Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1853-09-14

road (N.J) lO ~ ~;
New Jersey Railroad III l4l
Cleveland and Columbus
(Ohio) l35 miles X 100
The dividends are not all given on the Ohio
roads but the stocks quoted all above par, some
as high $l57.
The Pennsylvania Central, recently opened, is
paving 7 per cent, so is the Baltimore and Ono
Railroad inessimlar to ours but costing double the
money. They have application for more tonnage
than they can accommodate. The Massachusetts
Railroads all pay at least 7 per cent. dividends
when they are in fierce competition side by side
with each other.
But lest it may be- said there is some peculiar
virtue In Northern notwithstanding their
great cost-we will quote the Southern Railroads.
Wilmington and Raleigh IN. c. l6l miles, div
idend per cent. :,
stock $l25. .,o,
Georgia Central l9l miles, per cent, Sl02 per
share.
Georgia Railroad, 81 miles n per cent. dividend.
Macon and Western (Ga.) l0l miles . per cent
Southwestern Railroad s. so miles per cent.
Montgomery present point, (Ala) IS miles per
cent.
The objection is raised by some to this scheme
that the debt is to continue too long upon the
county, and that it would be better to pay up In
shorter time at discount. We have not space
now to show the advantage TO The Taxpayers, In
having 81 years in which to pay of the bonds by
paying interest at z per cent. alone, and having
=. Il. sc t,e Pail 10 nav /
with. 1t seems sufficient now to say that this OBJ
lection can be obvated, by remembering that the
bonds may be redeemed in ten years, at the OPP
ton of the county if then the stock Of this Rail-
rad comes up to anything like the value Of the
stocks Of the Railroads we quoute above, surely
in ten years the bonds may be redeemed with the
proceeds of the sale of the stock and an ample
profit be made by the operation, which will far
more than pay the tax: Or if the price OF the
stock should 90 up above par. as it probably
will, in five years-the stock may be sold and the
proceeds invested to meet the interest on the bonds
without taxation.
If then this stock should in time become as good
as the stocks above quoted, it may pay such divi-
dends to the county above six per cent as may be
applied to reliere us from ta9ation to the large a
mount. Or if we choose to sell the stock when 1t
gets as high above par the county will pocket an
immense profit. Had we space we think it might
be- shown that the probabilities are strong that the
greater cheapness of construction, and from the
greater advantages of the situation as to climate,
cenraity, &c., that our road in ten years at least
will pay better than the roads above quoted, and
thus our "tax" become an Investment ofsome few
hundreds Of dollars at present to provide means Of
paying thousands of taxation in future.
That our people may not be frightened at the
snormity Of the amount proposed, $4,000, We
quote from paper accidentally lying before US
the statement that-D2vidson county in Tennes-
see, with population only about one-third great
or than ours, has recently carried by an over
whelming majority proposition to subscribe in
county bonds, as we propose, the sum of 81 ,lOO,-
600, to the stock of the following roads now in
sourse of construction, viz: North Western Rail
road, 100000, Louisville and Nashville Rail
road, 100000, Edgeville and Kentucky Rail
road, $500, 900, Tennessee and Alabama Rail
road 100000. Many other counties of Tennes-
see and Kentucky have subscribed with equal lib
erslity, which puts our little scheme of $4,000
completely to the blush. Ourneighboring county
of Rockingham, with less population, voted $780,
600 to the Manassas Railroad, Greenbrier and Mon
roe counties with less than half our population,
voted $4,000 each to the Central Railroad, and
Richmond city, with population about as large
as Augusta, has just voted 100000 to the road.
in addition to her heavy subscriptions heretofore
to other lines. We hope that our wealthy old
county which has received such liberal benefits
from the public will not withhold this neagre sum
from the Central line.