Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1868-02-15
The re,as Central RallFaaa

all possible dispatch, have eminent
IA entitled that company ~ the
thanks Of the whole country. We
learn that they have nav quite "a
large force on the hiliy section be-
Nonl bryan city, where the cast at
grading alone, will amount 10 shout
stat 00 gold per mile Very soon
the fare will DO increased IA the
eqaiValant Il one thousand hands,
ia the men aud mule teams engaged
in ihe cutting and filling All their
bridges and eulveris have abnimenls
na.e of solid stone masonry and
iron, and the same imperlshahle
material has now been substituted
fir the wood at frsl usel on nearly
the whole length Of the road, There
is no doubt that the section beyond
bryan city will he completed and
Ia operation by September, as re-
gnircd by tho law Of the State, the
ir7n being already purchased,
Our readers have already been In
formed that the ccntral Railroad
company purchased the Washington
county road from Hampstead 10
Br,nham some time ago. since which
time he trains from llemstead to
rreuham have run with great rcgn'
lariiy. This road, We understand,
has been greatly improved by the
large amount of work done upon il
since tho above purchase, I ho
hri.lgc over the BraZos river is also
huing built entirely now, aud will
lie completed in about two weeks
more. Instead ola single span Of
Two hundred and sixty feet, the new
fri,hce IL bnilt with n strong pier In
the centre giving great additional
strength aud security, by having
the ,pans Of only one hundred and
thirty feet each, The company will
soon have two abutments anl Get
trail pier of stone. masonry AMI the
entire supers,ructure Of iron,
Tho same Central Railroad Com
pany have lately purchased the en-
lire interest of Col. Sledgc in the
Air Line railroad from BRENNAN to
Austin, on which some grading has
already been done The company
now proposes to Pr osccutc this en-
tHrp::::3e simultaneously with the
main Central road, so that by the
time (say two years hence the Cen
trail reaches Red River, the Air
Line road will reach Austin.
The plan adopted by this compa-
ny, which has been attended with
such success, is TO issue bonds on
the last section of twenty five miles
completed, to enable them to com
plctc tho next section, and they will
pursue the samo policy in building
the Airline road to Austin. issuing
their first bonds on the Washington
County road already paid for, Their
bonds bear an interest ofonl Y seven
per cent, payable semi.annually in
New York, where they are made,
ind rs they have always promptly
paid the interest, the bonds are
readily negotiable at par. The iron
already purchased for the section
beyond Bryan city, was paid for by
these bonds at par on the previous
completed section, and the pur-
chase made at the lowest cash
price. No one can doubt that the
present successful prosecution of the
Central railroad and its branches,
is entirely attributable TO the admi
r.blc management which has cstab-
fished its credit on solid basis, so
that the work done and purchase
materials at the lowest cash price.
The primary cause Of SO many
discrcdit0ble railroad failures and
so much consequent disappointment
TO tl.e public, las been the fact that
most or these roads have been
started on fictitious capitol, the only
basis being the school fund and
land bonuses of the State, and hence
the bonds have boon sold at most
enormous discount, and even at that
discount the purchasers have gcn-
orally been badly iwindled, few of
the leading operators pocketing the
proceeds. Even the Central rail
road, we believe, has had some dear
bought experience in this way, in
its past history. The road from
this city to Houston affords a pref
ty forcible illustration of the disas-
trous specializing policy to which
We allndc rs is shown from the fact
that it has cost-as had been stated
by good authority-over seven mil
lions Of dollars in outstanding bonds,
exclusive of the bridge over this
bay, and also of the junction road at
the other cnd, with its bridge over
Blffalo bayou, the former being
built by this city and the latter by
II separate committee.
We sincerely hope our past bitter
experience may prove to be prof
table lesson for tho future. Who
can estimate the extent to which
our State and people have suffered
from our railroad mismanagement
during nearly twenty years past
Had our railroads been commenced
and prosecuted on the same cash
basis with which the Central is now
prosecuted, it is safe to assert that
the population and wealth of Texas
would have been nigh double what
they now are.
We are glad to learn that the
Harrisburg railaoad has also now
nm encouraging prospect of sur
mounting the many difficulties it
has had to encounter. We expect
soon TO say something concerning
this important road--Gat. Ners.
BSHAM MASONIC MALE AND FE-
MALE School. request from the