The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-01-28
The Great State Schemes.


/ The Great State Schemes.
We surrender our own editorial space
to-day to very clear paper upon the suo'
;ect of the great State projects for com
Melting the connections between the Vir-
oin;a sea-shore and the Mississippi valley
The initials affixed to this paper indicate
,ts vell-informed and able author. II Is
chiefly devoted to the financial and consti-
tu,ional points involved in these schemes
and Is particularly worthy Of consideration
~The financial point is briefly and clearly
presented, and the constitutional q"e'T W.
Is argued with ingenuity and force. w
believe there is no great difiicu"' "
the most Of the leading members Oh INC
Legislature upon this point. Do.h the De,
nate and House Committees on Roads and
rn,ernal Navigation are satisfied that there
i no constitutional difficulty In the way Of
the pending projects. They only regard
the question Of erpediency as one now TO be
considered. But to the paper:
THE PROPOSED TRANSFER OF STATE
STOCKS FOR THE COMPLETION OF GER
TAIN RAILROADS. IN CONSIDERATION
OF THE MILL TAX on TONNAGE AND
TRAvEL-THE FINANCIAL ExPEDi
ENCY AND THE CoNSTITUTIoNALlTY
OF THE MEASURE.
Bills are pending before the General As
sembly proposing 10 transfer the States IN
terest in certain railroads TO certain JOINT
companies, which are 10 be composed OF two
: or more existing railroad corporations, In con-
alteration: first. Of these joint companies
completing certain through lines within Ger
tain periods and, second, that the companies
receiving these interests Of the State shall pay
a perpetual tax Of one mill per ton and one
mill per passenger per mile upon their tonnage
and travel.
These transfers cannot be justified unless 1t
can be shown In each case first, that the
State win be fully compensated pecuniarily
for the values thus transferred; and, second,
that they are free from constitutional ohlec-
ton Let us examine each Of these branches
of the subject in turn.
The Financial Erpediency Of the Measure.
In ascertaining the value of the considera-
ton received by the State, each case must
stand upon its own merits. Let us consider al
present the example Of the line of roads ex-
tending from Norfolk to Cumberland Gap
The par value Of the States interest in the
companies composing that line Is, in round
numbers, IS, 900, exclusive OF the cancelled
debt Of NJ, 600, 900 claimed against the Virginia
and Tennessee railroad. It's real value II SOLD
in market At present prices would be less than
&l,5O0 900. This is the interest proposed TO be
transferred in consideration of the completion
OF the line TO Cumberland Gap, and OF the
payment of the mill tax on the tonnage ana
travel passing over the whole line; which IS
just 500 miles in length.
On this length of road the mill tax will pay
lust 800 mills or fifty cents, upon every throueh
ton and every through passenger ana the
equivalent rate on way tonnage ana Iafei.
The inquiry on this head, therefore, SIMPLY
resolves itself into an estimate OF the NUMBER
of tons and passengers that Will PROBABLY
move on this line. We have no data for TINS
estimate other or better than are furnished by
the actual operations of through lines already
completed north of us. The inference that
this line will carry a tonnage and traVel ap-
proximating that moving on northern lines
will be safe, because this line presents shorter
distances TO the seaboard from the western cen
tres Of trade, fewer impediments in the form
of high grades, and fewer and briefer inter-
ruptions from ice snow, and the casualties
incident to the severe weather of winter.
These advantages are very great and decided
and they are opposed only by the greater
power of the northern lines derived from Their
superior capital But nature is stronger even
than wealth; and if we have the natural ele-
ments working in our favor, energy and per
severance will bear of the victory. We stul-
tify ourselves if, with every natural advantage
on our side we yield the victory in advance,
and insist that we shall fail to secure results
commensurate with those achieved by more
northern railroads.
What. then, is the tonnage Of those lines,
eauated to through tennagef What the travel
similarly equated' Official reports for the New
York Central and Pennsylvania Central roads
give the data from which the following equated
quantities and numbers are deduced, showing
the tonnage and travel in 1856 on those two
great lines equated to equivalent through ton.
mage and travel The Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company alleges that "for reasons
which need no explanation " ii gives no return
or analysis of the tonnage, with its mileage,
hauled on its road and we are thus deprived
of the valuable assistance which the statistics
of that road would afford in this investiga-
ton We only know that its trade is not infe
rioI 10 that Of more northern lines. The fol-
lowing are the figures of the two roads
named New York Central-l ,Ool, 900 tons
$4,000 passengers. Pennsylvania-l,lsj,76 200
tons; 40, 900 passengers.
It is certainly fair to assume, in view of the
foregoing figures, that shorter route from
the western trade centres 10 the seaboard, and
ha 4
terror destination, will command a tonnage
equivalent TO 100, COO through tons, and travel
equivalent to $4,000 through passengers. If
so, what would be the tax paid by this line to
the State on such business? Fifty cents a
ton would pay $s75,ooo on the freights, and
nifty cents passenger would pay &l25,OO0 on
the travel, making a total revenue OF $500, 000
This would he nine per cent. per annum on
the States investment in the line of s. 700, 600
estimated al par value. 1t would be thirty
three per cent If estimated on u, 800, 900, the
present value If the investment. A freight of
100000 tons, and travel Of $50, 900 passengers,
would pay six per cent. on the par value of the
investment A freight Of only 200 900 tons, and
travel of only 100000 passengers, would pay
ten per cent on 81, SOC, 900, which is the present
actual market value of the proposed invest
ment. II Is thus apparent that the State could
we'll afford TO make the proposed transfer OF
property TO this Norfolk and Cumberland Gap
line Of roads. gt
The policy Of the States retiring from her
present partnership in railroads IS very OBJ
yious. For twelve years she has held her pre-
sent investments in them without receiving
dividends, and the prospect Of receiving them
is worse than ever. 1t is proposed that she
shall dispose Of stocks that have never and
will never pay any income, In such q manner
as cannot fail TO return remunerative annu-
ity N treasury