The Van Buren press., 1870-04-12
Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad.

AlttlC xbOCA 0llu 4VAs SoAA 49, >~>~s>~~
We noted few days ago the arrival at
Memphis of eight hundred tons of rail
road iron for the above named company,
for transhipment at this place. We are
now advised of its safe arrival at the
mouth of the river, and with it is the new
locomotive CoaUay, and twenty three
box and fiat cars They will all be here
in few days. The locomotive is named
in horror Of our ncighboring county, Con-
way, and also Of our worthy ex Govern
or. r. az
1t is with peculiar satisfaction that we
record the preparations making by the
company which has this road in charge
Since the resuscitaton of the company in
1866, through the vigorous efforts of its
then general agent and secretary, Capt. d.
II. Hancy, and its energetic friend, sup
porter and forwardcr, Col W. L. Dcnck
la,-to both Of whom is mainly due the
credit of putting the enterprise upon a
successful basis--its progress has been
unoStentatious,s STEADY and uninterrupted,
until now, it stands possessed of the full
faith of the public, rs to the determine
ton and ability of those who manage 1t
to prosecute the work to an early and
successful completion.
The company has already actually ex-
pended more than one and half millions
of dollars in cash, on the line of the road
in our State, and in the purchase OF loco
motives, cars and iron, without asking
of our people the aid of a dollar. How
stands the other side of the account? !?
Within few days past bonds of the State
to the sum of S200,000 have been turned
over to the company, upon the shewlng
that twenty miles ofroad have been made
ready for the iron. Nothing, however,
has been realized on them as yet. Other
items are wanting. iytH.
1t is now good time to remind our
people that they are entitled to little
credit for aiding the prosecution of this
work thus far, and that they will be in
fault if their pecunary assistance is with
held much longer. A sense of shame
should now begin to steal over us that the
only part we have played in giving start
to the great thirty fifth parallel route to
the Pacific, has been to double, treble
and quadruplc our estimates Of the value
Of our respective town lots and farms,
along the surveyed line. We must not
claim the credit to ourselves as people.
We all know and feel that it belongs to
strangers. There are many things which
justify the apathy of our people in the
past the war their ruined fortunes, the
governmental prescription, which has
made the political sky seem to press up
on the liberties of the people like pot
lid. But there is no longer any excuse
for such inaction. The fruits of the en-
terprise of the company are now visible
along its whole line, and the time has ar
rived when it becomes the public duty to
come forward and vote municipal and
county subscriptions in liberal sums, in
every county and town through which
the road passes.
Pulaski county and the city of Little
Rock have already subscribed two hun
dred thousand dollars to the NJ d. l.. Il,
r., and which may be considered an ex-
tension of that to Fort Smith. 1t will
not be long before they will do more for
the Fort Smith road The county OF
Crawford is garlanded with the noble
honor of being the first to vote 100000,
and it is mete and proper for "Old Con-
way to step forward and vote like sum
as she is to reap,thc first benefits. I'm
der the influence Of such examples Pope,
johnson and Franklin will not be slow
in taking like action. Perry and Yell
too, which are indirectly benefited, might
well join their aid to the enterprise
If any of these counties wish plain
illustration Of what results such action is
to bring about, we point them to our own
city and county, which have more than
doubled in population since the compile
ton of the Memphis and Little Rock
Railroad from White River 1t is sus-
ceptible of demonstration that the build
ing of the road has done this for us, and
if every dollar Of the subscription has to
be paid ultimately by the city and coun-
ty, the loss will be truly made up in the
increased value Of property. II. Ga
zotte, 3D.