Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1858-03-24
North Carolina Rail Roads.

TO give assurances to those who have made wa
in them, of the prospect of a re- ma
munerating return. Years, however, were W.
to prove this. The Wilmington and ire
Weldon and the Raleigh and Castor Roads to
have done perhaps, as well as their prudent uo
friends expected, vet we are inclined to think eo
their success so far, has been owing entirely
to the ability and nract;eal GOOD sense with W
which they have been managed. To some sp
extent they have labored to make those Roads vi
desirable, safe and cheap modes of conveying sc
passengers and freight. They have offered tn
inducements to the public to patronize them 81
by employing men of sobriety as engineers, b.
polite and affable gentlemen as conductors, fc
and reliable and prompt agents at their De n
pots. The public have had assurances of il
safety and needful dispatch, and hence they "
have patronized them. But we have thought Il
there is room for improvement, and we say c
it wholly with the design if possible, of pro- f
noting their welfare. Men of practical bust T
ness talents and experience in mercantile and (
commercial pursuits go much further, it strikes c
us, than they have yet gone, to induce custom,
and they always secure it. We doubt, if any
modations of the Roads, but are they as
cheap as they shenld be, both as a means of
increasing their revenue, and to make the
Roads a public necessity, for travel or freight
We seriously question it. The expense Of
carrying five passengers or a ton Of freight, is
no less than the conveyance of so passengers
or 40 tons and yet the charge on both is
kept up at the maximum lrice for a dimin-
ished custom. Low prices would greatly en-
nance both and add much to the aceommoda-
ton of the public. Again, greater induce
ments should be offered to way travel Per-
SONS living contiguous to the Roads, should
be encouraged and stimulated to use them
freely, by so l~essening the price Of season and
return tickets, as to make it a small tax. Nor
would our North Carolina Roads, in our judg-
ment be the losers, by an exhibition of the
same liberality and hospitality, which is
evinced by Roads North and South of US,
were they to give a free ticket to all minis
tiers of the Gospel who travel in the discharge
of their ministerial functions, or to public
functionaries on business for the State or Gen
eral Government. This '~'penny-wise and
pound foolish policy" which has so long pre-
vailed in North Carolina, we trust, has near
d ly run to seed, and we hope to see the day
J soon when it will be plucked up by the roots
= The North Carolina Road is a young en-
g terprise and not yet off of its legs, but it i
l. one m which every North Carolinian ough
% to feel the deepest interest. The pocket Q
'r every citizen of the State is vastly concerne'
Is in the success of that Road. Private individ
1t uals have enough interest in the other Road
n to indace them to seek to know all about il
III ments but as to the Central Road, indiviC
VS. ual interest is so swallowed up by State il
e terest and by the preference given to tn
= State, that it is to be feared that individui
T stockholders have given it up, because of tt
On foregone conclusion, that their investmen
are so much dead capital. The mass of IL
people, although so vitality interested in tn
Road, because their pockets have to build al
tn, keep it up, if it should prove a losing concer
air have so long been in the habit of letting a
IN vored few manage the concerns of State al
led the structure of public institutions, that tn
ac- seldom stop to enquire about them. He
its unwise this course. Public institutions q
avs never managed SO well, nor are they so 81
We. cessful as when the eye of the public is ke
ngs closely upon them. And it is well kno-
ent that it usually costs a third more to carry
we'd any State enterprise, than one under the c.
troll of individuals. Now, there is no &C
-. reason for this, but it has become proverb
Of the management Of the Central Ro
}, we presume, nothing can be or should be 81
that is not every way creditable to its ofc
aa and managers. The Road, although crooI
as a rattan walking cane, only a little m
so, is kept in good working order and is spI
didly furnished with all needful fixtures.
safety and comfort cannot be question
though owing to its rermicu layity, its sp
cannot be Dragged of much, yet it is selC
out of time. We suppose its officers, age
conductors, engineers, &C., are gentlemen
qualified for their positions, and that n
are employed on the road whose salary is
orbItant or who does not work full time. :
as a matter of course, is strictly enquircd
by the proper authorities. The people ex
oung this, and hence we allude to it, without
.n posing for a moment that any fault lies
1t is p~resumable also, that in the large on
at the SHOPS" the closest scrutiny is
served in the economical disbursement Of
nave funds, and the convenience and n~ecessiti
au Vi the Road are wisely consulted. This IS
10 should be.
- Now, such a Road, passing through a
thriving country-of such length, an,
- handsomely furnished for the accommod:
rs of the public, should in our judgment, ev
chin this early period, be doing a thriving
=. or ness. We have not the means at hand
ascertaining its success, nor do we know
a - opinion of its managers, as to its prese
ultimate prospects. But from the casus
wa