The canal system of this country is being threatened by the spread of a new form of transportation known as 'railroads.' ... As you may well know, railroad carriages are pulled at the enormous speed of 15 miles per hour by engines, which, in addition to endangering life and limb of passengers, roar and snort their way through the countryside. The Almighty certainly never intended that people should travel at such breakneck speed.
¶ Letter to the President (while Governor of New York) (1829)
