Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1866-02-23
FRIDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 20, 1865.

The Valley Railroad Bill has been take:
up in both Houses of the Virginia J.egisla
ture and has caused some spirited remarks
The great objection urged &c the bill is tina
it will ruin the other Railroads and lnateri
ally damage the future prosperity of thu
State This, the only objection, looks very
much like last resort to defeat the bill. A
charter has been granted which will bring
the Lower Valley, as far up as Harrisonburg,
in direct communication with points out Of
the State, and, consequently, the productions
Of that portion of the Valley will find their
markets elsewhere than in Virginia. BY
granting a charter to the Valley Railroad
the whole Valley would be in direct commu-
nication by railroad with all the prominen'
points in the State, and the trade of the Val
ley, instead of being compelled to leave the
State to find market, would find it's way to
the Virginia cities. 1t is objected that the
advantage to be gained, by thus securing the
trade of the Valley to Virginia, is more than
counterbalanced By the opportunity afforded
to the produce from the West and South
Vert to seek market further North. This
is equally a futile objection. The lines Of
communication which the Valley Railroad
would tap are the Va & Tenn. and the Cen
trail railroads and Canal All of these are
tapped by the Orange & Alexandria Rail
road. The distance from Salem to Balti-
more, by the Orange Road is shorter than
by the proposed Valley Road, and besides,
by the former, the mass Of freight would
have the advantage Of transportation the en-
tire length of two railroad lines as through
freight, the tariff on which is less than on way
freight, under which class it would fall if
transhipped at Salem. And likewise for the
Central Road and Canal, the tariff would be
less in proportion if the freight is transported
to Gordonsville and Lynchburg, respectively,
than if transhipped at the functions with the
Valley Railroad. For the same reason,
markets being equally desirable, the tcnden-
cy would be for freight to continue on the
through lines of communications to Rich
nond without transhipment at any point
Whether the latter would be the case or not,
would not be at all effected by the Valley
Railroad, for access to the Northern markets
is as easy and over shorter lines ofcommuni-
cation than it would be by the Valley Rail
road from any point of its crossing with these
railroads Or canal How any reasonable man
can argue that the Valley Railroad would
ruin the other railroads of the State and dam
age her future prosperity, when, if the rea-
soning is correct, more exaggerated causes
are at work now than could be brought into
play by the Valley Railroad, we of the Val
ley can not see. Such objections appear to
us simply desire to keep the Valley section
down, and cause US to regard the prcnoun-
cling, or approving of, highly wrought pane
gyrics on our section as Of no greater import
than passing wind We Of the Valley have
proven our devotion to the noble Old Com
monwcalth, and we still desire her greatest
prosperity, but if there is any thing which
will make US regard the old State with less
vcneration, it is to hear such weak objections
urged against matter of the primest i'm
portance to us, and which can not fail to ad-
vantage the whole State. The Valley peo-
pie need and must have the Valley Railroad,
and it were high time such frail and untena.
bic objections to it were left off in Virginia $
Legislative Halls.