The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1869-01-06
For the Standard.

Railroad Company to Consolidate their
Road with the Atlantic and North Ca
Folina Railroad
The interests of the State of North Caro-
lima demand, LIST, That her merchants, pro-
tlucers and consumers shall have their goods
and produce transported to and from the
| State In the cheapest and most expeditions
manner possible. End, That the transport
! ing of such goods and produce shall as tar as
possible be done by lines in which the State
or her citizens are directly interested. And
3rd, That the transportation lines owned
and controlled within the State shall ENJOY
| in addition to the immediate trade oil the
! State as much as possible OF through traffic
| between points situated without the State
limits These propositions, imagine, re-
| auiie no demonstration 10y argument-they
! will be sef-evident to every letircting mind.
| 1t remains to be seen by what line of policy
| the State can most effectually secure to her
| self the conditions which l have named
above as essential to her welfare. list, As
to cleapness and expedition, a continuous
| rail rnute between North Carolina and
| Northern cities is, surprising it to be even
practicable, thing of The future. The pro-
| ducts of the State on their way to Northern
ports must of geographical necessity seek
| the seaboartl for transportation. There are,
| therefore, two questions to be solved-first,
the cheapest method of getting goods to and
from the seaboard; and second, the cheapest
| mode of transportation by sea from the sea-
board to Northern ports, always considering,
with reference to both, that quickness and
| frequency of despatch must be concomtant
with cheapness. Let us assume as basis
of argument that the cost of cotton trans
portation is one dollar per bale for each one
hundred miles. The distance from Colds
boro' to Morehead City is So miles, and from
Goldsboro' to Portsmouth 1G0 miles. 1t
would therefore cost ninety-five cents per
bale for cotton from Goldsboro' to the coast
via Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad,
and one dollar and sixty cents per bale from
Goldsboro' to Portsmouth, showing as far as
the rail routes are concerned an apparent
advantage of eighty cents per bale in favor
of the Neuse River route. The question of
the cost of sea transportation has next to be
settled. By long experience and compari-
son it has been demonstrated to the salts
faction of all parties interested in steam
ship lines that merchandise can he brought
from the Capes of Virginia at 60 per cent
of the cost of bringing it from points South
of Hatteras. Assuming the cost of cotton
transportation from the Virginia ports TO be
$1.75 per bale, it would appear that from
port South of Hattcras the cost of trans
portation would be $292 per bale. More
over the rate OF Insurance between different
ports on the coast has long since been set
tied. From the Virginia ports it is from I
to per cent. and fIom ports South of Hat
teras from one to one and half per cent.
Assuming these figures to he correct through
out, and am certain they are within limits,
it appears that the cost of transportating a
bale of cotton from Goldsboro' TO New York.
via the Atlantic and n. G.. Railroad, would
be Railroad freight 50 cents, sea transport
tation So go, insurance on $50 % per cent
so cents, total S467, while via the Virginia
ports it would he: Railroad freight SLIGO,
sea transportation, $1.75, insurance on $50
@ per cent 40 cents, total 1915, being a
difference in favor of Virginia ports of 90
cents, and this is an outside estimate To
the ports of Baltimore and Philadelphia the
difference would be still more marked, as
the service between these ports and Ports
mouth is performed entirely by inside lines
requiring no insurance against sea risk.
But when we come to consider the ques-
ton of frequency and expedition of trans.
portation the difference between the Vlr-
ginia and North Carolina ports becomes
more apparent The position of the ports of
Norfolk and Portsmouth, as the convergent
point of two great Railway systems, gives it
unrivaled advantages as a forwarding Gen.
tire. The Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad
and its connections via Lynchburg form
continuous line Of unbroken guage from
Norfolk to Nashville, Memphis and the
principal towns of Alabama and Missis-
sippi. The route via the Seaboard road
extends far into South Carolina. MI
merous smaller transportation lines lead
to the sound district of North Carolina, and
the local trade of the port itself forms no
inconsiderable item of Its transportation bu-
siness. Having so large an amount offreigllt
to offer, Norfolk has been enabled to Sc
cure cheaper and more frequent communica-
ton with Northern ports than any other
seaboard town of the Southern States. To
Boston a line of first class steamers is run
twice a week. To New York. during the
busy season, steamers are iun daily, and at
all times of the year tri-weekly. To Phila-
delphia a daily inland line is run, requiring
no insurance, while to Baltimore steamers
leave nightly. Thus the merchant of North
Carolina, ordering goods from or forwarding
produce to any of the Northern markets, can
be certain of securing direct immediate and
continuous transportation. His property is
not left for days at time in trans-shipping
warehouse, subject to fire risk, and frequently
losing the advantage of market, and his
| investments can be made with the certainty
that no delay in returns will be caused Ivy
lack of facilities for transportation. On the
| other hand, North Carolina has hut two
ports through which transportation to the
Northern markets may be effected New
bern without sufficient depth of water to adj
NIT sea going steamers of any capacity, and
MOrehead City, without back country to
supply produce for transportation, are the
only two available ports Under the most
favorable circumstances these ports could
offer nothing but their own local trade and
that of the Atlantic and N. c., and North
Carolina Rail Roads, or about one tenth of
the trade Of Norfolk. During the three bu-
siest months of the cntton season from De-
cember to March 1867 68, there We're ex-
ported from Norfolk and Portsmouth to
New York $1,000 bales cotton, of which
1889 were from the local stations of the
North Carolina Railroad, 6,37S from Char
lotte, and 1909 from the local stations of the
Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad Sup
posing, which is by no means likely, that the
Neuse River route retained the Charlotte
trade, this would give them through
trade of 1917 bales of cotton against 81 ,OOO
Thus it appears that the present route
enables the merchant of North Carolina
to forward his goods more cfeaply
more expeditiously and more frequently
than by any line from North Carolina ports
even assuming the latter to work under the