The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1853-08-23
Rail Road Matters Again.

appears several exceptions have been taken Here
we will premise little in order to state, that in our
previous article we did not intend any personal offence
to either Mr. CONNER or Mr.. CALDwELL; nor can the
charge be sustained Of injustice to tlem although
have tried very hard to think so as it appears by
a correspondent of the Charleston Courier over the
signature OF Justice" As gentlemen we have hther.
to regarded Mcssrs. CONNER and CALDWELL and shall
continue to hold them in high regard unless like their
garjling apologsts, they should become offended at
what we,have written, in which eveut it will be all
right 50 far as we are concerned.
This introduction is not intended as the knoinq Mr.
Justice of the Courier would have it, as Just praise
enough ITO take of the rusping edge Of our enlightened
criticism" We have had on former occasions to deal
with just such characters as Justice of the Courier
whose assumed cognomcn is by no means, we fear,
sufficient guarantee that his standard in every thing is
indicated thereby; at least the inference is clear from
present evidence, that Justice is very sensitive and
punctilous in some things and quite as careless in
Others forgetting perhaps that it is an easy matter
charge another with 'culpable ignorance" but quite
different matter, and sometimes difficult task, to
prove it. We take Issue with this very :'we inform.
ed' gentleman. Mr.. Justice" and will now proceed
to show that lie is the who displays 'culpable g-
noran!e in attempting to correct when it is mani
fest he knows but little of what he is trying to do.
Justice does not pretend to deny that there is bad
management on the South Carolina, Railroad For
us especial benefit we repeat the proposition, in order
that he may show the public how "well informed" he
is, and how able to sustain himself as tile champion of
the Company. Let Justice; deny fhe can, this pro-
position: There is bad management on the South Ca
rplna Railroad IF fJusticc" thinks he is able to sus
tain himself in successfully denying it, we will leave
the proposition open for future discussion and for the
present let the public decide, and those whose lives
have been, and arc, copardizcd in running over rick
city bridges and to;tcring trestlcs
We said the mails are very irregular, and for this
gross aud objectionable negligence somebody must be
to blame, and whoever u.s. ought to he made rcspon
sble It should be submitted to no longer. The ex-
cuse given by the Canlnian (Which has slightly chang.
cd its tunr) is, that special United States Mail Agent
has charge Of the mail.bags, in department on the
cars under lock and key and to which the employees
on the ROAD have no access: that he alone is response
BILE if any mistakes happen in The transportation of the
mails" This applies only 10 the Hamburg Road and
with all tile sclfmportance and information which
Justice" may imagine himself possessed Of perhaps
he is not aware that the excuse which lie borrows
from the Calolnan is no excuse at al for the i!regu
larty Of the mails on the Columbia and Camden Roads.
and the editor of the Caronian, who 'speaks," as
Justice says, like sensible and well ialorned
m,n," comes about as wide of the mark in this case as
he does in some Of his other Slreud su>PicionS Is
Justice" or tie Carolnian aware that the mail
agent on the Hamburg road does not go on the Co.
umbia cars and consequently conld hardly have our
mails under lock and key" when they are carried
to CylumJa one afternoon and are brought back i'll the
down train the next mornng, and then delivered to the
conductor our branch? Another little Item Of III
formation perhaps may not he amiSs. When the Co.
umbia train reaches the Camden Junction, that 'spc
cia agent" is many miles away. How can you say
that "hc alone is responsible and to him must attach
the blame Of any mistakes in the transportation Of the
mails >" Let Your motto be carried out "Justicc;n
don )e the agony of insultcd feeling too high upon
that Especial agent" but give to each their po, ton Of
blame in due season. If the mails were always de-
vcrcd to the conductors on our branch. we presume
there would be 10 difficulty. But how are our con-
ductors to get them If they not dclivcrcd-and in
that case who is to blame?
Suppose there was special agent on tie Columbia
cars, (thcrc is nonc) whose duty would it be to see
that he performed his duty? Is the Company not paid
to carry the mails to tlcrpropcr paccs9 If the COM
pany is pad carry the mals-which of course they
are-hcn it is clearly their duty to carry them at tlc
proper time and TO the proper place In our Judgment
they responsible for the safe transmission of tho
mails, Justice" and tic Carolian TO the contrary
Notwithstanding.
1t is somewhat amusing and considerably presrmp-
tuous in Justice" attempting 10 moralize us into
due observance Of our duty-upon the necessity of
Editors informing themselves before they venture to
make and publish serious charges" As an abstract
propostiun this rule would hold good but in the pre-
sent case it is entirely nal dpropos applied to the "well
informed Editor Of the Camden Journal 1r"Justicc,
would learn this rule and observe it better himself he
might meet with greater success when he attempts TO
correct and cnglltcn Others and might possibly avoid
the "culpabc ignorance which is so paaby display
ct in his article before us. But the truth is clear that
"Justice" and the Caroinian left the main issue
which is bad management on the road Irregularities
in the mails &c.-and attempted Gt was feeble at
tempt to rdcue our notion Of practical business man
at the head Of the road who if occasion should de.
malrd, c"uld CHATS the pont-stick to it) couM get
aboard an engine and run it himself We advise
"Iuscc and the Carolinian to put little more vinc
gar in their ink or otherwise get supplied with the
nccdlul article before they try their hand at sharp
things. 1t is far fetched, bcggary pcrvcrsion Of the
spirit of our article, to assume that want, or ever
dcsirrd such thing as having President who should
ac as engineer or fireman. although in our Judgment