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


j could Mr.. Robinson have maintained the
Seaboard road without feeder2 Mr.. VIII
liam L. SutherliD. a director in the Danyille
road, which Is the servant Of the Southern
Security, and which, in its turn again, is the
, servant Of the Pennsylvania Central, made
! this very effort to obtain the control of the
Raleigh and CASTOR road. If it had been
| successful, does anyone suppose that the
Seaboard road would receive any cotton for
transportation to the North?
PROFESSIONS AND PRACTICES.
When the agents of this company were be-
fore the Virginia Legislature asking for the
Richmond aud Alexandria charter they pro-
fessed they had no hostility to our Atlantic,
Mississippi and Ohio railroad, and declared
they had no design to interfere with it or
make war upon its interests. Yet one of the
first acts of these people. as is believed by
those who ought to know, was an attempt
before Federal court to overthrow the act
of the General Assembly which had author
lied the organization of the Atlantic, Mis-
sissippi and Ohio Railroad Company. Soon
| afterward they were in Tennessee taking
possession of the middle link of this great
East and West line, which connected the wa
tiers of the Mississippi with those of
the Atlantic at Norfolk. Thus they
aimed to subvert the great purpose which
Virginia and Tennessee had in the con-
struction of this line-an undertaking which
had been founded and prosecuted by the
two States in a mutual! interest, and in fur
therance of direct trade at Norfolk. They
thus put at defiance any policy which Virgil
mia may have had or might undertake in her
! own behalf. Failing by these means to subor-
dinate the Virginia line to their purposes,
they are now seeking to find 4 way through
North Carolina by which to circumyent that
line, and to carry the trade of the West over
lines controlled by them to Philadelphia.
Ii these people owned a continuous line
by Richmond to the North, and a planter on
the Wilmington aud Weldon road should
desire to have his cotton transported North,
he would be charged high rates to Weldon
If it stopped there to take the Seaboard route,
but low rates If carried through on their
line. Thus, independent railroads are
| at their mercy. Their feeders are bought
| up, and they are underbid at the points of
competition. As this company owns or con-
| trols SO many railroads in different States,
the losses suffered by ruinous rates at points
| of competition can be more than repaired by
high local rates or high through rates where
| there is no competition. 1t is Briarius, with
| one trunk but hundred hands-some Of
| them clutchcd tightly and others more than
half open, but all gathering spoils.
MR.. RAGLAND is A SELLING NAN
sharp at trade-indeed, smarter than a
finance committee, although he does not like
to say so. He even offered to sell to those
two oprreSsors Robinson and McCready, al
| though it would seem that neither of them
was the proper man 10 have the control of 4
railroad, and especially the Petersburg road,
| considering its relations to the Seaboard.
| Can it be for one moment believed that Mr..
Ragland bought the Petersburg road for a
public purpose or permanent investment,
when either immediately before its purchase
or directly afterwards, lie opened o trc t
with seven or eight different PARTIES for Il
sale? What
SHARP DEVICE
that was, TOO, of his to put those parties in
competition, each with the others Did
telegraph ever perform such piece of SER
| vice before? But the ingenious contrivancc
| wouldn't work. Walters and Scott turned
on him the cold shoulder. Robinson, al
though he was getting $1,000 year for be-
| traying his trust, wouldn't buy ; neither
would that terrible buccanecr Commo-
dore McCready. Mr.. Ragland had no
thing else left him but to fall back
upon his three per cent. His vision
| was keen enough to see it lying, as it did,
beneath the debris of thirty years. Proxies
and legal opinion brought it to the surface
I'm maryellollsIy quick time. But Mr.. Rag
land has still hope before him-nay. Il GER
tainty, if he secures the passage of this bill.
| The Southern Security Company will not
| frown on his ovcrturcs then, and he knows
| that full WE'LL He has already obtained in
| demnity for the past--he looks 10 "Sccuri-
| ty" for the future.
AN AUCTIONEER1NG BILL.
Finally, Mr.. Chairman, this bill is pre-
sentcd to you with certain features in it
which Mr.. Lyon now proposes to strike out
or modify. As Mr.. Benton, once said in the
Senate, when Mr.. Clay's compromise meas.
ures were under discussion, " Sir, this is an
auctioneeriug bill" Mr.. Lyon says If you
will allow Mr.. Ragland to build this road
YOU will increase the subjects of taxation to
the extent of six millions of dollars. Do
YOU recolect what he said about the
promises of railroad men Did he
not counsel this committee not to believe
ANYTHING railroad man would promise, and
! is it asking too much to Judge him by his
own proffered advice! But, Dir. Chairman.
! apart from this, what is the true meaning OF
| the suggestion? a railroad Charter IS
granted at time when rairead enterprise IL
| in its infancy; the State investing lE the cor
poration along with its citizans and declar-
ing as a part of its contract that the property
| of the new company, starting unuer such
| adverse circumstances, should DC Tree from
| taxation. want TO know whether 1t would
be honorable for Virginia to break that con-
tract, even by indircction? l do not ask
whether it would be profitable ON the test OF
dollars and cents. Would not Old Virginia
lose far more in honor by proceeding OF
that kind than she would gain in tile lew
wretched dollars she would gather IN
the dust of her degradation? L say
the contract should be maintained III
good faith and in the fullness of its inte-
| gritty, and that the man who advises other
| wise suggests dishonor. Ii the contract is
| invaded in its spirit and true intent the act is
| derogatory to the State. l would keep to
| the integrity Of the contract, and do even
handed justice to the men whom had In.
vited into the enterprise. The suggestion
that the Stale should first sneak out by sale
OF her stock, and then perpetrate the injus.
| tice, is fragrant. There is inellabie meanness
| In that.
MIR. Lyon has no objection to striking out
the provision by which the negroes OF Pc.
| tersburg, Richmond, and Fredericksburg
may saddle those cities, now groaning under
debt, with new burdens. But what as
surunce is there, or can there be, that even if
these portions of the bill are stricken out
now they will not be revived the next or
| some future year? hope it will be the
| pleasure of the committee TO report against
| this bill just as it stands. No amendments
can even make it tolerable.