Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1872-10-27

| SCHOOLS in this State, The Lower House
! of Congress at its last session passed bill
appropriating the proceeds of the sale of
our public lands for school purposes for all
! time to come, but it failed in the Senate for
want of time to act upon it. 1T will GER
tainly pass into law during the next ses-
sion. All that is required of any State in
order to avail itself of the munificent pro-
visions of this bill is to provide by law for
the FREE EDUCATION of I'LL its children
between the ages of six and sixteen years.
No other condition required. The Sth Sec
ton provided that "No moneys belong
| ing to any State or Territory under this
act should be withheld for the reason that
the laws thereof created separate schools
for white children and for black children"
in other words, mired schools are not re-
qulred to entitle the State to its share I'M
der this bill, and yet seventy-eight EcmO-
cratic Congressman voted against it.
Under this bill the amount which Ten
nessee would receive yearly, is one hun
dred and siXty-One thousand dollars-One
half TO be Immediately used for school pur-
poses, the other half to go into 4 school
fund for the State. If L am elected L shall
labor earnestly to have our State placed in
a condition to be entitled to receive its
share of this fund. The other question to
which L desire to call your attention re-
lates more particularly to the people of the
counties of Meigs, Polk and Bradley. 1t
is in reference to the construction of the
DucktowD, Cleveland and Tennessee River
Railroad. My honorable competitor de-
clares against the construction Of this road.
1t is well known that preliminary sur
Vey Is now being made from Cincinnati
southwark or rather several different rOuts
southwark are being surveyed, one of
which traverses Meigs county from point
near Post Oak Springs, in the direction of
Cleveland. The Cincinnati Southern rail-
road has not yet been located, and will not
be until all these surveys are completed
and estimates submitted to the officers and
Board of Directors at Cincinnati, Ohio.
From the latest information we have on
the subject. the Chief Engineer i'll charge
of the survey is very favOrably impressed
with the route by way of Post Oak Springs
toward Cleveland. The Board of Directors
of the DucktOwn, Cleveland and Tennes-
see River Railroad, are in communication
with the Board of the Cincinnati Southern
Railroad Company, and are cooperating
with them and striving to induce them to
connect with their line. No one need be
told that the building of the Ducktown,
Cleveland and Tennessee River road
would exert an attractive influence on the
Cincinnati Railroad Company, and it may
be the means of inducing that company to
make DucktOWn connection. Should these
roads be built, as some of them certainly
will be, the benefit therefrOm to the peO-
pie of Polk, Bradley and Meigs is almost
incalculable. The counties of Polk and
Bradley have been respectively asked to
aid in the construction of the DucktOwn,
Cleveland and Tennessee River Road, by
each subscribing $4,000 stock to the en-
terprise. The proposition has been sub
mitted by the respective County Courts to
the people to be voted upon by them,
Polk county submitting for subscription
of $4,000 and Bradley for a subscription
of $4,000. AS our constitution requires a
three-fOurths majority to carry the propo-
sition, if it is carried, it will need the as
sistance of every friend of the enterprise.
| am in favor of these propositions, but
my honorable competitor is opposed to
them. He is not only opposed to subscrib-
ing stock, but. what is still worse for the
people interested, he is opposed to the
building of the roads
Were these roads built, it is safe to say
that the lands lying along the line of either
of these roads would increase in value four
fold within the next five years after their
completion. The rich iron and coal fields
along the Tennessee river would be opened
up, all the agricultural and mineral re-
sources would be speedily developed, CAPT
Cei anu lotDOI "OltIu Dt ilIlIdCIeu W
section of the State, and manufacturing
interests would soon begin to show them
selves on every hand.
The rich farming lands in Meigs county,
which are now so isaloted and cut off from
railroad communication, would suddenly
be brought contiguous to market where
all their productions would find a ready
sale at good prices.
Many facts and figures might be pre-
scented to show the great importance of
these roads to the people of these counties,
but they could not be compressed within
the narrow limits of this circular, which
is already longer than at first intended.
The opposition of my honorable compe-
titor to these enterprises seems to me i'll
eXcusablc. 1t shows that he is not only be-
hind the progress of this age, but 0aercus
ably so, and places him in the front rank
of fossilized fogies who cling with tenaci-
ty to the old ruts and beaten paths of bye
gone age-resisting all improvements and
rock in one end of the sack to
balance the meal-as their grandfathers
did. L ask the voters of this Senatorial
District to remember these things on the
day of election and to vote accordingly.
| am, very respectfully,