—nor is the work on any one of
them even commenced upon, so far as I can ascertain. Yet the
Canal maybe finished to Cumberland in twelve or eighteen months,
if it be undertaken by responsible contractors, and, in such an
event taking place, where is the first year's interest on the two
millions to come from
Every body knows, who knows any thing on the subject, that
there is an abundance of coal in the neighbourhood of Frostburg,
quite sufficient to furnish a large trade to the Canal in proportion
to the extent of the small district from which it will come. It is
quite manifest too, that the coal from that district will find its way
to Cumberland sooner or later, and that the difficulties of the pass
through Wills' mountain may be overcome, in a great measure, by
the extension of the main Canal, (by dams and slack-water,) to the
mouth of Braddocks or Jennings' Run—some two or three miles—
and this ought unquestionably to be done, (if there be water enough
in those streams to supply it regularly,) so that the largest possi¬
ble trade may be obtained for the Canal :—but, even in this event,
the main fact to which I would call the attention of the Legisla-
ture must remain uncontradicted, viz : that the State will have
expended nine million of dollars on a Canal that will reach but a
small portion of the most valuable coal district in the United
States, or any other country,—thus rejecting three-fourths of the
trade that might be obtained for the work, provided an additional
outlay were made of less than one-tenth of that which will have
been already spent, to obtain the one-fourth of the trade. And
this result is advocated too, in the very face of the fact, that the
greatest possible trade on the Canal is absolutely required in 'order
to relieve the State from its present difficulties^ and as the only
mode in which we can get out of them and relieve the people from
an odious direct tax.
I call the coal district about Frostburg, a small portion of the
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whole, because every one wrho is really familiar with the whole
coal field, knows very well that the product of at least three-fourths
of the accessible veins must, of necessity, go down the Potomac
from the neighbourhood of Savage or Westernport.
Having shewed how the coal is to reach the Canal at Cumber¬
land, I will now shew how it is to be obtained at Westernport or
Savage,
The coal is found, first, immediately on the hank of the river,
commencing about one mile below Westernport, in veins, varying
in thickness and elevation, and extending about two and a half
miles above that place, and perhaps, higher. Thus, the slack-
water navigation would actually reach and pass through the coal—
the trade in it would be certain, because the navigation would not
depend for its supplies, and the State for its tolls, upon the ability
of coal or other companies to find money in order to make rail
roads to connect with it.
Independent of the great advantage to the work and the State,
of the coal being found on the bank of the river itself, large quan¬
tities of that material could be brought from the Virginia side, and
from the Savage river.
The whole valley of George's creek, and the great mass of coal
on both sides of it could also be approached, and if necessary,
half a dozen rail roads could be constructed in that valley to
convey the material to Westernport.
In short, the navigation if carried to Savage river, would reach
the very heart of the coal region—the State would derive the
greatest possible benefit that the coal trade is capable of pro¬
ducing, but if the work stop at Cumberland only, but one end of
the coal basin is reached, and even then, the extent and value of
the coal trade from thence, as well as the great interests of the
State will be entirely dependent upon the ability of the various
coal or other companies to make rail roads to connect with Cum-
berl. But if the trade from Cumberland alone will amount to what
the advocates, of a termination of the navigation there, say it will ;
that is no reason why the State should not double the trade and
receive double the tolls, by making an additional outlay less in
extent than one-tenth of what will have been already spent to
Cumberland, provided, that can be done by means of her credit.
If there are parties ready to pay the money down to finish the
Canal to Cumberland, or if any are ready to guarantee or to pay
down the interest on such sum required, (as was proposed last
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year,) that is no reason why the State should not make the slack-
water navigation, and thus throw away one-half or two-thirds of
the trade and its immense collateral advantages, provided she can
find responsible men to do the work for her own bonds, with a lien
on the tolls to secure the interest on them.
Stop at Cumberland, and the payment of the interest (by the
tolls) on the entire cost of the Canal must be doubtful. Go to
Savage, and it will be no longer so.
If it be said that these arguments are those of interested par¬
ties—people who wish to make property productive that now lies
dormant—that is no reason why a great public good should not be
obtained when the very productiveness sought after, must, from
the very nature of things, tend so much to the benefit of the whole
community. But, on the other hand, this objection will have due
weight if the vast outlay that has already been made be intended
for the special benefit of a few to the injury of the many.
If it be said that companies or individuals ought to make the
slack-water, and therefore, the State should not do it, is it a good
reason that the State should throw away such great advantages
because neither companies nor individuals possess the means to
complete so great an undertaking.-'
Great pains have been taken and higb authority has been quoted,
to prove the existence and the immensity of the deposits of coal
near Cumberland. Let us admit the full value of this claim.
Suppose it is so. Is that a reason why the State should give up
all the benefit to be derived from the trade of an equal, if not
much larger portion of the coal field, if she can make a profitable
investment in obtaining it
If the cost of the slack-water navigation from Cumberland to
Savage should even be one million, and that of the completion of
the Canal to Cumberland be two millions,—and the cost of both
will be in this proportion—is it not manifest that if a coal trade,
to be derived from mines nine or ten miles from Cumberland, will
pay an interest on two millions and give a surplus besides, a trade
from mines situated directly on the bank of the proposed naviga¬
tion must be equally (if not more) likely to pay the same or a
greater interest?
If the proprietors of mines near Cumberland are correct as to
the probable extent of their coal trade and its value to the State ;
and if such trade cannot be carried on without the great expense
of rail roads and their appendages—which every one must admit
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it cannot :—then is it not manifest that a trade derived from mines
right on the banks of the Potomac, where no such expenses are
necessary^ must be equally valuable to the State, quite as extensive
and much more certain in times like these, when it is so diíKcult
to obtain money to invest in expensive improvements ?
If we are to be guided in our action on this subject by the ex¬
perience of other people—by the facts shewn by the coal trade in
Pennsylvania as well as elsewhere—it may be considered certain
that a large coal trade in Maryland can only become so gradually.
It would be about as easy for such a trade to jump into existence
at once, by the production of 800,000 tons (or twenty-two million
bushels) the first year, as it would be for a man to be born full
grown. Unless this be the case, how has it happened that the
annual product of Pennsylvania coal has taken about twenty years
to reach a million of tons ?
The whole coal district of Allegany is held, of course, by a
large number of companies and individuals. We have every right
to believe, that as a body, their pecuniary affairs are in no better
position than those of the rest of the community—that is to say,
it is quite possible that they are not particularly overburthened
with money just now. Some maybe more wealthy than others,
and therefore will be enabled to commence the coal trade sooner
than their neighbours ; but it is quite certain that the whole of
them cannot commence simultaneously.
Under such circumstances then, and the difficulty of raising
money for new projects being considered, would it not be the
wisest policy for the State to open the navigation to Savage river,
and thus reach the greatest number of those who can commence
operations at once in order to obtain the earliest as well as the
largest amount of tolls that a new, and therefore untried, trade
will admit of?
It has been urged that the slack-water navigation will injure the
town of Cumberland—but this must be a great error, for it would
not only double the coal trade, but create a large lumber trade
also :—results which could not happen without increasing the
trade of that place very largely to the benefit of its merchants,
property-holders, and all others.
One vast benefit of the increased trade that would be created by
the slack-water navigation, would be the then certainty of the
ability of the State to create a sinking fund sufficient to redeem
the principal of a debt of three millions (as I have shewn else-
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•where) or such portion of that sum as may be required :—that is
to say, when the net revenue of the Canal equals that which took
place on the Erie Canal in its fifth year, or on the Schuylkill navi¬
gation of Pennsylvania, in its eighth or ninth year, an appropria¬
tion of five per cent., or one-twentieth part of said net tolls, if set
apart as a sinking fund, and improved annually at compound
interest, would pay off the whole three millions in forty years,
even if the tolls did not increase beyond that point—and thus save
the present Legislature from the charge, that might be made
against its members, of having created a large debt without pro¬
viding adequate means for its redemption.
There is no doubt that the State itself, can by its o-wn credit,
(giving a lien upon the tolls for interest) finish both the Canal and
slack-water, provided its vital interests are not mixed up with
those of incorporated companies, as was done in the bill passed at
session. The fate of that measure shews the bad policy
of the welfare of the State being made dependent on, or being
under the control of, any companies whatever.
Judging, then, from the experience of other canals, and the coal
trade elsewhere, as well as from the facts I have pointed out, the
probable results of stopping at Cumberland, or going to Savage,
may be stated, briefly, as follows :
If the navigation be completed to Cumberland only, then
1. The Canal will lose at least on^^lf. of the trade which it
otherwise would have received by the completion of the navigation
to Savage.
2. It will hardly be possible for the work to pay an interest on
the nine millions which will have been expended.
3. A direct tax must therefore continue to be levied on the peo¬
ple for an indefinite period.
4. The advantage of establishing a sinking fund to redeem the
principal of the debt to be created will be lost, because the State
will require every dollar of surplus, and must still tax the people to
make up a deficiency.
Complete the navigation to Savage, and
1. The trade on the Canal will be doubled at least.
2. It will be much easier to collect an interest on an additional
debt of three millions by a trade from Savage, than on two millions
by one from Cumberland.
3. The trade will not be dependent on the ability of coal com¬
panies to connect with the Canal.
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4. The ultimate payment of interest on the whole outlay made
by Maryland will be certain.
5. A sinking fund can be created to redeem the new debt.
6. The necessity for direct taxes will cease much sooner.
7i The great additional trade that will be created will prevent a
monopoly on the part of the coal dealers.
8. The whole coal field, instead of a fraction of it only, will be
made productive.
9. All the coal proprietors will be placed on the same footing.
10. The work willlreneñt the whole community, and injure no one.
It has been the fashion hitherto (in which I for one have taken
no share,) to make the most extravagant assertions respecting the
coal trade and the Canal question generally—assertions that have
thrown all moderate men, as well as scientific and experienced
men, into the shade. The time for such assertions has past, for
this vital question comes home to every man who has taxes to-pay.
If then any gentleman be disposed to deny the conclusions to which
I have arrived, I trust it will be by substantial reasons, based on
facts ; for mere assertion, on a question that has become so impor¬
tant to all of us, (unless it be from undoubted authority,) will be
considered as base coin, or a sort of moral shinplaster that may be
current with some people, but which every sensible man should
look upon with suspicion and receive with caution.
R. W.