The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1870-10-07

Souffteru resources ana means Oh de-
Tense is primarily in their lackof coal,
or their appreciation of its ,valnc.
Had they developed their min6f4 re-
sources, which are abuhdaht, and int,
creased their industrial iofiapfbdte-.
Avg pQWcf1y the, mechanics: lotec
derived fEpW The tldicious use Of
coal andsR6h, these 100000, peo!,
pie would never have rebeiledt; but
hariay re6ened, scoHld nerer kdre
been brought to suh,p,ssioa,yy ~ :.
THE ISSUE OF BONDS TO RAILRoAUcdM
PANIEs BRIEGsMoNEY INTO THE STATE.
There is another view of this, SUBJ
ject, which, when fully understood,
will greatly strengthen the railroad
interest Of Alabama. If your Slate
should within the next ten years,
issue bonds to the amount Of 80, 00O.,
600, to assist IN building railroads,
these bonds would be- sold in foreign
markets, and the greater portion of
the pfOceeds of them would be exL'
pended among your peoples your
iron interests would be encouraged
and made strong; all your a9ficpl,
tural products Would find a@ready
mAs&dU atc i bone I your cotton. at
least, much of it, would be manufac-
tured i'm -four own State and shipped
as cotton fabrics, having been dou-
sbledooy quadrnpled1ip FaiueaA
l am not now abiding to the en-
HANGED value of your lands and other
property, but to the immediate effects
of the expenditure of S3000A. 600
among Your people in the. construc-
iohz0f great lines of railway. M Your
people would receive the money,
whilst the roads were. in process of
construction, and even If anything
phadbto be paid i'm future, which is not
to be expected, it would be merely re-
turning a portion of what, they had
already received. Whenever this
subjectniss fnily understood, it will
strengthen railroad enterprises, not
only in your State, but throughout,
the whole South. .,7-<oc,<s. =
If you wish to see Alabama the
first coal and mon State in the Union,
Astounding in furnaces, FORCES, and
rolling mills, you must not take, coun7
sci of your fears, but go forward
firmly and steadily in the great march
fof improvemeEt. se-s1e;5' t'e'oss3
ALABAMA AND CHATTANOOGA, RAIL
yRoAD-ITS sUPERIoR CLAIMS.
WHIST would not 1ndfrrate the,
importance. of any of youT.s railroads,
Iskmust be permitted to says !hat'I con-
slider, this the leading road of athei
State, tlpon which very many Eof the,
Others are dependent for their value.
It is not for the sake of theindividaals
who compose this company that l adj
socatc this road, but it is because l
consider it OF such overwhelming i'm
portancc 10 the Alabama system Of
railroads, The Memphis and Charles
ton, the Selma, Rome and Dalton, the
Memphis and Savannah, the, North
and South, are all Important North
Alabama railroads. MOST, of, these
roads are entitled, and hope Will re-
ceiye, the fostering care Of the State,
penetrating as they do the mineral
regions OF Alabama. -, T.
aJ There are several other roads in
North Alabama not mentioned, of
which the Aberdeen and Decatur is of
especial interest, because their con-
struction has not been commenced,
although they are roads of great inn
,pOrtance-the Alabama and,g CAatta-
nooga Road, however, l deem of par
amount importance. The North and
South, the Eufaula, Opelika and Gun
.tersville, and Grand Trunk, and sew
.eral, other, railroads, depend greatly
upon this road for their success. 1t
wifi form an important link in Chain
Of railroads frcm Decatur to Mobile !;
it. connects as it: were all lNortberii
and Northeastern Alabama with the
latter city; in. connection with the
Mobile and Ohio Road, and the Gin
scinnati and Chattanooga Road, it will
form q direct line from your Gulf
port to Cincinnati. Without this
road the whole system Of railroads
throughout Northeastern and North
western Alabama, which are destined
to be the most important andvaluable
in the whole South, would fail. in a
great degree. This road will run for
more than hundred miles through the
finest iron region on this continent, and
along its line in the course oftime,. the
greatest iron works of the United
States of the world, willibe located.
have not overstated its Importance
nor is it in my power to dOso. Hthe
State of Alabama were to expeld Sl0,-
100000 to secure the speedy construc-
ton of this road, it would be wise
and safe Investment if it could not
otherwise be obtained. This road, with
itsconncctions will develop the fineet
mineral region anywhere to be found !;
and IL as it has been remarked by
/ another, s'the great lesson taught by
the coal and iron statistics of the
world, is that. the greatest coal and
iron producing and consuming coun-
| tries are the imost progressive, the
most advanced in civilization, in in
Ldividual wealth, general prosperity
and national power" then the value of
this road can scarcely be conceived,
| innch less described; and to the State
of, Alabama, throughout. its whole
length, from the mountains to the
Gulf, tie construction of this road is
question of transcendant interests
30 NOTE. 3" - 4r 8
st is understood that the fare for passe1l-
gers on this road viii be reduced TO three on
four cents n mile, freight in like proportion.
This will amount to six dollars on each
through passenger. All roads will have to
lower their charges accordingly, and in this
way Alabama will be far more benefited
than the whole amount of the bonds issued
or endorsed for this company.
The highest grade on this road is ffty-two
| feet to the mile, and the minimum curve Is
three degrees. This enables II to do an inn
mense business at moderate charges.
TABLE OF DISTANCES OVER THE AL
ALBANIA AND CHATTANOOGA RAIL
ROAD BETWEEN IMPORTANT CITIES.
a - A'i MILES.
Chattanooga to Mobile-.:... 80
Chattanooga to xicksburg -. ................. $50