The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1867-06-26
CHESAPEAKE AND OHIO RAILROAD.
letter from Hon. ]. B. Baldwin.
STAUNToN, June 5, 1867.

| l1obert,H. W1ufy, Esq
My DEAR SIR-Y ours of the 4th inst
| is Just received, and I hasten to reply
The letter of General Lee was written in
answer. to one from me, sending hima copy
Of the pamphlet published by our com
missioners. The letter Of such man, on
such subject, containing no restriction
uron the use to be made of it, | regard
as public property. and as such you are
at liberty to use it. I sent the original
to friend in New York, who takes a
lively interest in the success Of the Gov
ington and Ohio road, and who, in ac-
knowledging the receipt Of it, says:
ssThe letter Of General r. u. Lee will
be valuable not only for the furtherance
Of the enterprise, but, to me, it will be a
souvenir which will be kept with great
care,as coming from great and good man;
a man whose character, in my estimation,
has no superior"
l see, from the Dispatch" of this morn
ing, that our contract has been signed, at
Wheeling, by the West Virginia Com
missioner, and I hope that the meeting
called for Friday night is an earnest Of
the purpose of the Central Railroad and
the city Of Richmond to enter at once
upon this great work, with a full sense of
its vital Importance to every interest 10
Virginia, and especially toalltha concerns
the manufacturing and commercial future
Of the State. a (.
I wish [ could be present at the meet
ing, but / find that professional and pri-
vate business, too long postponed for mat
tiers Of mere public concern, imperatively
demands my preasent undivided atten-
ton.
The more I think of the arrangement
made with the Central Railroad the bet
ter like it, and the more I see in it of
hope and promise for thegreat work about
which we have thought and talked and
worked SO earnestly together. Allow me
to state very briefly, few of the reasons
which give me such encouragement:
e l. The Covington and Ohio Road, stand
ing alone, has had merit enough to at
tract the earnest interest Of such men as
Pell and Cottenet and Grinnen and Cut
ting and Fish, and to induce them to
make active efforts to obtain the funds by.
negotiation in Europe to enable them to
undertake and construct the road as an
independent work. These gentlemen are
no mere spectators Or charter brokers,
they stand in the very front rank Of in
telligent, sagacious men of capital and Of
character, whose well considered approval
OF the enterprise goes as far as human
judgement will, to stamp the work as
one Of real, substantial merit.
2. These gentlemen. when planning
the construction Of the Covington and
Ohio road, as an Independent work, as a
matter Of course had III their contempla-
ton the benefits and advantages to be
derived from connection with the Vir-
ginia Central road, as a means Of receiy-
ing and forwarding trade and travel. But
they had no expectation Of any financial
connection between the two roads, and
certainly, they never anticipated the pos
sibility of making an arrangement by
which the two roads, when completed,
should be worked together in such man
ner as to give to the Coyington and Ohio
road the entire earnings of their whole
line, to the extent Of eight per cent. upon
it's full cost before the Central road should
receive one dollar, and yet this is the
effect of our recent contract. .
3. The whole line, from Richmond to
the Ohio, is four hundred and twenty
eight miles long, of which the Coving-
ton and Ohio is two hundred and twenty
three miles, and the Central is two hun
dred and five miles. IF completed, and
worked as separate establishments, having
all the benefits Of the connection in trade
and travel, but with distinct accounts and
profits there could be no doubt that the
Central road of two hundred and five
miles would be far more valuable and
profitable than the Covington and Ohio
road Of two hundred and twenty three
miles. The new arrangement, however,
proposes that all the profits shall cote the
Covington and Ohio road until they reach
eight per cent. upon the outlay for its con
struction, and then that the Central road
shall begin its receipts out Of the common
earnings.
4. The stockholders of the Central
Railroad could never have been induced
to consent to such an arrangement, ex-
cept upon the conviction that the road,
when completed tothe Ohio river, will pay
eight per cent on the entire cost, aud
thus in the end bring about. equality
| among the owners of the two divisions of
the road. It may be that the real result
will fall somewhat short of this expecta-
ton, but it is hardly possible that it will
failso entirely as not to insure the eight
| per cent. upon the outlay for the. Coyingg-
ton ond Ohio road. A profit Of four or
| FIVE per cent. on the entire line would be
ample to meet the requirement Of the
| eight per cent. stock, and the experience
Of all the great through lines establishes
such aresult as among the ccrtainties Of
railroad enterprise. Even the Central
road, in its incomplete state, before the
war, was actually paying SIX per cent. on
its debt and five per cent. on its stock, be-
sides setting apart a sinking fund.
5. The best consideration | have been
able to giyethe subject satisfies me beyond
doubt that the preferred stock, for com.
pleting the Covington and Ohio road, will
be reliable eight per cent. stock, free OF
taxation. IF this conviction can be i'm
| pressed upon the minds Of capitalists the
making of the road may be considered an
accomplished fact, and it seems to me that