The Cairo bulletin. [volume] (Cairo, Ill.) 1872-1878, 1872-12-27
RAILROADS.
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
PRESIDENT AND d.
RECTORS OF
THE
HOLLY SPRINGS, BROWNSVILLE
AND OHIO RAILROAD
COMPANY
MADE DECEMBER 6, 1872.

To the Stock holders of the Il. s. b. and o.
railroad.
Your president and directors take pleas.
ure in reporting to you the progress, and
what they conceive to be the interest and
future prospects Of the important enter
prise committed to their charge.
Since your last annual meeting the
work of clearing, grubbing, telling Of tim.
Der and graduation on the frat twenty
two and half miles OF road from Browns
vile, north, let to Messrs. James Deve.
raux & Co., on the 29th day Of October,
1870, has been finished in q most iatisfac-
tory manner and two more sections Of
the work let. On one Of these, let to Mr..
Robert Bailey, the work 10 progressing
very satisfactorily. The other has been
abandoned by the contractor, Mr.. q. Il.
johnson, and will require to be relet.
At your last annual meeting it was con-
fdently hoped that before another rsgu.
lar stockholders meeting should be held
the track would be laid and trains running
on the arst twenty or TWENTY-FIVE miles Of
road. In this hope none shared more full.
ly than did your directory. But circum-
stances unforeseen at that time, have pre-
vented its realization. Soon after that
meeting, iron Of every description began
to advance in price and contin.
ued to advance until prices became almost
fabulous, and If a mortgage sufficient 10
buy the iron and railroad stock at
those enormous prices could have been
negotiated the net earnings of SO short
piece Of road would not have paid the in.
tcrest on so large . debt and the result
would have been disastrous to the stock.
holders as we'll as damaging to the pur-
chase Of the mortgage bonds. Under this
state Of facts, your directory have thought
best to advance the work gradually, keep
the company free from debt or other EN-.
barrassments, and await future develop
ments in the iron marsst.
lfiroa should decline soon, ~ We be-
lieve IL must do, the companies that buy
after the decline will have greatly the ad.
vantage of those who buy At present high
rates, as they will have much lighter
debt to carry, less interest TO pay and con-
sequently more left as dividends to the
stakeholder. II, on the other hand, the
the present high prices should con-
tinue, there 10 still nothing lost but little
delay. And it 10 now believed by your
directory, that even this delay may be
turned TO good account by our adopting a
programme and securing connections not
heretofore contemplated. In our paper
two years ago We took occasion 10 say
shat in our judgement, the enterprise
and importance Of this road than all 9th.
ers is the opening Of Lake Borgne canal.
This project will virtually ex.
sa1d ,h. N;a.;..;a,;
Snip Island and open up to the largest
sized vessels one OF the best, safest and
cheapest harbors on the guilt. This hsr-
Dor is situated nearly midway between
New Orleans and Mobile, and must have
direct communication by rail with the
North, Northeast and Northwest. All OF
this can be accomplished by building q
line Of road from Ship Island through q
country now destitute Of railroad facili.
ties to Holly Springs"
When the above was written we were
looking forward TO . connection north
with the St. Louis and Iron Mountain
railroad, an extension south through Som
srville to Holly Springs, Miss, and the
building Of q road from that point south
between the Central and Mobile
roads 20 Ship Island hsrbor.
This certainly would have made mag
nifcent line Of road. But Fsyette county
failed TO give that aid necessary to the
Holly Springs extension, the enterprise nj
contemplated South Of Brownsville was
brought 10 o standstill and its future
realization 10 our judgment has been fore.
stalled by the development Of their: en-.
terprises Of more practical character
which gives Us an opportunity 10 secur,
connections with St.Louis and ship I.lanc
much more direc, and ut = much less cos'
than the plan above contem plated.
A frst-c.As three feet gauge railroad il
now being constructed from st. Louis Il
Cairo on ths Illinois side OF the Missis
Sippi river, and will be finished and il
operation BY sometime next spring. A
road OF the ZANE gauge and character wal
commenced last March a. Middleton, Tan
pessee, point on the Memphis and
Charleston road thirteen miles south o.
Bolivar, aud has been finished and is now
in operation to Ripley, Mississippi, ,
distance Of about twenty-five miles, and
has . fair prospect Of being continued
through to Ship Island hsrbor At an early
day.
This will leave gap OF only one hun,
dred and fifty miles from Cairo 10 Mid
dleton 10 be filed, in order to conf lete 1
line OF road Of uniform gauge from St
Louis 70 one Of the best harbors of the
gulf, and the question now presents itseli
for our confederation whether it 10 bette,
for US to adopt the three feet gauge anc
make ouks link on this great central ar
terry Of narrow gauge roads, connecting a,
1t will the great future city Of the Missss
ippi valley with one of the best and cheap
est harbors on our gulf coast.
As to the advantages of the Cairo An,
Middleton over the Columbus and Holl
Springs connections for the main line
our road, other things being equal, ther
can be no question consequently the sui
jeet for consideration is that Of width An
and weight Of road. Until recently VIII,
10 known a. the mario gauge rsilroa
seems 10 have not been conceived OF. II
question Of gauge thirty years ago was b
tween seven and four feet eight.snd-
inches, no narrower gauge being propose
or thought OF by railroad men. Much di
cussion and experiments on q vast sea
resulted In the almost universal adoptio
Of the narrowest gauge then proposes
Upon these roads It has been customary ,
lay iron rails weighing from nfty to sixty
i've pounds to the yard, and to use loco
motives weighing from 20 to IS tons Wit
plenty Of rolling stock the capacity OF sue
roads for businass 10 immense. But tn
cost Of construction and repairs 10 also i'm
msnss. The road with its rolling stoc
though Of immense weight 10 we'll proper
tioasd. The system within itss!! 10 YER,