The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1873-01-03
Railroad Glorious
Result-What is now TO be


AS we anticipated, the election on last
Saturday, resulted in favor OF the sub
Scription Icy an overwhelming maj GRITTY.
The people showed they were in ear
nest and determined to do all in their
power to build tho Duck River Valley
Railroad. A subscription of seventy
five or one hundred thousand dollars
could have been carried by nearly as
large a majority, but the directors OF
the Duck RIVER Valley Railroad deemed
it proper and right to ask for corpora
ton subscription of only fifty thousand
dollars, intending to make up the re-
mainder by private subscription. The
amount subscribed by the town is small
considering the wealth and er terprise
OF Columbia, being only one-twentieth
of the taxable property of the corpora
ton. II all the bonds should be ISSUE d
at once; If the railroad should pay no
| dividend, and the property OF the town
should not increase, the largest proper
| ty-holder in Columbia would not pay
more than hundred dollars each year,
while two-thirds of them would not pay
more than twenty-five or thirty dollars.
But, in fact, the road, when completed,
will declare dividends. The property
and business of the town will be doub-
| led; consequently the rate of taxation
will be reduced fully one halt for rail-
road purposes. Already, we are in
| formed, some property-holders who OPP
| posed the subscription are asking from
City to one hundred dollars increased
rent on their houses. Why is this? Is
it not because they believe the business
OF the town will be increased, and the
demand for houses much greater? As
| yet no bonds have been issued, no tax
90 haye been levied on them, and may
not be for some time. We can we'll see
how Columbia, when the road is put
under contract, will begin to realize
| the benefits of its construction, but up-
| til that is done, we should not attempt
TO enjoy anticipated benefits without
contributing something. The trade of
Marshall county alone would be worth to
Columbia at least fifty thousand dol
lars per annum when the road is COM
pleted as far as Lewisburg, and our
town will thus get back in one year
| double the amount of her subscription
to the Lewisburg end of the road.
Some persons said they were opposed
to corporation subscription, but in ia
vor of individual subscription. The
directors, in Difference to their w ishes,
only asked for a corporation subscrip-
ton $4,000 to both ends of the road,
and they now confidently rely upon
these men to come forward promptly
and literally with their private sub
| scriptions. While all the citizens of
the town will be benefited, the private
| stockholders who contribute their
means to build the road, will enjoy adj
vantages over any others by furnishing
supplies and material, by doing work
and labor, and by obtaining contracts.
The policy OF the directors, as we under
stand, is to aid those who assist in build
ing the road. There is not much need
ed now to enable the company to let
out the contracts within the next two
months as far as Lewisburg. This
should be obtained in the next ten
days, and the engineer corps should go
to work at once locating the course OF
the road permanently. The opponents
of the subscription raised every possible
objection they could invent, but they
were all met and successfully answer
ed, and the people OF Columbia showed
by their action how much they appre-
eiated the necessity, Importance, and
value of the road.