The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-05-15
Oh AR ES T ON.
SATURDAY MORNING, NAY Is, 1869.
The savannah and Charleston Railroad

The news That contract has been enter
ed into with reliable persons for rebuilding
the Savannah and Charleston Railroad,
from tho present terminus, at Coosaw-
hstohts, to Savannah, has been received
with profound satisfaction, especially by
those who, like ourselves, were the strenu-
GUS advocates. of the legislative action
which, without sacrificing the interests Of
| the State or of any. class Of persons, has
given value to securities which otherwise
would have been worthless, and' has made
certain the early completion Of a most
important link: in tho chain Of Southern
travel. q. n25l,s.tq q a.xr,.. "a
cat the time that this paper first urged
upon the Lssislsture'the necessity Of assist
inng the Savannah and Charleston Railroad
Company to rebuild their road, the affairs
1.-THE company were in critical condition.
Tie saleef thsrssd, ahs wipipg out Of all
thsA old bonded debt butthe bonds gusran-
teed BY tie State, and the reorganization Of
the company with thsl lqld. second mortgage
bonds converted into stock, had been effec.
ted, and the new management had sue
ssedsd;. in the: face Of many difficulties,
in opening the road for traffic to Goo
sawhatchie. But there were no means for
carrying on the work. The bondholders,
amply secured IS they were by the State
guarantees were fretful and hard to please.
Speculative individuals, who saw . pros
peet Of profit in . thorough breaking up Of
the company and 9 radical reorganization.
urged the Legislature TO seiIe the road and
sell il, or complete it, for the benefit Of the
State. Doctors differed ss to the extent Of
the disease and the nature Of the remedy,
and when TIE CHARLEsroN News ander-
took to prove the necessity Of at once re-
building the road, and to, show that it
could be done with benefit to many and
with injury to none, there were few who
believed tast our efforts were likely to be
crowned with success. The whole subject
wss. thoroughly discussed in these columns,
and sfter.a long and wesrisome struggle the
Legislature consented to postpone the 6rst
lien which the State held on the road, to
guarantee the payment Of the bonds into
which the over due interest was to be
funded; and Is allow tho oompany to bor-
row the sum OF i've hundred thousand dol
lars to rebuild the road-this amount being
secured by clean first mortgage over the
whoIs Of :hs properly Of the company
|" Under the provisions Of this act Of the
General Assembly, the necessary bonds
were prepared, and the company have sign
ed cOntrspts for the rebuilding Of the road
through to Savannah: by Jsnusry 1st, while
fit is expected that the river will be'reaohed
and communication opened by that route as
early as the 1st Of October. So far, in an.
ever to those who said that the company
would not be able TO make arrangements
for reopening their road, and that one call
for help would be followed by another until
the State pocket and legislative patience
| we're alike exhausted.
Another objection was that the holders
Of The bonds guaranteed by the State would
be injured by the depreciation Of their
bonds which must follow the action Of the
State in allowing them to be overriden by
Q new first mortgage. Our position was
that these bonds were not secured by any
mortgage whatever, that the statutory mort.
gage was to secure the State or guarantor,
and that the bondhpldsrs must look for pay
ment to the State alone. This view was
sustained by the highest authorities, and
the new loan has been created. And what
is the result OF the whole movement? The
bonds guaranteed by the State (Which were
to be made worthless) are now selling at
so instead OF 40, the stock (the old second
mortgage) is selling at 20 instead of S, and
the new first mortgage bonds have been
taken by the contractors at 80 Nor should
this rapid appreciation of value be the
cause of surprise. The road before the
war cost at least three million Of dollars.
When completed to Savannah, it will have
100 miles of road well built and in good
order, worth at least two million, while the
whole bonded debt Of the company will be
no more than twelve hundred and fifty thou
sand dollars. The first mortgage bonds for
half million are secured by four times
that amount. The guaranteed bonds are
secured by the State. And the stockholders
have at least seven hundred and fifty
thosuand dollars in property as security
for their capital. These figures are suf-
acient to justify our course, and TO prove
that the plan adopted was that which was
best for the State, best for the bondholders
and stockholders, and best for the public at
large.
The opening Of the road dthroughout will
encourage communication between Charles
ton and Savannah; it will give now life to
the districts which it traverses, and bring