Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1853-02-11
Then mud Now.


with too much contempt, or their authors regarded
with too much loathihg
Then
With whatever Justice the sobriquet of Rip
Van Winkle' may, in former times, have been ap- |
piled to the " old North State,' or with whatever
prorsiety her people may have been tainted with
hardness in adopting the improvements, or keep
ing up with the progress of the age, we think that
q calm survey of the relative position oil affairs
for five or six years past and at the present time
will convince every unprecedented mind that such
epithets or such taunts would now be not only
highly improper, but also in direct contrast to the
true state of the case it now exists.
When the present Editor of the Journal common
ced newspaper business in l847. nothing could be
more unpromising than the state of public i'm
provements of all kinds in North Carolina. Al
most our only works werc-,the Wilmington & Raj
eigh and the Raleigh & CASTOR Railroads, and they
had reached the very lowest point of depression
IF any value at all attached to the stock of our Road
it was merely nominal and, indeed, at much more
recent period, a large number of shares were dispo-
sed of at auction at the sale of the estate of Bennett
Bum, Esq, deceased, for nine dollars share-the
same shares being worth at the present time fully
nine times as much, with prospect, nearly APP
preaching to certainty, of reaching par within
very limited period. The Raleigh and CASTOR Road
was the opprobrium of Railroad t:avel from Maine
to Texas, and was looked upon as dead loss,-1t
not positive burthen to the State. AS now re-
organized and rebuilt, it promises to perform its
work we'll and promptly, and to make to the State
some return, however slight, for the immense sums
which have been thrown away upon it. The Man
| ID ~ ho-
fore, was then regarded by even its most sangune
friends as project all but hopeless Now it near
ly approaches completion, and may already be re-
garded as finished work, since doubt exists
of its success and the means are available to push
it rapidly forward to its final conSummation
The Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad, OF
which, it is true, but small portion is within the
State has also been CONF leted, with the most bene
fetal results to several of our Southwestern counties
which find through ii an outlet to market: and plank
roads are either prof ec:ed in course of construc
tion for the purpose of bringing more distant points
in advantageous connection with it. On our North
eastern border, the Seaboard and Roanoke Road has
been revived and the Petersburg Road and its vari
Gus connections much improved.
1t will thus be seen, that of the works either pro
jeced in operation prior to l848, all have receiv
ed life, vigor and Ualue, and all the importan
ones are either completed, or else their speed,
completion rendered absolutely certain. But thi
is not ALL nor even half An immense family Of ney
works have sprung into existence since the Legisla
ture of 1918, among which the greatest, if no
the most promising, is the North Carolina Railroad
Although unable to persuade ourselves into the be
lief that this work will prove anything like prof
table investment we have no doubt that ii will YER
;, largely enhance the value of property, and add t
the prosperity of the people Of the counties along it
line and thus indirectly, the State Treasury be re
imbursed for the outlay the Road by the increase
u revenue which will flow into it. .-
d Tie whole system of Plank Roads so we'll suite
e to the interior OF sparcely settled agriculture
State, has been put in operation since 1913 and
is due to sister town of Fayetteville to add, tha
to her successful experiments and we'll drected en-
ergy in that line, much if not all, that ha
s been done throughout the State At any rate, Fay
" ettcvlc has been the starting point and the exam
- pier for these useful works. and her influence ha
. been productive of the most useful results.
l. Since 1913 practical attention has been turned
d the mineral resources of the Deep River country
and the reports of experienced and scientific Geole
gsts have pronounced favorably upon both the quar-
tty and quality of the mines of coal and iron Their
found and already two collateral lines-one by ri1
g er improvement. and the other by R: ilroad-hav
been chartered for the purpose of developing the re
sources of this mineral section, by afordng its pre-
" ducts an outlet TO market One--the cape Fear
le Deep River improvements nearly finished III
,e deed it should have been finished, and would hav
j. BEEN but for misconceptions and msmanagement
some of which are fairly attributable to the unayo
- dable difficulties of wOrk-to others it WOu
r. be difficult to give charitable a construction. b.
l. we think it is in fair way, and the public
of the stockholders may expect to reap some bel
eft from it. The other work--a Railroad from Fa
IL etteve to the mnes-was chartered at the last
1t, sion of the General Assembly. Books of subscri
TX ton to its stock have been opened at Fayetevil
Il and we learn from the Observer Of The 8h that II
- subscriptions in that town now amount to near
" 500 600, the amount necessary to secure the cha
n ter and authorize the organization of the Compan
as The Observer adds, that there is doubt that tt
o. town of Fayetteville in it's corporate capacity. W
subscribe another hundred thousand. Books
" so to be opened here and at other points, will
Vn seen by advertisement of the Commissioners in a
rs other column. In this connection would adve
to the reco nmendatiOn embodied in the report of
J. Fleming Esq Resident Engineer of the w: &
er R. Road in favor of branch Of that Road to for
he a connection at Fayetteville, with the Road fro
til that place TO the mines. This, confident, W
Id eventually be built. From the mines to Sasbur
= is comparatively small distance and Railroad
" the latter place would there connect with the pr
he iected extension to the Tennessee line. We wou
on thus have line of Railroads traversng the Sta
nv from East to West in nearly direct line cou
~. we'll be-, making available main stem, wi
o every facility and inducement for lateral brancht
ri 1t will also, at, Salisbury, connect with t
ION navigation of the Upper Yadkin, which can cas-
tx be rendered valuable and certainly, in view of VII
has been done within the last five years. it is by
means chimercal to look forward to this as we'll us
in the Eastern and Western extension of the Cent?
no Road to Beaufort and the Tennessee line
When reflect that every mile of Railroad
i" the State has been laid re-laid since 1S48 II
We, of ntanl road in the State has ann