Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1869-01-19
For the Spectator.
Subscription to the Valley Rail Road.

For the Spectator.
Subscription to the Valley Rail Road.
The question to be determined by the voters
of this county, on the 9th of February, is not
one OF taxation or no taxation. But the real
issue is, shall we tax ourselves, for our own
benefit, or permit other persons to tax us for
the benefit of strangers Taxation for the lat
| ter purpose is inevitable. in the form of high
charges for freight for all time, by the Chesa
peake & Ohio r. r. unless we agree to cons
tribute to the extension of the Valley Road ::
that is, impose temporary tax upon our own
| property for our own benefit.
This result will be made evident by consid-
| Grafton of the following facts:
The Bait & Ohio Rail Road is at this time
transporting -four from Wheeling to Baltimore
distance of $50 miles, for y cents per BARREL
| or fraction under mills per mile. Whilst
| the Chesapeake & Ohio charges from Staun-
| ton to Richmond a distance of 1873 miles, 60
cents per barrel, or AZ mills per mile. Now
when the latter Road reaches the Ohio River,
| it will come into direct and active competition
with the Bait. & Ohio Road for the trade Of
the North West And in order to compete
successfully with that great Road, it will have
| to put its charges at the same rates. For ex-
ample, instead of changing for the Transports
ton of barrel of -four AZ mills per mile, as it
does now for the -four of Augusta, it will have
to carry Ohio -four at the Bait & Ohio Rail
Road rates, or less than 2 mills per mile per
barrel This low rate of charges for the trans
| portation of -four on the Bait & Ohio Rail
Road is the result of competition. But it
must be borne in mind that the completion of
the Chesa. & Ohio Rail Road will create no
| competition for the transportation of the sur
plus products of this county. The farmers will
be left, as they are at present, ''cabined,
cribbed, and confined to the Chesa & Ohio
Road; the only difference being that the road
will be burdened by the increase of transporta-
ton consequent On its extension to the Ohio,
and we all know the chance of aCdy freight, in
com petition W it'll through, when the traius are
crowded We will thus be left to the tender
mercies of the Chesa. & Ohio Rail Road, and
the measure of the charges upon the freights
Of the county, will be the necessities, or rather
the cupidity, of that corporation.
But in order that the Chesa. & Ohio Rail
Road may compete successfully with the Bait.
& Ohio, it will have to keep up the charges on
our productions; that is, upon all way freight.
For the higher the charges, and the larger the
profits derived from these, the better able will
it be to compete with its great rival for the car
rying trade Of the fertile, and prosperous, the
rich and radical, North West And thus too,
may any loss, it will sustain in this contest, be
reimbursed to its Golfers. 1t is evident that as
long as we have but single line of railway In
our county their will be no motive for the re-
duction Of our freights But on the other
hand whenever the Chesa. & Ohio reaches it's
Western terminus, the strongest and most in
fuential motives will be brought into operation,
not only to keep up, but actually to increase
the present high charges. 1t Is evident that
the excess of charges for carrying Augusta
-four, over that charged for Ohio flour by the
Chesa & Ohio Road, will measure the amount
of tax the farmers of this county will have to
pay for the benefit of the farmers of Ohio. [
feel fully warranted in the conclusion that if
the Valley Road is extended, the charges for
the transportation of -four from the county,
will not exceed the present rates of the Bait.
& Ohio Road. Because we will then have ac
tive competition between rival roads for the
freights of the county, and the effect of com
petition is the same the world over, and cannot
be different in the county of Augusta from
what it is upon the banks of the Ohio. The
effect Of competition in the reduction OF Rail
Road charges can have no more striking illus
tration than in the fact that the Bait. Y Ohio
Road carries -four from Wheeling to Balti
more over a road whose grades at some points
exceed one hundred feet to the mile, at less
than two mills per barrel per mile, whilst the
| Chesa & Ohio charges AZ mills per mile from
| Staunton to Richmond, over Road whose
grades do not exceed IS feet to the mile,
Now the completion OF the Valley Road pro-
ducing these results, let us examine their eff
| fects upon the interests of this county rg ses-
[ have already stated that the Bait & Ohio
| Road transports barrel of -four from Wheel
/ ing to Baltimore for two mills per mile, and
that the Chesa. & Ohio Road from Staunton
to Richmond, charges Al mills per mile. A
difference of q mills per mile Now the ex>
tension of the Valley Road securing to us the
4 e Al fln
| Bait & Ohio Road, the result will be the sa
wing of % mills per mile upon every barrel of
-four sent from the county by Rail Road, and
will save upon every barrel sent from Staunton
to Richmond 80 cents, and estimating the sur
| plus -four of the county at only 10000 barrels
year, We will have an aggregate saving to the
county on the single article of -four of ST 6, 200,
a sum greater than the annual interest upon
the amount we are called upon to subscribe. :
But if we fail to secure the extension of the
Valley Road, which we will certainly do if we
refuse to make this subscription, this sum of
$4,000 will just measure the annual tax we
will be paying on our -four alone for the bene-
fit of the good people of Ohio and other
States of the West. will not stop to esti-
mate the enormous sum to which this will be
swelled if we take into the account all the other
products of our industry exported from the
county, and then add to them what is imported
for consumption, such as plaster and other fer
| tilzers, salt, &c, NC. ea1orIs2
These benefits resulting from competition be.
tween rival roads will enure equally to the ad-
vantage of every part of the county, and not
be confined to that section through which the
road may happen to be located. For every cent
taken off the cost Of getting barrel Of -four
to market, adds just that much to its price in
the hands of the producer. Hence, although
A, may not be brought really any nearer a de-
pot than he is at present, yet this reduction In
the cost of transportation will enure as much
to his benefit as it will to that of B, who hap
pens to have his farm adjoining depot.
The beauty of this honorable emulation bes
tween two or more competing Rail Roads is,
that the large benefits flowing from it diffuse
themselves over every part of the community,
and are not confined to favoured localities. The
reduction of freight consequent upon the ex-
tension of the Valley Road will be enjoyed
equally by New Hope and Parnassus, and the
interests of Barterbrook will be promoted as
much as those of Spring Hill. So that there
is no ground for any feeling of opposition on
the part of the 'East Side because the Road
may possibly be located along the 'WestSide. .
The truth being that the great and permanent
benefits which the extension Of the Valley
Road into our midst will confer upon the
county, will be felt from the centre all round
to the circumference And therefore there is
no foundation for any feeling of local prejudice
or jealousy, in regard to this great work, for in
the countless benefits it will confer, all our peo-
pie, and every part Of our noble old county
must participate It is true there are certain
casual and Incidental advantages, which will bt