Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1866-12-20
TRANSFORMATION, Charges, &c., on Railroads


with this endorsement upon it: This COM
munication, which comes from one Of the most
intelligent and reliable railroad officers in VIZ
ginia, is respectfully submitted for the con-
sderation of the Committee on Roads, &C..
~ r. RICHMOND, December -, 1866
The present railroad law Of Virginia IS de-
fective, and it is work well worthy OF your
efforts to remodel it. Read over It's PROVISIONS
as to tolls and compare the charges which the
companies make, and you will see the dlttlcul-
ty. While eight cts. per ton per mile IS sui
fcient for long distances, it is not enough TOR
the short while the charge for storage allowed
is altogether indefinite. The law should com
mel all the companies in the State in which she
has an interest to adopt a uniform classification
nm their freight tariffs. Their freight tariffs
should be governed as follows, namely: A
regular charge for handling and storing each
class, and to this regular charge for transpor-
tation should be added pro 1atG per mile
The maximum rates should be fixed by law,
and T think it fully as important to tx the
minimum rate, which is the mere cost OF car
rlage. -,
At present the minimum rate is very high,
owing to the small amount Of produce and
merchandise to be carried. ltprobabIy amounts
on any road in the State to tour cts. per ton
nar mile-that is to say, the whole tonnage
actually carried should bear this charge to pay
cxnenses--al although larger amount might De
carried at lower cost, and articles "nlch
would not bear four cts. per tor per nlie might
be carried at little over two CHS. Whon the
tariffs arc fixed, all companies should be com
PEELED to allow their cars to be used on othcr
roads of the same gauge at fixed per dtcm, the
bo n rpSnOnSlDlt
DAMAGES. and no company TO be allowed to
charge for handling which it does not DO; that
is, freight passing from one road to another
| should be charge by each road with only one
half the rate for handling, and II 1t passes over
third road, the intermediate road must maze
70 charge. Each road is to be allowed to TX
its own tariff on the principle stated: that Is,
by combination Of charges Tor handAng'
which arc constant for all distances, and the
rate for transportation, which varies according
to the distance, and Of course between the
maximum and minimum rates eSiabllsned.-
THIS qcouM abolish Discrimination IN ttr0r Of
dny one city,
if now it is necessary to reduce the rates to
compete for through tonnage, let it be done by
deducting per ccntdgc, say ten per ct. to one
point, twenty TO another, NC; but these deduc-
tons to these points without the State to pe
available 10 towns and cities in Virginia also
that is, for instance, if it is necessary to reduce
twenty per ct. TO carry freight from nc" orh
to Memphis, the Norfolk merchant should get
the benefit of the twenty per CT as well as the
New York merchant. On all classes carried
by mail train, the companies should be allowed
to charge fifty per ct. additional No Varla-
ton to be made from published freight tariffs,
under penalty, unless said variation be made
general SO that all persons may avail them
selves Of it,
Free tickets, except for charity, should be
abolished and if done, perhaps the maximum
rate allowed for passenger fare might be lower
cd It may be well to allow yearly tickets to
be sold at a low price. My opinion is that
there should be absolutely no free tickets, cX-
ccpt for charity, and to persons engaged IN
operating the road, and list OF those gwen
should be made and reported under oath. The
present system tends to corruption.
1t may be well to combine, say, the prcSl-
dents of the several companies, into a general
Board Of Directors, to carry cut this scheme,
which | think would make our roads protita
blc DO away with local Determinations !;
abolish the discrimination in favor OF northern
cities and large operators, and enable persons
to send produce and goods anywhere through
out the State, with through receipt, wherever
interest may desire This OF some similar plan
should be adopted We have no system now.
H. d. WHlTCOMB
Hon. j. B. Ba7drM, Speaker House Of Dele
gates.
How TO FIND TENDER FoWLs. Day
ton Journal publishes the following story OF
Plat Evans, which, though DID, will Go to
read again:
The famous Platt Evans Of Cincinnati, had
an original mode OF selecting fowls, which did
| him good service on one occasion. Going to
market one morning, Platt's attention was
caught by pile OF dressed geese, ina market
wagon. Now, PIatt was very fond of geese,
but liked them tender He had been deceived
in his selections, and resolved not to be fooled
again Approaching the farmer, Patt asked
the ''p-price of your geese for PIatt STAN
mered little. The larmerrcped when quoth
Plat: Il see you've got just d-dozcn. J.
k-keep BIB. boarders, ana they are the greatest
eatersyOu eycrsaw. Arc these geese t-t-tougn?
I want some though ones to feed my b-b- board
crs" The farmer said there were several young
and tender ones in the lot. "W-W-w well, sad
Plat, ~ y-you pick out the tough oncS and
lay them ii ap-p-p!lc. " The farmer Obliged
him, placing all the tough ones together, when
Piatt suddenly remarked q Nt-t-tako these
| LnrCc hCiDluo lnC luiCC yOEuS alitl lEHuCl
fowls which had been so carefully cu!lcd by the
| farmer.
CONGRESS- AND TIE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
The District of Columbia is in q worse predica-
ment than the unfortunate felIow-pupil Of
James I, who was compelled to suffer in bis
own person the penalties Of his royal master $
dclnquencies The Congress seems disposed
to try sundry experiments on the people Of the
District, in order to test the value Of their
schemes in reference to the South We do not
envy our fellow sufferers They are subjected
to many trials in order to ascertain which one
will be best for us-lhey will have the benefit Of
seycral-wc of one. So that we can only ex-
press our feelings in the language Of a discon-
solate widow, who is doubtless, an acquaint-
ancc Of our reader
| - LMhat Moor chnrt- Iii Cd un he