The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1853-07-13
RICH MO ND VA,
wednesday Morning. July IS, 1883.

9th and 7th inst f''r0' Vi ''o
With regard to the points in dispute. am per
iectly satisfied to leave them in the hands of those
whose decision will have the force of law: but
oeheve 1t VIII be conceded that have right to be
heard, in seldefence, against an article of the cha
racter OF the one now before me. By arguments
which shall presently show to be the most trans
parent sophistry, and by unwananted ASSUMPTIONS
OF Facts aud principles being established by rail-
road experience, which can show are not estab-
ilshed, am made 10 appear ignorant of the COM
monest subjects connected with railroad economy
why such course was pursued towards me-
am Wholy al loss TO conjecture, unless it that
ny no other means could your cause be defended
III am compelled, in answer to such an attack To
occupy space rather greater than that fraction of a
column filled by that communication which with
reluctant courtesy you admitted into your paper
plead In extenuation the fire mortal columns which
were required to crush me-
L stated ''that where there is much tonnage to
transfer large force must be employed and twenty
hands can transfer the loads OF twenty cars in one
hour" To bring about the necessary conclusions
you had to adopt the absurd idea that those hands
would be called on to work only hour in the dav
and be idle all the rest of the day Was it not the
common sense Interpretation, that ''where there
much freight to tranSer the - LARGE force IN
be employed would be employed for the usual time
OF ten hours per day? | should be much disappont-
ed if there should not arrive at Coyington daiiy 300
loaded cars instead of 100, which you state as the
expectation of the friends of the road If So if will
hardly be thought good economy to let twenty hands
work one hour and lie idle all the rest of the day
The arrival OF your freight trains will not occur all
at one moment, but must be distributed through the
day The cost OF transhipment per ton viii not be
increased with an increase i'll the quantity of ton
nage-on the contrary, it is generally admitted that
| the operation may be more economically conducted
on large scale than small scale. Thus your
multiplication OF my one cent into 10 cents falls to
the ground. Now ask was this candid argument
or sophistry?
Again, you take my pOstulae that the freight trains
will be delayed one hour. and YOU assume that this
is equal to thirty miles Of distance Is not this al
most too broad farce to be pamed on the world
Did you, Mr. Editor, ever know freight trains TO rln
80 miles per hour: If you have, your experience
must be much more extended than mine. Freight
trains the Southern roads generally run 10 miles
per hour. On the Virginia and Tennessee road now
under the control of Mr.. Thomas Sharp, they rIn
| 60 miles i'll hours. On the Baltimore and Ohio
road they run from TO 10 miles per hour
The following roads have adopted the rates of
speed per hour, annexed to their respective Names
governing their freight trains: Northern road NJ
Y.,94 miles; Connecticut River Railroad, 10 miles
Cheshire road 10 miles; Boston and Worcester II ~
| Boston and Maine Il; Lowell u; Norfolk county.
| II; Norwich and Worcester, IL ; Old Colony, II I :
Western road, Is. All superintendents of railroads
| are iii favor Of slow speed for freight trains.
| Was this assumption of 30 miles per hour for
freight trains candid argument sOphstry, or ig-
| nOranCe2
| In cOntending that the delay of few hours in
| transporting mere tonnage is of serious value |
| imagine public opinion would be very much divided
| | am at loss 10 ascertain the measure of such
value unless it be the interest at the rate of per
cent. per annum the price of barrel of flour for
the time II is delayed Certainly the practice of the
world does not indicate very high appreciation of
tins delay. There Is now canal from Albany to
Lake Enc and line of railroad by the side of it,
think il would be safe to say that 30 tons are trans
ported through the canal for every ton that passes
over the railroad; and yet it will be seen that ton
| mage could pass over the railroad at Is miles per
1 I'M md ltih
| 24 miles per hour to pass through the canal Here
is loss of IL hours; and if your hypothesis is true
that delay Of one hour in Transporting n barrel of
flour Is disadvantage equal to 30 miles of railroad,
the owner OF the flour voluntarily incurs an injury
in this equal to $3.50 miles of railroad trans
portation. What will this be i'll dollars and cents
| You ridicule the idea of my assumption of cent
per ton per mile as the of transportatiOn and
you ill column to prove that the charge on the
Virginia and Tennessee railroad is y cents per ton
per mlle You do not say that this is the cost of
transportation, but you leave it to be inferred Blu
will take it for granted that you would be willing
to place it AT cents. This for 3 $3.50 miles will be
S99 80 for ton, 50 80 cents for barrel of flour
If there is mill in that country large as Haxals
so that is able to chip 900 barrels per annum
that unfortunate individual will incur a voluntary
| sacrifice annually of S999, 900. The small saving
he might make by the cheap transportation on the
canal could not Sare him from utter ruin
| You say that it will take hours 10 transfer the
loads of 20 by % hands. object to vOur rea-
soning merely because it is theory against expert
ment. But recOllect that this assumption of mine
(based on experiment., that 20 hands could transfer
| the loads of 20 cars III one hour, only made that
transhipment cost one cent per ton; whereas have
agreed to set down that transhpment at cents De,
| ton so that even if il took hours INV calculation
| still stands unlmpeached
And now comes one of the most extraordinary
| processes OF reasoning your part that was eyel
heard.
l stated that 50 it has been generally assumed Of
late years that the cost OF transportation on railroad.
| Is one cent per ton per mile" With your usual
contempt for sOphstry you set to work prove that
the charge for transportation on the Virginia and
| Tennessee railroad is cents per ton per mile and
that my statement of cent per ton per mile as the
| cost of transportation must be erroneous. Truly
you must have had an exalted opinion of the Presi-
| dent and Directors of the Virginia and Tennessee
railroad TO suppose that in disregard OF the interests
of their stockholders, OF the State among the others
| they would work for the public at cost
In justice to the company, will state that at the
time OF the adoption OF this tariff ii taken fol
granted that these rates would be greatly reduced on
| the completion of the road. They were published
| rather as an assurance that no higher rates than
| these would be charged. This however, has no
| thing TO do with the question before U.s.
repeat that il certainly has been maintained fol
some time past by the advocates OF railroads. thai
the cost of transportation, perfect railroad may
be reduced to cent per ton per mile, and few esti
mate it above two cents The Reading railroad now
carries the great bulk of its tonnage (Which is coa
at 6l0th cents per ton per mile 81 go cents pei
ton for the whole length of the road which is one
hundred miles. If the cost 10 them is much ovel
one cent per ton per mile they doing very pooi
| business. But suppose grant your argument that
the cost of transportation is - cents per ton per
| mile then my 5 cents cost of transhplnent would
be equal 10 little than mile instead of five
| miles which have already admitted. Your argll-
| ment would make stronger case in my favor
| Indulge me in one more illustration of the sophis-
try used against me. The word bug bears used
by me Is much harped on and is made to apply to
the cost of trashpment, 10 the gauge ITSELF Just
as il suited YOUR convenience TO interpret il. You
use these words referring 10 my remarks sc Il is to
prevent the line of transportation from the Ohio t0
Covington from throwing atray this advantage, which
the State might possess in the competition with Bal
| timOre." What advantage? the advantage of bug
bear If transliipment can be effected nj ceni
per ton and the delay occasoned by it Is equal only
/ TO miles of travel a railroad can.it be of any
service to the State In a contest with Baltimore!
| Here is a complete misrepresentation OF my argu-
ment. | have never said or thought that the cost oi
transhipment could protect Virginia against the
petition OF Baltimore have said that the adrantd
of uider gauge could protect Virginia against the
competition of Baltimore; and the point of compe-
| tition to which refer is Cincinnati.
I'm round numbers, the distance from Cincinnati to
Baltimore via ParkersbuTg, is 564 miles, and the dis
| tance from Cincinnati TO Richmond, via Central