The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1859-08-03
Blue Ridge Railroad,

To tie Ed;tor Of tie South Croiinidn d.
DEAR SIR: In your paper of the 18th
Of June, y. rc.lve AN ehtor'al giving u
very favorable account Of the Blue Ridge
RaIlrnai Now thus is gratifying to me :;
fr { the State IN the madness OF her fol
", vii persist IA gong om With the work,
It - acI that her money should be Judi
ior>ly spent Tor | feel assured that,
when the road shall have | cen coinpie,ed; {;
1t viii prove u, u barren triumph Of skill
anl -ci nee over a costly and useless un
der king. When lou speak of The
Stunp House Funnel. rs the lion IN the
path. he huL bear with which the adver
>trDr~ of the road htv" enough To avert
thc mpathIes ut IL" people Ot the State
irnm the enterprise, you certainly attempt
t max" AN issue which neither myself
or | trust those who act with me, ever
,.c,gurd To- make. The science aud prtc
tic ut engineering have Taught IL that
tunuriN, ko deep cuts, high cmbankmentS
N q h,avy rock masonry, are only costly
mp' dun"ui>, aud not msuperabIe obs;a
crs "a the construction OF "a railroad; and
protitab.e, or where there are contending
routes, 90 far to determine the compare
tive merits of the two; and in this re-
spect, the selection OF Blue Ridge over
that Of the French Broad, is an unfortu
nate feature on the enterprise. Mr.. Edi
tor, once for all, shall endeavor briefly
to state the :rue issue between the friend,
h.. Of In | a
Road We Object to the building Of the
road rs being, not only too expensive ia
proportion to its benefit, but wholly un.
necessary, Inasmuch as the Georgia and
Tennessee railroads aud their connections
extend INTO the very region Of country
proposed 10 he penetrated 10y the Blue
Ridge, and already give us more business
than we can expect from il. Charleston,
at this time, is connected with Chattanoo'
g., on the Tennessee River. with Memphis,
on the Mississippi. with Nashville, on the
Cumberland; ard in - very few months,
will be with Louisville. on the Ohio
one OF The terIuinI OF the ever memorable
Louisville, CiCCInnHlI and Charleston Rail
road and, within the last few weeks, the
citizens Of Nashville have voted aid To
the extent Of over 100000 TO a railroad
10 be built to the North west; thus Civ.
ing you the commerce Of an area Of coun
hry extending from the Western slope OF
tue Ailcgbanies to the Mississippi and
Ohio Rivers. What more can the cray
ing appetite Of State desire And
here, Mr.. EdIio', note he fact, that our
a.
their own systems OF internal improve.
ments, have done the very thing for Us,
and that, too, without charge oi cost,
4rhat the friends Of the Blue Ridge wish
the State almost alone 20 accomplish, at
.ap expense Of $s,600,000. Why, what
a gigantic scheme OF wanton extrava
gance with which TO saddle a State that
has already the benefits Of railroads run
ming throughout the length and breadth
Of her territory, and whose population
has increased but little through series
of years Let us think well OF these
things before we take II leap that will
load the State with debt that il may
prove onerous to her to meet. Remem,
Der that we iIave a political enemy who,
OF late years. has made vast inroads ur
on our constitutional rights an enemy
who, through the action Of the Federal
Govern ment, has robbed us OF more
wealth than even lbe fruitIasS project Of
the Blue Ridge can return 10 Us. We
know not how soor we may he called
upon to resist this enemy. The times are
omnious. Let US, ibeu, husband our re
sources for the emergency, and not throw
them away upon useless and unprofta'
bic enterprises. Above all, let US remem
Der the language Of our sagacious states
rnen, Mr. Calhoun, when Gen. Brisbane
lAst approached bin upon the subject Of
the Rabun Gap. "SiT," was his grand
incniry, shave you not followed Mr.. Clay
inhis tour through the State Of New