The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1868-03-25

$500
Address Of Gen. Henry A. Wise to the PEG.
pie Of the County Of Augusta, on the sub. !
iect of completing the Covington 4 Ohio
MilEthd, and Of shortening the line Of
the Central to Richmond at their Court /
Oh Monday, the 23d of March, 1868.
FI1Low CIT,zEss: |
The materials contained in the Address Of
the President of the Central Railroad and the |
facts we'll known to you all bearing on the CUES
ton of your subscription to the Stock Of this
Great Work, leave nothing for me to do but
to groupe them as well as | can, and present
them to community as highly intelligent of
their own Interests and sensitive to their own
honor, as are the people of good Old Angus
ia. Your interests aud honor, involved, are
an immense stake to you and your postcrity,
and the labor [ take in the matter is with me
"a labor of love-
Hallowea as arc the "reminiscences of her
heroic patriotism in my recollections, I love
this town of Staunton. The hope of the Faith
er of his Country took refuge once in the
mountain land Of West Augusta, and | now
come to all that is left of that land in name,
to the centre of Old Virginia, to see whether
Her Heart yet pulsates to feel its pulse and
see whether it beats as it was won't to beat in
times past Ito satisfy my own hearts yearn-
ings that it yet hath vital warmth and sensi-
bility enough to send forth and keep flowing
current of life, a circulation of blood and
Grass sufficient to restore health and strength
to the crushed Body Polite of this once hon
ored aud still loved Commonwealth! | come
~ H..
members Of that Body, but to appeal to the
Heart itself and remind it, that if it does net
expand itself and give forth nutriti. n. the
whole Body must die, and if the body dies
the Heart itself must cease 10 beat. | come
to stimulate it into action, that itself may
live and in living give new life to all. the
. other members aud parts Of the Body of the
State Il desire to convince you that you
must take your part in the functions and OPP
Grafton of the general system and that you
owe'it to yourselves and to all to play great
part That system is now in the feebest
condition, and must soon be re-invigorated
or the whole Body and all its parts will SURF
" die and each part for itself must DO ito
part for the whole, so that all may live.
1t was said by Goethe, that great modern
Master whose poetry psrtook both Of Roman
and Greek graces as we'll as Of the Gothic
q grandeur of Germanic romanecs =" Let as
+. ,eucourageih beautiful, tie useful aciW take
care oflase!f" Alas in Virginia the ''use
ful" has not Htaken care of itself" in respect
to Public Works | reverse the aphorism OF
Goethe and say to you that if you acW take
care Of the psetm, the beautiful soW eoer
adorn ssfAe useful" With the wreaths
and garlands of grace from every pedestal
to every capital of its columns of sup
port. The rude rails and cross lies and
deep cuts and dark tunnels, and black and
monster like Engines of the Railroad shall
: bring to YOU population and wealth and arts
and sciences which shall WOO and win every
Establishment of every grace Of the House
hold Gods of Earth. Fortunately, we need
not discuss at this day, in these times, before
this people, the problem long ago solved =
"Whether Railroads are useful = They are
now known and felt to be more absolute ne
acessities in this age than the plough, the
loom. the anvil or the mill that grinds our
corn. This whole continent has realized the
truth that none of its parts can progress, or
thrive, or live in civilized comfort and conve-
nience without their power to populate a
country and promote its production. The
question for YOU to decide is whether the
completion of this particular Road is SO nee
essary to your progress and prosperity as to
iastify-aye, demand your subscription OF
$500, 900 to it
s9l In answering this question, SO important to
q you, the first leading idea which presents it
self most prominently is the fact Hat yoat
haze otyertly the Central Railroad running
through you requiring only to be shortened
East,oara to Richmond, and to be fastened
I on its way Westward as far as the falls Of the
q Kapawha; making main link OF the entire
CAesap eake 81 Ohio line when completed ;
aud now by Legislation, and it seems to me
necessarily. the Central Railroad is linked to
the Chesapeake l. Ohio entire line, and has
bravely contracted to build the entire line.
with the aid of the subscriptions Of the towns
aud counties on the way-side, and the towns
and counties on the way side are therefo
linked to the Cegtral Railroad, The Central,
shortened, is directly linked to Richmond /;
and Richmond by the james river is natural
ri lyJ linked by navigation to the mouth Of the
chesapeake Bay, in the very centre Of the
Atlantic Coast of the Continent. Westward,
: the proposed completion will link you TO the
: navigation Of the Kanawha and Ohio rivers,
and the mouth of the Ohio is the centre of
the Mississippi Valley, midway between the
Northern Lakes and the Gulf Of Mexico
Thus the completion Of the Corington 4 Ohio
westward, and the shortening of the Central
eaftward. will complete the Chesapeake y
Ohio line, by the shortest route OF the easiest
- grade, connecting the centres Of the M'ssls-
.Gppi and Ohio rivers Valleys with the centre
d OF tie Atlantic at the finest Site for Mart
: !. Of Importation and expectation in the world
;: vet to be developed, and that route is your
route eastward and westward.
IS Tbs next idea is, that as soon as your east
h ern3 link with Richmond is shortened, and
your western link with the Falls OF the ka-
snawha is completed, which can be done lp
/, Years at the most, the line will yield an ina
& meuse profit, and guarantees in fact divi-
deud Of per cent per annum. With these
s facts before us, the questions force themselves
upon you at once: c,,
4s4 list: IL such line likely to be profitable at
ALI
2as Is is likely to be more profitable to any
& mart of Virginia than to Augusta