The North-Carolinian., 1857-03-21


that can be projectedl Il is shorter by half,
quicker, more certain asd fully as cheap as by
Deep River nayig gztiti c1lI be- But men Of ex-
perience say that coal cannot be transported
from this place 10 Wilmington for less thar Is
cts per ton If that be1So with fere n avigation
it must cost at least 81, from the mine to this
place by the locks and dams. making $1.75 for
transportation, to this add SO cts per ton "a
tribe less th.n is paid ON the Schnylkill Navi-
CATION for tolls) and .you have 81. .25.-By the
road the coal can be brought to this place for
81 90 per ton, from here to Wilmington for IS
cts and 25 cts for contingencies making s., 90
per ton from the mines to Wilmingten-25 cts
per ton less, and more handily than by the Riy-
cr. for the lime of onr Road reaches down into
the valley of Dcep River, with q grade Of ONLY
30 it. to the mile (Which is the maximum grade
on the whole lne) The side tracks can be
run right up to the pits, and the coa1 dumped
Immediately into the ears and the same mo-
tive power that takes the trains from the point
of loading will bring thsm to the River at
Fayetteville when the ceai can he dumped in
to boat This can be sbne in four honrs from
the time of leaving the mines. which is at least
"a hours sooner than it snn be done by the
Deep River nayiratiee~ The process Of load
ing the boats Mt Deep River, and at this place
are precisely alike Tn t6eh eases the coal is
carried from the mines to the Boats by Rail
road. Now if the shafts or stones are opened
on the Bank of the River-por can they be
they are and must he from / of mile to five
miles from the river. the only difference there is
in the distance from the shaft to the Boat Tn
one case the coal is transported 40 miles bv
Rail. avoiding the changes and delays of lock
and dam navigation, and saving from "a to 4S
hours In the other case it is transported from
to miles by Rail-and then has to encoun-
ter this navigation There is no more handling
or transhipment in one case than the other.
We have then nothing to fear from the COM
petition cf any line that can be projected. If
the mines are worked we are certain Of as much
transportation as we want And if we have
that, onr stock will be The best pay ng stock in
the country. No other mode of transportation
has yet been constructed to a coal bason at a
less cost than S., ,OOO, 900. And yet from ac-
tual survey and caculation, our very compe-
tent Engineer reports that for 81 ,OO0, 900 our
road can be built complete, and equipped so
that it will transport 900 tons of Goa per
annum Now, at the very moderate rate Of 81
per ton on this we have $500, 600, as the gross
receipts from coal alone. From this deduct
so per cent or one half-which is more than
the average on all roads in the country-for
wear and tear, expenses and keeping the road
in thorough repair, and we have $25O.OO0, as
the net profit; which is 25 per cent. on the cost.
The actual average cost of transportation Of
coal on the Reading Road for the last five
years 69-1OO of cent per ton per mile.
This includes everything all kinds of expen-
ses; and keeping th-troed-~"y and machinery
in perfect order. On onr road, in conseqYanee
of the grade and single track, it would cost
something more, say one cent per ton per mile.
On that road, the actual cost being only 50
100 of cent per ton per mile, they are obliged
to charge p cents per ton per mile to enable
them to make a dividend of per cent on their
immense capital of $4,000, 900. If the coal
transported on that road, which is worth from
$41 to SC per ton, will bear q cts. per mile
for 93 miles. the coal to be transported on our
road, worth from s. to $l2 per.ton will certain
ly bear p cts. per mile for 40 miles. From this
take the actual cost of ct per mile, and you
have l cts. per mile Of net profit. which on
the length of our road would give you 63 cts.
per ton. Thus 500, 900 tons would yield 37l
cts. per mile of net profit, which on the length
of our Road would give you 63 cts. per ton.
Thus 500,0 900 tons wonld yield 374 per cent.
on the cost of the Road. This calculation
works out better than the other; but either is
good enough, and the common argument a.
gaust calculated profits, (viz: that they have
so often failed, will not apply to this road. All
the roads that have been projected in the
Southern States, have based their calculations
of business and profits upon the gradual devcl-
opment of the agricultural resources of the coun-
try through which they pass, and upon the travel
mail pay, &C, in the amount of which they
have most generally been deceived, and having
nothing else to rely on, their figures have fail
ed But in our case, in addition to all these
resources which other roads have, and which
have not hcen taken into the account, we have
all of the inexhaustible quantities of coal and
iron, which are even now ready to be transport
ted. =.
The capitalist then and the people of the
Town and County, and the Town and County
themselves, may safely count upon a rich re-
turn from their Investment But the people Of
the Town and County may expect and will re-
ceive mnch, very much, greater benefits than
dividends The simple expenditure of the a.
mount of money necessary to build the roadj