334 THE GttOUNDSWELL, 



live, judicial, and legislative departments of our National and State 

 governments by excluding therefrom the proprietors and servants of 

 such monopolies. 



10. We deprecate, finally, the practice of executive, judicial, and 

 legislative officers in accepting favors from transportation corpora-- 

 tions, whose interests are more or less in conflict with those of the 

 people, whom such officers are elected to serve. 



We further recommend the adoption of the following supple- 

 mental report : 



We, the farmers of the United States, in Congress assembled, re^ 

 spectfully represent to the Senate and House of Eepresentatives of 

 the 43d Congress, that the great want of the whole country, and 

 especially the West and North-west, is increased facilities for trans 

 portation between the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi and the 

 Atlantic seaboard ; that, in consequence of the rapidly increasing 

 products of the West, and the corresponding increase of its demand 

 for the manufacturing, mechanical and other products of the East, 

 the necessity to meet this want is daily becoming more imperative. 



That to respond to this want the best interests of the country de 

 mand continuous water line communication between the East and 

 West as public highways, made for the use of all on equal terms, and 

 subject to such tolls only as may be necessary to keep the same in 

 repair. 



That the central water line through Virginia, by way of the James 

 River and Kanawha Canal, in connection with the proper improve 

 ments of the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers, is eminently of that char 

 acter, from its directness across the very center of our country from 

 north to south, with easy connections with the entire system of nav 

 igation of the great center basin, free from the climatic objections of 

 frost in winter and heat in summer, and from interruption in time 

 of war, with great capacity for freight; and it will furnish the cheap 

 est, shortest, and most direct outlet from the Mississippi to the 

 Atlantic. 



That the character and feasibility of this improvement has been 

 thoroughly investigated and indorsed by eminent engineers in the 

 service of the State of Virginia through a long series of years; that 

 the survey more recently made by the General Government entirely 

 confirms the feasibility and eminent value of this work to the whole 

 country; and a bid is now pending before Congress, by which it is 



