Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1870-04-22


so In the future. They are dead, un
protected assets, and according To THEN !
present market value, would not realize !
ut public auction more thanSOU0, 900. |
Instead OF six millions of the peoples |
money, which we are told monster |
corporation proposes to swallow, up, |
we find the present value Of the States |
interest In these four lines stands n /
| follows:
Claims OH tho Norfolk and Petersburg read sl4o ooo
Claims on tho soulhsido Road .soooOo
Shares In the four Roads 0ooooo
Instead of six millions the interest
of the State proposed to bc pun chased |
Isl nOt worth to-day more than one
million. What do the friends of the |
Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Bill |
propose to give I'm exchange for this in |
terest? They Propose to absolve the !
State from her unpaid subscription to
the Virginia and Kentucky ROad,
amounting to 81 ,307, 400. This Is an
existing liability against the state,
mentioned as such by the Auditor Of
Public Accounts in his annual reports
and distinctly recognized us such 10y
an act of the General Assembly, passed
in 1866. They propose In addition To-
undertake the construction of the Vir-
GINA and Kentucky Railroad, extend
/ Ing IFOl1 DTiSlDi 10 Os.IlDcIEuuu tfhI,
and directly after its completion to pay
into the State treasury two and halt
per cent. upon the gross receipts II
their entire line, moro than five bur-
dred miles In length. Ii Is not extrav-
agant to say that tho instruction of
the Cumberland Gap Railroad will ac-
, complish more for our Impoverished
State than any other me lsure of rail-
road policy which could possibly bc
devised. 1t will complete an indispen-
able link of ninety-iive miles, which
will enable us to meet the Louisville
and Nashville Railroad Mt Cumberland
Gap, place us in direct communication
with the tecming valleys of the Ohio
and the magnificent granarics of the
, Northwest, aud enable M TO start q car
, at Norfolk and run 1t over cont .
/ uous, uninterrupted line of railway t.
! Iiouis v. lie, st. Louis, Omaha and San
= francisco. What might not the State
! afford to pay for the accomplishment
! of an enterprise which promises 80
! much in the work of her Regeneration
: and redemption? Is it too much to
|, say that if her interest in the line from
|, | Norfolk to Bristol was really worth six
i millions, she might well afford TO re-
linquish IL all to secure the completion
|, of this necessary link to Cumberland
T, to complete this link and to release the
State from an existing liability upon
, an unpaid subscription amounting
=, nearly TO u million and half of dol
= lars, but to pay annually into the pull :
!. lie treasury two and half per cent.
4 upon the gross earnings of line more
than five hundred miles in extent and
:, connecting directly with other lines
!, which stretch to the Pacific coast.-
Who can tell what the gross receipts
Q of a line will amount to which is to be
: supplied at Bristol by the roads from
% Memphis, New Orleans and Atlanta,
= of roads running to Louisville, st.
- Louis, Omaha, and San Francisco.-
: | The trade which will pass over such q
/ line extending over five hundred mfi.s
with such "a comprehensive grasp and
VI far-reaching connection must ntcessa-
y rily be very large. Its gross receipts
;. now aggregate nearly two million OF
'c dollars. The Baltimore and Ohio Rail
road Company, which understands
y very well the benefits of consolida .ioa,
~ now enjoys an income of ten milliC n
IN of dollars as against three millions six
hundred thousand for the year 1852
" The PENNSYLVANIA Railroad Company
+ under the operations of the same poll
Il CIV in 1868, extended it's control to 53s
miles, and its resources for that year
~ reached the commanding sum of ST.
n O0O,O 900 ms against an income for the
IA year 1859 of SIS, $4,000. III the gross
:, receipts of the Consolidated Line, after
u the completion of the link to Cumbcr
ie land Gap, shall amount to as much ~
IL those realized by tho Baltimore anC
!, Ohio Road land it is fair TO suppos,
n that they will be greater) the State will
to derive from the two and half pc
" cent. tax an annual income of $50, 900
1, This would represent n capital equal &
the nominal value of all the share
o, now held by tho State in all four o
III the roads which the pending Bill pro
30 poses to consolidate: In view of thes
facts how can IL be said that the friend
~ Of consolidation contemplate ruinou
~ | sacrifice of the peoples money and tn
gu interests of the State? On the contr'
u" ~, might 1t not, with much create
~ truth and propriety DC urged that TN
" der the provisions of this Bill har,
We bargain Is exacted from the new Com
" pany which it Is proposed to create ?
no Instead of destroying the Governor
-; wise financial scheme for restoring In
~ credit of the State" will il not Il
~ more than all other schemes to lift u
-, our people from the depths of financif
' ruin and restore our impOvershe
IL State TO that proud position which he
traditions and unrivaled resources CT
M title her to occupy? Suppose the flnar
~, cinl policy recommended by the Cove
:" nor shall be adopted by the kegislntul
Nv and the stocks held by the State In I'll
,e1 Norfolk and Petersburg, Soutlrside an
lai Virginia and Tennessee Compani'
DIV shall he exposed TO the highest bield'
w mt public auction? Who viii buy an
als where will the purchasers come from
~ Our people are too poor and the eorp'
cs' rations are too poor to buy. The PEI
pie have just emerged from four yea
of desolating war and five years of p
III litical persecution. These corporation
were completely crippled by the WI
,o and are just beginning to rocuperat
~ The inevitable result will he to tuI
, w. over the Virginia and Tennessee Itos
NJ to foreign corporation which II
~ long coveted its possession; To bres
~ upSouthside consolidation forever, al
~ blast the long cherished hopes Of u
'ins people in regard to the future of No
folk and the establishment of dire
trade. When Mr.. Garrett succeeds
,y obtaining the control of the Virgin
'no and Tennessee Road, Norfolk mu
W surrender her prctcnsions as coI
"a mercial city and consent to remain
n,s mere fish town" in all time.