Glasgow Weekly Times

PLANK ROADS.

EDITORS Times And Banner: My object in addressing this article to you and the one which you have already published, is to endeavor, by calculations the correctness of which all can understand, to prove that there can be no mistake as to the pecuniary advantages to the people from a plank road. In my former article I proved that the cost of a plank road was less than a third of the cost on the present roads I think I may safely assume that the cost of transportation from Randolph and Macon counties, will be diminished 20 cts. per hundred. I believe every one acquainted with the amount of transportation to and from the Missouri river from these counties will admit that 2000 tons is not an over estimate. The article of Tobacco alone in those counties will make near three fourths of that amount. If 20 percent is saved. it will make $4.00 per ton, and at this rate on 2000 tons eight thousand dollars will be saved to those counties. This is on the assumption, that the road does not cause an increase of the amount of transportation to and from Glasgow. But what is the fact as to this? More than half of the business of Macon county and part of Randolph now goes to other points than Glasgow. The merchants in Bloomington receive their goods by way of Hannibal, even along the northern line of Randolph county they do the same. All the eastern part of Macon county, most of the northern part and a portion of the eastern part of Randolph county to Hannibal. The western part of Macon trades to Brunswick. I think it susceptible of proof that all this trade, and in addition to it, the trade of the western part of Monroe will be drawn to Glasgow by the plank road, and thereby greatly increase the transportation on that line, and it will not only increase the trade to the Missouri by drawing it from a wider extent of country, but those who are now discouraged from raising produce for market by the difficulty of transporting it, will engage with zeal in doing what affords them a prospect of remuneration I doubt not that in five years from this time, the saving in cost of transportation to Randolph and Macon alone, will amount in a single year to $20,000. I remarked above that I believed it susceptible of proof that all the trade from Macon, Randolph and a part of Monroe would be drawn to Glasgow. The merchants at Bloomington and the northern part of Randolph county pay 75cts a hundred for freight from Hannibal, and a bit from there to St. Louis, making the cost of transportation from St. Louis to Macon county. 87 cts. per hundred pounds. By the Glasgow route the cost will be as follows 20 cts. a hundred from St. Louis to Glasgow, 10cts a hundred from Glasgow to Huntsville, 30cts from Huntsville to Bloomington, making 60 cts. a hundred from St. Louis to Macon on the Glasgow route,against 87 cts. on the Hannibal route. I have set down in making the above estimates what I consider the average rates of transportation. It is very manifest therefore that the road will make business for itself and that it is intimately interwoven with the prosperity of large sections of country. But there are points which are destined to be particularly affected by it, and they are in my opinion Glasgow and Huntsville. Some imagine that there will be a conflict of interests between these points. I think not. River towns are rivals, but the interior towns trading to the river towns are the most fruitful sources of their prosperity. The river and interior towns take different departments and the prosperity of each contributes to that of the other. The towns on the river must mainly do a wholesale business and those in the interior a retail business. The retail business of Glasgow will continue as it is, only affected by growth of the town and vicinity, but her wholesale commission and forwarding business will be extended to a country double in extent, and a county which in the same extent will be double in production.