The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-02-20

& a,,;, ,;,,eeutay earned BIZ ezofng ffssgss
I5,;sy,,sss sr,ntost e,.tir For. u has neeh
| IN t,ne ,nol;cy OF the Robinson : nasty W
:, Ia The ;nland line the favorIte sh1gnWay
| fara raaaancers. in order that they migns
thna accure1y retain the monopoly OF frci2 i,
fron Weldon through Portsmouth ana the
rbasancake Day without competition. IL
has hcen mart OF their policy to quiet us IN
our impatiencc by throwing us
| THIS LITTLE PASSENGER SOP,
and telling us that that is all we nre III Tor.
Evcent 40 far 10 local necessities may com
mel them, they are willing even now, DIR.
| chairman, to covenant that we may carry
MI the passengers, provided We will agree
| to quietly submit to their carrying oil the
| freight TO and from Weldon, knowing, as
they do, that all the great dividends are to
| be made from tolls for frcights, and that
the only practical usefulness of railroad
comes from that source; and we concede
freely that the Robinaon dynasty have, az
part of their rolicy, always been willing 10
MD in the development Of our inland all
! rail line as a passenger route, and Il passen-
ger route only.
The talk of these gentlemen exhibits i
most abnormal state of mind upon railroad
matters. They talk as if the chief business
of railroad is to transport people who
travel for pleasure. They talk, in them
annual reports, with
PATHETIC SATISFACTION
of the comfort of getting dinner or sup,
per on board steamboat, and washing ana
| shaving and cleaning up. What 40 men
travel for? For business, and to look after
It. The time will come when it will be re-
cornizcd that the true use of railroad ls to
carry products, the fruit Of labor things from
places where they are in superabundance 10
places where the same things are not, out
are wanted and then it will alEo be part
of railroad common law and railroad pollty
that the shipper shall have Tree ticket 10
follow his property and look alter 1t. Mr.
Raglani's poliey in the management CT his
road, las been already declared to the OK.
tent Of promising thet every man who Will
ship hundred bales Of cotton over his road
shall have free ticket TO follow it, look
after it. sell it, get the mon2y, and buy his
return freights, in the belief that the tolls
Oh frcights going both ways will DC 1uil
recon pense for the free ride.
| THE TRUE PURPOSE OF A RAILROAD
ia the same as that Of the caravan in an
Gent times. The caravan was superseded
bv vessels when the art of navigation was
discovered, and now, in the course OF God b
providence, with the discovery OF new nat
ural forces, it has come to pass that the
railroad supcrsedes the skip, and all these
channcisui commerce, both ancient ana mo-
dcrn, rude or improved, contemplate io9i 'ai-
" but one labor-the bringing Oh INC proau-
Ger and the consumer close together. but,
MIR. Chairman, | 10 not mean to be diverted
from the point, that all OF the Immense pro,
fits made and realized by the Seaboard ana
Roanoke Railroad and the Baltimore Steam
Packet Company, and represented by dlvl-
dcnls declared and paid in money by the III
ue s. of ock from :i00,V0J to Il; 20o,0SO,
bv the purchase Of more than pnc-hali OF the
| R,lejrh and Gaet0n railroad, and by the
nurchase of nearly oue-thnd Of the valu-
able propcrty Of the Baltimore Steam
Packer COMPANY, and bonds OF the Camden
and Amboy Railroad, and other first class
American securities, too numerous TO he
mentioned, are evidences that anal1-trci2ht
line can make money by millions, and ut
the same time generously concele II rival
and connection all the passengers. There
is enough Of fre;ghts 10 bccairlcd IRON wei
don 10 give our adycrsarlcs profitable en-
ploy1uent and leave US ch! ncc. AND all
we now ask is, that it may please the Cen
eral Assembly TO give us an opportunity,
without touching any right the koblnsons
have, without violating any franchise The
Eobinsons enjoy, u simple lawful right, 10
compete with them upon square, tar ana
manly terms at Weldon and at Baltimore,
Tor al frci shts, including produce going
North and merchandise coming south. One
Of the most startling and alarming Things
. leyeIoped by this extraordinary discus
sion-lnd thoughtful analyeis o. the
sneechcs made by Nj. hobrGou'g able AMI
4 learned council affords food Tor fearful
cootcmplation-is their eXullant boast that
we, of the Petersburg Railroad Company,
are the last people i'll the world who ought TO
say anything against the kobIneons or the
:, Scaboard aud Roano&e Railroad, o. the
Baltimore Steam Packet Company, because
forsoulh il is only By their generous 10! :
bcarancc that we have ever been aDle 70
turn wheel Oh our railroad! With labor
ious industry, the learned counsel have
proved and conceded that with rates upon
the Seaboard and Chesapeake line, az they
now are, the profits realized have been 30
! larre, that there is margin Of reduction
before they reach the limit Of ordinary
rc:l .onablc dividend, sufficient to prove that
I they can without loss, reduce their fares
and tolls SO low that we upon tie inland
: line snail never get Single passenger or q
:, ton OF freight. This Is
T,Jprp RpAcr AND THEIR THREAT.
@, that had the tongue of Patrick Hen
ry-not to ask Virginia assembly as he
did aioretime, "ehall We wait until the Gil
. emy shall have bound us hand aud tcet, u
but that l might make this capitol ring
; with tho inquiry, why have the people of
Virginia and her senators been asleep While
her adversary hath bound her hand and
foot, and lives to boast that he has done IL!
1t is true, that crippled as VIC are now, by
lack of facilities, embarrassed as we are
now for the want Of legal right and license
to tread the plain path OF duty, obst uctcd
as VIC arc now of purpose, and rs u matter
of cold policy, in the way of ircights, with
+ out o lawful right to do 4 lawful thing for
tue protection OF ourselves and the public
interests intrusted to us, without the power
. TO take step in the way of commercial
duty to the public, we arc, indeed, Mr..
, Chairman,
THE SLAVES OF TIE LAMr.
That Aladdin's lamp which is filling to
ove:howing the Golfers Of Baltimore and
/ Philadelphia. l confess it with shame ;
: and in the midst of my humiliation 1t oc-
= | fo,o Il hp, n a m n