Republican vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1857, 1857-11-28
COMMUNICATED.
MOUNTAIN Tor, Nov. 10th, 1857.


nary privilege of inspecting also the works
in progress, under the exclusive and only
legitimate authority and direction of the
Board of Public Works, and the committee
having addressed thereon, to the Directors
of said railroad, report signed r. H. Mel
SON. B. Wood r. w. Nowland ; and the said
report having been endorsed, with undue
confidence, by the Board Of Directors,
the public viii learn with surprise that this
report is wholly incorrect: an assertion which
4 will proceed to prove by incontroyertible
facts.
In the FIRST place, the honorable commit
tee state tEat, the facts ought to be kaovn to
tie Booret Of Directors thai. the aaqjortty
Of he tics ore, not only smaller than psual,
Gus are considered actually dangerous and
sthathey noticed some less than four inches
IN dtameter-they think Hat.mony of these
tics ere SO slender that they aciN break
nader Tie freight Of an eagtae resting as
they do, on on aay,elding bed Of stone.
The Board Of Directors themselves, with
more confidence in the committee than III
my experience and judgment, thought pro.
per to add: that the ties actthin the Tunnel
are 50 dJsctiae as to nlaite the road das-
geroas.
Now, it can scarcely he credited that
company would thus carelcssly create appre-
tensions Of danger when there is none, to
the prejudice of its future operations and
this reflection will naturally impress the
public mind With the eorrectaess of the re-
port; and yet,
I Q4er TO Pay One Hundred Dollars
to The committee for each cross-t;e, Of the
dimensiou specified by them, which they
mayslow to be Now, or to hare cuer been letd,
IN the Tunue5
The fact is, that but very few ties tLere
are as small as the usual width of six inches
in diameter | counted only 10 Of that size,
the balance. g, 0S4, range from I to II in
ches.
Gentlemen of the committee, Go you call
IS (even they were Of your width) major
ity out of 2,157?
Furthermore, if these gentlemen had pre-
pared themselves, BY suitable information,
to discharge what they, with propriety, call
Their responsible duty they would have learn
ed, that broad ties are indispensable on 8
soft foundation, but not go on an unyielding
one, where, as far as strength is concerned,
four inches in width would be sufficient; for
a white oak tie of that width, could not be
crushed by an engine of three silaes sAe
weight OK those Of the Company. So thai.
on all accounts, the public may discuss the
apprehensions which the Directors would
honestly raise against their evident inter-
est; since there is is no tie of the size con
demned by the committee, and, if there
were, they would be safe enough.
Secondly. the same committee say that,
tic band. at the mouth Of Ike Tunnel, is SO
aarrom that the end Of tie ties are iust on
the brink Of the track, (meaning the bed of
the track; while the fact is that on either
side, all along, q man can pass with ease on
horseback, outside of the cross, ties, which is
more than can be said of the embankments
of the Central Railroad, to which the de-
scripdon of the committee applies more
properly.
Facts ere stubborn thing the ties arc
there, US well as the cnlbankment, to testify
We believe, does the committee say, that
Kt4g's cat aetH ceesaialy be se5i.set n aaofA-
er dcorg slide This is a matter OF Q,iuiap
T. personally, do not believe in any such
sereaintF, AID | eonsiaer Kel,y's cut even
safer than many others 81 the whole line Of
the Central Railroad for | have taken more
time than the committee 10 study it.
And now, the Directors, on reliable au-
Mort}y, assert that the Tunnel is construct
cd, not only smaller than TIE original speoi-
fcatioas, bit so much smoRer thot, oiter Il
eeas supposed to be finished, il eas foard IN.
practicable 70 pass a frame through 1t ofMe
size Of q car, and the Board cell the 1T
teation ef the Board Of Public Works to
those points, that the cost Of correcting these
detects Be dtJroyed ct public expense:
As il the Board of Public Works were
not cognizant Of these facts, misrepresent-
ed, because misunderstood. Would not the
public be led to suppose, fsom all this, that
the Tunnel is narrower than % feet, the
Width Of Central Railroad car, while, in
fact. there are
2 ,35i feet of a width Of from lG to s feet
l,591 :" IS to3G E"
and only
235 . il to Is .
the smaller Dimensions, even, exceeding by
more than one foot the width of one of the
L VI iic &cAlIdl htllfOuu, anu, bN
an average Of five feet, the width of car
as to the reduced width it had motive
And now, I deny that the Tunnel ever was
too narrow for car. True, after having
laid centre track, aware that there were
rugged, points which might catch the upper
corner of the ears running on said track.
and which had been left to be trimmed after
the track was laid, for proper reasons which
practical men will understand, |, of course,
tried frame along this track to detect such
points and found few to interfere or
inches with the upper corner of the frame
either on the one side or the ether, cir
cumstance which did not concern, in the
least. the Central Railrord Company, as it
would not prevent the running of the trains.
Does il require, Messrs, Editos, great
share OF Intelligence to conceive that, de-
fleeing, temporarily, the track few inches
at such points, until they were removed,
would have allowed a train to pass? Why.
ti.cn, give so much Importance TO the sub
joct and create unjust and unnecessary pre-
judioc and excitement, when it must have
been obvious that the trial of frame was In
tended for the purpose of clearing out those
slight distractions ''at public expense" If
that be the sole object In rielo. ] had not
supposed that so trifing circumstance, SO
easily understood, and SO common, could