Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1857-1858, 1857-01-27

TUESDAY, JAN. 81, 1857.
Scarcity Of Fuel = Advantages of Rail-
Reads.

Reads.
The great scarcity and high price of fuel.
in Louisville and Cincinnati this winter,
have caused intense suffering amongst the
poorer classes. In both cities the supplies
of coal were at one time entirely exhaust
ed, and had there been no railroads God
only knows what the people would have
done to escape freezing. The railroad
companies have exerted themselves to avert
this great calamity, and to mitigate as
much as possible the rigorS Of the season,
by procuring supplies of both coal and
wood and selling them at the lowest posi-
bic prices. Our sister city of Memphis is
now rejoicing over a similar course which
has been adopted by her railroad compa-
MES. We learn from her journals that all
the railroads there are delivering wood at
cost to her citizens, generously sacrificing
all profits for the good of the community.
Impossible to obtain coal, the wood thus
supplied by the railroads is godsend to
Memphis. The Bulletin, after mentioning
what steps have been taken by each rail-
road, adds:
ION none of the roads will spectators get q
cnance to send in wood for exorbitant prices;
the Companies having determined to guard
and protect the community, by carrying only
r. ~ 4, al. -
willing TO sell at fair and just rates,
"The Mayor was authorized last night to sp.
point trustworthy persons to receive, have
charge of and sell these supplies of fuel, to con-
sumers, as they may need it, while the Relief
Association had their hands strengthened by
the appropriation of $1,000. We would sug
gest to its officers that they might do well to
send an agent down the Grenada road o-dsy,
to engage wood for their uses. 1t can be OBJ
tanned on that road, at lower price, by near
ly or quite one-fourth below what it will cost
on either of the other roads; and we doubt not
the Railroad Company will bring in all they
may need, free of charge.
''We congratulate our citizens upon these
arrangements Through them, wood will be
afforded at all our Railroad Depots, at rates
not exceeding So or So 80 per cord; and thus,
through the benign fundamentally of Rait-
roads, they will be enabled to chase away the
famin of cold from their doors, blow old Boz
reas ever so rudely. The bread cast upon the
waters comes back to them now, in good time.
ave should like to see the 'muggins' who is
against Railroads"
1t affords US great satisfaction to record
these evidences of the advantages Of rail-
roads and of the fact that all corporations
are not "soulleSs"
Up to this time, Nashville has not had
much cause tocomplain of the scarcity offue.
Some of us have had to suffer in the purse
from erorbitant prices, but that in compari-
son with what has been done in other cities
this winter, is not matter of grave COM
plant except in so far as it has been OPP
pressive upon the poor and destitute. But,
we understand there is not more than a
fortnight's supply Of coal in the city, and
unless there should be a sudden and unex-
pected rise in the river, we may calculate
upon soon reaching the bottom of the stock
on hand. With this prospect in view,
would it not be well for our railroads to
initiate the examples above mentioned, and
prepare to furnish wood at low rates to
the community. We merely throw out the
hint; believing those who have charge of
our railroads do not need more to stimu-
late them to prompt action.