Democratic enquirer. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1867-1873, 1871-09-20
INTERESTING LETTER
From President w. II. LANGL EY.
GhlRip0lis, Macarthur and
w GOlum bus Railroad.
liS a 4 nv & M lSllssS ;isEE!g. ;isEE!.

NNU'ffVAN ~ St
pleted the estimates of the
amount required to prepare the
old roadbed for the superstluc-
ture, and also having completed
the estimates for two of the
lines surveyed from Gallipolis
to Macarthur, | have presented
them to the people for their
consideration.
After careful examination
of the maps, prcfiles and esti
mates of those routes, | AN sat.
isfed that the road can he pre-
pared for the superstructure
from Gallipolis to Macarthur
for less than $4,000 per mile,
and that the old roadbed can
be prepared for the superstruc-
tt~.g. s'.sss stban $4,000 per
mlfe, making an average cost
to prepar ! the road from Cali.
polls to Logan for the super
structure not exceeding $4,000
per mileI and for the super
structhre,E $4,000 per mile.
making the whole road COM
plete and ready for the rolling
stock, except ballast, not ex-
ceeding SIC, 900 per mile, which
is not more if as much, than
one half the average cost per
mile of the rail roads in Ohio,
When the nature of the coun-
try through which it passes is
considered, it certainly shows
very advantageously for our
route, and with no other ad,
vantage would make handsome
dividends on the stock, while
roads that cost double as much
may uot pay expenses. One of
the great advantages in the low
cost of olr road will be in its
ability to transport freight at
very low rates, and will enable
the company to compete sue
cessfully in moving freight from
Logan and intermediate points
via Gallipolis, thence by boat
to Cincinnati and other river
points, with any railroad run
ming through Southern Ohio.
Another great advantage our
road will have, will be in the
immense amount of mineral
that is ntnS lying along its line
waiting for cheap transporta-
tion to move it to points OF
consumption, there not being a
rod of the route from Gallipo'
lis to Logan but what is full Of
the best mineral that can be
produced in the country and in
inexhaustible quantities.
1t requires less than 100000
more subscription to prepare
the old roadbed for Lhe super
structure. Now what will the
citizens of Vinton and Hook,
ing counties say? Will they
consult their interest so far as
to promptly subscribe the re
quired amount or will they qui,
etly sit down, fold their hands
and say, "Our forefathers lived,
labored and died upon the soil
and left the undeveloped wealth
that lies buried under the sur
face for those that followed
them. Why should we not dc
the same?"
10 this query a number Of
answers might be made that
would clearly solve the matter
One is that during the days
and years that are passed and
gone your forefathers had the
forests that covered nearly the
whole country to contend with
timber fof fuel and all othel
purposes was abundant it was
an iicumbrance and the great
object was to get clear of it by
any means possible. Such {
thing as stone coal for fuel was
not thought Of in those times
But now, how changed
A large forest to be seen in {
days railroad travelling is
rare sight. Timber is being
preserved. The mineral wealth
so long hidden under the sur
face of the earth is every day
becoming more and more valu
able. Stone coal, of which
your counties are heavily un
derlaid and of which you1
hills are full, is rapidly taking
the place Of wood for domestic
manufacturing and navigation