The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-06-02

and and thera wisN VIC ssnstwork Of rail-;
.sS..as s,,r,f east. eaaEthNesS, ann
,,,sss sssa sS Syasv principal city OF oil
those sectIo,,s.s .:As giance at any fatifoaa
~, = win disclose Che almost endless connec.
fsnhs III which The epmn lesion ct This rosa
viii Introduce. The city of sRichnto,ld, ad-
ditionai to and sndep pendent Of the baltimore
ana ohio :Saiiroad, now an ABSORBING mo-
nopoly.,, /, =. -, II i no
oreneii to Virginia by tho extension Of the
chartered privileges Of tho Alexandra and
Fredericksburg Railway Company. MOI q
mere local road between those cities, but
iar.reachii,v railway, which embraces with;
In It's whirfing sweep not Only, the Nationai
Capital. hut Philadelphia, New York, 10
chester. B,rnafe,e Canandaigaa, Erie CITY,
cleveland. pittsburg, Columbus, Cincin-
Snatti, Chicago, Niagara Falls, and every
principal point east, north, northwest anu
west. u ai.'s
Shall the forfeiture be waived and the ex :;
tension Of chartered privileges De sran 'tD''s
Cam what Is asked be refused2 The LIE
eislature has never in any case Whatever
denied an extension of charter TO complete
mn unfinished work. and for the obvious
reason that the building of railway or
other line of transit IL a great public good,
and that when an incorporated company
fails to, complete its enterprise In the ap.
pointed time it is the manifest interest OF
the public to allow further time ior the e
completion. .sz5.#as},. ~. .. ..s...,s
for the extension Of time and OF corporate
privileges. 90, =, .......,,,
t;on of military rule, and the consequent
abrogation OF all civil power, two Of She hye
Years allotted by its charter, and is entf-
tied, iii all equity, to two additional years
i0T OPERATIONS and, secondly, the company
has in good f:tfth expended large samiof
IN improvement III the Interests OF VIZ
ginia.
perious equity, that this company have the
preference, as to building the road, over tns
Ficklin Company, the Washington ana
Alexandria Company, and all 'etners "ha'-
ever connecting for the construction. =.
|, IL must be presumed, then, that the
Legislature will not hesitate to waive Tor
fixture and extend the charter of the orfgl-.
nal Alexandria and Fredericksburg Com
pany.
Shall il have the further privilege Of eX-
tending the road beyond Alexandra to the
Potomac? .A II ~r. .,-'.f
why, if not, the proposed road, hitching
onto the Washington and Alexandria, Inc
/" short shoot" or French Shoemaker road
extending from the terminus Of the Orange
and Alexandria railroad to the depot OF the
Baltimore and Ohio railroad in Washing
ton city, makes the Alexandria and Frede-
ricksburg road but another and most valua-
bic feeder to our great rival, the Baltimore
and Ohio railroad. Whatever travel or
trade once gets on the proposed new road
is thrown inevitably into the lap of Balti-
more by the g short-shoot" connection, eX-.
cept what droppings Alexandria may hap
ipen to catch. ~, =.
. And not only will this A. and F. road be
"a feeder to the Baltimore and Ohio railroad,
but every southern railroad coming to Rich
ymond and there connecting with the Rich-
mond and Fredericksburg road Will be a
feeder also to the, already great monopoly.
The roads from Wilmington and Raleigh
and south of these cities that find northern
connection at Richmond will become aux
iliaries of the Baltimore road-rlch con-
tributors to her trade and commercial I'M
,p0rtance. And even so much of the travel
and trade that reach Richmond by the Dali
vile road and the roads south of it, and are
bound north, will be a stream pouring IN
upon the Patapsco emporium.
Now, our policy is to divide with Baltl-
more all that we can. If we build this
Alexandria and Fredericksburg road to be
hitched on to the short-shoot branch, which,
if not under the proprietorship is we'll
known to he in the interest or under the
control of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Company, there will he q perfect cOncen-
tration upon Baltimore of the entire bust
ness of nearly our whole system Of rail-
roads, and Of every railroad crossing our,
territory from south to north. 3.'
/ Break, 1--WE can, this coilsolidation-"di
vide and conquer" That is our manifest
policy. What Wcakens Baltimore strength
ems us. Build up a rival through line, as
and Fredericksburg road across the river to
with the Baltimore and Poto-
mac road and the great Pennsylvania Central
and its multiplied ramificaGions, and VIC
shall have competing liue that will divide |
with Baltimore, and strike at this yoracious
absorbent the heaviest blow ever struck at
her, or, perhaps, that ever can be.
And we shall not only strike at the grow
ing consequence of our cOrmorant and en-
rival, but we shall secure
cheaper transit and the increased accom-
modations that competition never fails to
bring out. For example, q traveller
making Richmond his point of departure,
and desiring through ticket and to check
illS u hOl tuCAA VI hclth-
western destination, will not be forced, rs
now, to rely on the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad monopoly, but may choose be-
tween it and rival through line, and thus
secure cheaper transit and better accommo-
Cation. II >flF EIt 2! y al
Then the case is simply this: We shall,
by hitehing on to the short shoot, throw
everything into the hands Of Baltimore or
we may, by extending the proposed Frede-
and Alexandria across the Poto-
mac to its connections with the; Baltimore
and Potomac road and the Pennsylvania
Central, raise up q rival through line with
most numerous connect ions that will divide /
the spoils with Baltimore and impair her
mower, to harm u.s.. al ,E,.f& Gs1 X. st!5
1t may be said that the proposed new
road may be made to connect with the
short-shoot road in interest with the Balti-
more and Potomac road. To this it is re-
piled that the present bridge across the Po-
tomac is an unreliable structure, and has
been Tor many years; as to tiue. In constant !
legal dispute. Better far is it that we have
D rival road wholly indie pendent Of the Bal
timore monopoly. Thenwe are certainly
Now, as to the vital, practical point oil
building the road !: am authorized to state
that if the bill which has passed the Senate
also pass the HOuselthe work on the road
will be instantly resumed and vigorously
prosecuted to completion. ----' -7---------
/ have been purposely in correspondence j
with the authorities of the Pennsylvania
central railroad, among them the vice-pre-
Bident Of the company, Hon, Thomas Scott,
who emphatically assures me that all that
is wanting to secure the construction of the
road is the proper legislation to justify the |
necessary, Investment. ~
Those who propose to cooperate with the |