Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1860-09-01
MISCELLANY.
From the Charleston Courier.
To the Hon. Edward G. Palmer.

A few days ago | received the South Caro-
hutum of August 5th, in which is published
letter from you to Mr.. NJ. w. Gary, on the
subject of the Blue Ridge Railroad. 1t was
copied from the Edgcfeld Adverttser, and |
presume, will have rapid circulation in the
District papers.
In that letter you assert that the cost of the
road in South Carolina and Georgia, up to the
first of December, 1859, had exceeded the
estimate to the amount of SG00,00O You
also charge the officers of the Company with
having "grossly violated the conditions of
their charter" and of having acted in " bad
faith"
Though / am most avcrsc to personal con
troversy, | am constrained to appear in defence
of the officers of the Company
do not intend to present an official state
ment of the cost of the road i'll South Carolina
and Georgia. This | cannot do without the
assistance of the Treasurer and Chief Engi-
ncer who arc not in the city. Desidcs, it
would take long time to dsscct and appor-
ton the many accounts comprising the eXpcn-
diture of two and half millions of dollars,
so as to make an accurate statement of the
cost of the road in each of the States through
which it passes. Your letter appears in the
midst of the canvass for election of members
to the Legislature. In order to counteract it's
effect upon the elections, it is necessary that
my reply should be prompt. Want of time
and needful assistance for an accurate state
ment of the cost of the road in South Carolina
aud Georgia, must con6nc me to a strict reply.
You assume SO ,654, ,034 to be the estimated
cost of completing the road in South Carolina
and Georgia on the first of November, 1856.
For the present purpose | will take that to be
correct From the report of the Treasurer,
and certain assumptions and calculations of
your own, you attain to the conclusion of an
"erceSs Of cost oUer the estimate up to Dccem-
Der, 1885," to the amount of 100000.
[ will examine your statement i'll the sense
in which nine persons out of ten will under
stand it, viz: That the actual cost of con-
structing the road in South Carolina and
Georgia, to December, 1859, exceeded the
estimated cost to the amount of 5000, ,0O0.-
An Engineers estimate of cost is made up by
a calculation Of the several kinds of work and
material necessary to make railroad compile
ted or only half finished, as he may be direct
ed, and the quantities and prices of each, by
which he obtains the sum total of the costs
When you compare the actual cost with the
estimated cost, you must restrict the compari
son to the subjects of cost in the estimate. If
you charge, as actual cost, interest and dis
connt on bonds, the expenses Of lay suits ard
the like, of course, the actual cost must ex
cecd the estimated cost, for none of those con-
tingent charges are comprised in the estimate.
think | can show in your statement of the
" excess of cost over the estimate" errors to
an amount exceeding $500,000
1t is necessary, in order to make plain your
errors and mis-stutcmcnts, that / should pre-
sent the Treasurers account of "expcndi-
lures" in his report of 1859, and also your
statement by which you attain result so sur
prsing
1t may be proper to premise for persons
who do not understand book keeping, that
the Treasurers books are kept in the usual
form. In his report he has headed the Debtor
side of the account Receipts" and the
Creditor side Expenditure" All the en-
tries in the two columns are not actual re-
ceipts and expenditures, but some are made
Gas is necessary to explain tile true state of
the account, and to exhibit the correct bal
ancc of the transactions which are entered,
"EXPENDITURpa."
For construction S2,O70, ,32O.11
iron, l01 ,23O.Ol
Engineering, 66,390.46
Expense-Salaries, Printing,
Legal Advice, Suit of Bangs
& Co., 1929. 10
Real Estate for Depots, &C., 0,274.95
hight OF way In south
Carolina, s4,3o5OO
Right of way in Gcor-
gia, 3,775.0O
$4,000
Right of way in l'orth
Carolina, 10000
Right Of way in Ten
ncssee, 8,358.5O
9,988. so
locomotives and Cars, 3S,741,95
Interest on Mort,
gage Bonds, 844 ,705.98
Loss on sale Of
Beads and Ssock 97,8S0.0I
- 82,08590
Buc by Anson Bangs & Co, 2,092.30
Due by sundry contractors, 0,311.14
Transportation expenses, 4,lO2.36
Repairs of Road way, 1,70I.5S
Sundry open accounts 4,o1s.95
60f 10