Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1869-01-26
For the Spectator.
Vote for the Valley Railroad

the Valley Railroad. IF our people will take
a calm view OF the question, Invested of all
passion and prejudice, they will not fail to see
how greatly they must be benefited nv this
Road. Our County already stands foremost in
wealth of all the counties Of the State: this is
abundantly shown IN late article in the En-
quaTer and Exan',ner, which the Spectator will
no doubt repubsh- But great as her wealth
already IS, It's small In comparison with what
1t Will be, 1t her people will only display
proper energy and enterprise in developing her
magnificent resources; they owe, this to them
selves, to their children, and to the kind Prov
ldence who has given them such a goodly land
for their inheritance.
We have already a Railroad running East
and w est across our County, giving us the ad-
vantage of the markets of Richmond and Nor
folk; what we now need to complete our pros
perity is Road which shall cross it North and
South, and connect us directly with another
and greater market that of Baltimore. We
would then have the advantage of two markets
competing by direct lines for our products, and
two railroads competing. for the carrying of
them. Now, does not the veriest smpleton
know, that if he has anything to sell, he can
generally get better price for it if there are
two persons wanting to buy, than if there were
but one; and can any one doubt that the rival
cities Of Baltimore and Richmond will bid
against each other for our trade? Again, it
takes not very wise man to understand that
if he has anything which he wishes carried to
market, that he can get it taken cheaper, if
there are two parties who are eager to carry it,
than if there were but one man who had the
monopoly of the carrying business, and who
could therefore say, If you want any carrying
done you must pay me what choose to de-
mand, for there is no one but myself who can
ri II f,r vo,, - Now Raltin,oro OWNS ;vtor
est in great part of the line from here to
Baltimore, and Richmond owns large interest
in the line from here to Richmond, so that it
will be uanifestly to the interest of these cities,
when they are brought into direct competition,
to put the freights On their respective roads
down to the lowest possible figure, in order to
get our trade But these cities will not only be
each DESTROYS Of buying from US, but each will
also be eager to sell to us, and therefore will
find it to their interest to have the freights on
dry goods, groceries, plaster artificial nlanures,
and indeed on eForythlng We buy from them,
put as low as possible in order to induce us to
buy. So that with two competing cities, and
two rival Roads, we will sell everything we
have to dispose of, and buy everything we need
to buy, on better terms than at present Now
if the farmers of Au 5usta, under the advan-
tsge Of two Yosds, gTll be abla to set their flour
to market cheaper by 25 cents per barrel than
they do at present and that this will be the
case, has been and can be demonstrated
saving On the freight Of -four alone will every
year amount to nearly or quite the whole year
ly tax that will be imposed on the county in
consequence of its subscription to the Valley
Road. If, for instance, farmer owns land
valued at ten thousand dollars, the Railroad
tax on his land would not exceed twenty dol
lars, and if this same farmer has surplus Of
L., t.,I, ,t,c.~ L.. l.
for sale, he would get it taken to market at %
cents per barrel cheaper than at present, by
which he would save $780, which would pay
his tax and leave Sl7.50 of clear gain in his
pociset. Hut, as we nave already argued, he
will save not only on the transportation Of his
wheat, but on his corn, rye, cats, cattle, hogs,
and everything else he sends to market: or if
he sells these same things ia Staunton the
merchants can afford to give him better prices
for them, just in proportion as the freights are
lower.
The building Of the Valley Railrosd will also
greatly ENHANCE the VALUE Of our lands. A
rise in the price OF lands naturally and inva>
rlably follows whenever any section Of country
is penetrated by Railroad. A late issue of
an agricultural paper speaking of Farming
railroad, or CLOSE proximity to gater aommu-
In fixing AfgA price on land than any other
one consideration. The reason is obvious
the greater the facility and the less the cost to
the farmer of getting his surplus products to
market, the larger are his net profits and, Of
course, the larger the profits are which can be
made from land, the greater will be- not only
the price, but also the real TGtus OF the land. =
Let us suppose the case of two farms Of equal
fertility, one so near to Railroad that it costs
only 30 cents to market a barrel of -four. the
other so distant that it costs 60 cents to get
barrel to market; now let US suppose that on
each OF fhess farms Islty acsas arg in wheat,
and that each OF them produces l50 barrels Of
flour. In the one case it will cost $45 to mar
ket the -four, in the other it will cost double,
that Is 500 to do the same. One farmer there's
fore pockets S45, every year, from his fifty
acres: more than the other does. Now this
$40 represents the interest at per cent on
$3.50 Is not therefore the fifty acres in the
one case worth $3.50 more than the fifty acres
IN the other, Or, which is the same thing,
ought not the one tract to sell for ST. more per
acre than the other tracts
Or, let Us suppose the case Of farmer who
every year culti7ates fifty acres of land in
wheat, and raises $50 bushels, or $50 barrels of
flour. lie has been in the habit Of paying lat
gu cents per barrel) the sum Of $50 yearly to
get his crop to market; but another Railroad
comes along the Valley Railroad for instance
which will carry his -four at So cents a barrel,
and ne thus saves % cents on each barrel
which amounts to q saving OF $3.50 every
year On bis wheat crop. In other words, in
consequence Of it's costing him less to get his
Hour to market, his fifty acres now yield him,
every year, $37. so more than they did before !;
now S3t % Is the interest at 6 per cent on
sos ought not then the fifty acres to sell for
500 more than they would have sold tor be-
tore, Or, which is the same thing are not the
nifty acres REALLY WORTH $3.50 more, per
acre, to the farmer than formerly?
Many men admit that Railroads raise the
price OF land but then they say, I'VE don't
want the price of our lands raised, because we
don want to sell But the truth is, as shown
above, Railroads raise the price of lands, be-
cause they really odd to their VALUE, and that
increased value is the same whether a man
continues to hold his land and to pocket the
additional profits, or whether he chooses to sell
1t at the advanced price. Il one should pros
pose to any man owning a tou-thousand- dollar
farm, that he should spend twenty dollars a
year Tor i've years IN manurlng 1t, offering him
a reasonable certainty that at the end OF the
five years his land would, by this means, be
worth, IN the market, taCelce thousand dollars,
he would scarcely refuse to do so. Why then
should the same man refuse to be taxed twenty
dollars year for five years, for the purpose OF
building Railroad through his county, which
will make his land equally worth at least twelve
thousand dollars, whether he holds 1t himself,
or sells it, Or wills it to his children, with this
difference In favor of the Railroad, that it will
last forever, while the effects Of the manure
would speedily disappear under careless cult
walton.
Want of space forbids me to say more, but l