The Weekly Washington telegraph., 1871-07-19
RAILROAD ITEMS.


purchasing of coach and six to take a
baby out airing.
When the Iron Mountain railroad
is completed to its intersection with the
Cairo and Fulton (Which by the way
will never 90 to Cairo then the work
on the latter road may proceed without
difficulty, as the materials and supplies
may then be brought down on the
lion Mountail, and pushed on in this
direction by rail as fast as the road can
be completed. We take the following
items from the St. Louis Times Of Il
recent date:
The Arkansas branch Of the Iron
Mountain road is being pushed south
at the rate Of a mile day. The road
is already completed beyond Annapolis.
Gen Rofccraus on Hc Maroon Golyc
From the Alta Calitornian) Re
gardcd economically, a railway is n
hauling machine; Every unnecessary
expense put upon this machine adds to
the cost Of hauling done by it. This
cost comes out of the people. Every
unnecessary cost in the construction
and equipment Of railways is public
evil. 1t matters not whether this cost
results from blunders in engineering,
blunders IN management, or rascaljty
in operating the road or watering the
stock, the people have to pay the
interest on it, In this view why should
we pay for building a broad gauge if a
narrow gauge will do all the work
likely to be required? Evidently it
would be apuhlic wrong for the owners
Of railway franchise to build broad
gauge when a narrow gauge will do the
work, and the public have a right to
see that it is done, and to hold those
who thus prepare needless burdens
responsible iorit. The question comes
up, therefore, with every new railway
line, and should be asked by the people
will n narrow gauge do the work {?
The data for this answer are to be
sought in reason and experience; but
/ will ask, has the most crowded four
foot eight and half inch gauge rail-
way in the United States more work
| than it can do? If that line Of road
! with this gauge, which has the greatest
traffic in the world, docs less than it
can, and vet carries FIVE times rs much
freight over each mile as docs the most
heavily worked road in the United
States, why docs the latter need so
much more capacity than it has work?
If the heaviest worked road in our
country has ten times as much to do
rs the average Of roads in new countries
can expect for the next twenty years,
why should they be made to cost so
much? Why should our new roads
be constructed with carrying capacity
fifty times greater than the work they
will be called upon to do' Any man
who can show that they should be so
constructed, can prove that one ought |
to get six horse Concord coach to
give baby an airing.
w. S. RosEcEANs.
San Rafael, June If, 1871
We copy the following items from
the Little Rock Gazette:
a private letter from Clarendon,
written on the 7th says; The crossing
Of the Central railroad over White
river has been located at Aberdeen.
The contractors propose to build n
branch to Clarendon, and a contract to
that effect will be closed soon.
Col. S. W. Dorsey, president of the
Central railroad, is in the city. lie
reports everything progressing salts
lclorily. The engineers are now west
ofWhitc river coming this way. Iron,
locomotives AMI rolling stock are IN
trdasita for the road between Helena
and Aberdeen, and Colonel Dorsey is
confident that q section of the road will |
be completed by the 18th Of September.
\ branch road is to be built at once |
from point opposite Aberdeen to
Clarendon. the ueople of the latter |