The day book. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 1857-1867, 1866-09-11

the State groans, contracted in aid of said
roads not as Investments, but for the develop
ment Of the States resources, for the benefit
of all its interests, and all classes of the pop
ulation, for the advantage Of the city aud
country; merchant and farmer, equally and
alike. These general considerations should
not be forgotten, but should be respected and
deferred to, while the local interests to be
subserved by tie road, and tie particular in :
terests of the stockholders, are sought after
and pursued. 7H
We are sorry to say, that reasonable and
indisputable as is everything that we have
above laid down, the present management Of
SONS Of our Improvement interests Is in fla
grant contrast The great lines which lead
through cur State, have entered upon, or be-
come involved in, such com petitions that
everything is disregarded except The interests
of the stockboders-if even these are not
compromised. We must put the blame where
it seems to belong. Tbs policy Of railroad
combination which. has teen 80 persistently
pressed on tho Southside, has made Of Peters
burg q mere way-station between Lynchburg
and Norfolk Nay, as carried out, it has
made of Norfolk mere landing on the way
TO Baltimore and the North. The contriyer
Of all this, had be not been disappointed of a
part of his scheme, would have done as much
for LynchbnrS; f3r it was sought to include
the Virginia and TENNESSEE Railroad in the
consolidation. Freight received at Bristol, "a
the Tennessee line, would then have been
spirited through the State without pause or
tarry las if our own cities had been made to
groan with debt, for the express purpose of
hurrying all trade away from themselves and
out Of the State, with the greatest possible
despatch. 1t is thus tI,ar onr railroad system
is now managed 4-
Nor is this all; nor is this the worst. At
Baltimore two rival lines meet and struggle
for freight; viz, the Orange and Alexandria
Railroad, and the Southsids combination. 1t
would naturally be supposed that Alexandra
would be the place where the one would WOO
trade, while Norfolk would be the base of
operations of the other. But not so. Balti-
more is the point Of divergence for trade and
travel to the one route or to the other; and to
Baltimore they both go, and a rivalry ensues
there which is extremely baleful in its effects
on the trade of Virginia, 80
The line from Baltimore by steamers to
Norfolk, and thence by rail to Lynchburg, is
we believe $50 miles longer than that by rail
via Alexandria and GordonsviIle This dis
advantage both of distance and time. the
Southside combination seeks to overcome by
reducing rates, aud by undertaking. This
causes concessions by the rival .roi,te; and to
such an extent has reduction been carried, On
all freight that has to be thus fought for
that is, all freight to or from Baltimore, that
transportation to all points in Virginia on
either Of the lines referred to, is less from Ball
timore than from the city of Richmond TIL
city Of Richmond which pays nearly oue.thi d
of the taxes levied on the State, and Which Ii
of the States indebtedness for these very
railroads, thus fndsa premium offered to take
the trade of the State away from her!
This is crying evil; nay it is a crying out
ragel Why does not the Board Of Public
Works look into this thing2 From THAT we
have been able to learn, we believe that Presi-
dent Malone is chiefly responsible for it,
with his combination schemes and his compe-
ttion for class of trade that time and dis
lance deny him We believe his combina-.
ton is great evil to the State, in its various
interests. 1t may be facility in the Balti-
more struggle But our railroads have no
business going there to sacrifice the State
with their riyalriesi Let them all be content,
las we believe all the other roads would be
content, with The business that would natu.
rally and fairly come to them at our own
borders. Let our grand through lines make
Ales andria and Norfolk their entrepets their
headquarters, and let the railroads of our
State, built by oar own people at cost
which this day presses them to the earth, be
administered 50 as to build up our own inter-
ests of every kind Our cities and our coun-
ties,-our merchants our farmers and our
manufacturers and mechanics A pretty
business truly if Virginians took upon them
selves mountain of debt under which they
now groan like Atlas, simply to establish two
rival lines between Bristol and Baltimore,
whose competition should reduce transporta-
ton between those two termini and all inter-
vening points, to rates less than TO and from
their own capital! vas-s
-------~--s---~-----4--- ,e 4