The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1873-11-26
Tie Chicago and South Atlantic Rail,
{. x q. road.

Major B. F. Whitner of Ander-
son, publishes in the last number of
the Mttl;gei1rer, an excellent COM
tsn,luhication in reply to that OF Mr.:
:steedman, published in the Charles
:r.,o,t Ne,cs and Courier, to which we
,;lately referred, and whilst correc-
::it7hg some statements of that letter
in relation to the present status OF
i,rhe enterprise and the positions OF
,,Charleston and Anderson thereto
presents several considerations
(which favor the adoption of the
Blue Ridge route. In the first
place he takes issue with Mr.. Steed-
imam in his statement that the Blue
Ridge route has been abandoned ih
favor Of the Ashevillc connection,
On the contrary he states that the
4, selection between the two routes
has been held in abeyance until
fuller information is obtained to
enable the company to decide in
.tclligently between them. Again
he deRiees that the attitude of An
derson is one of hostility to Charles
ton, or that the selection of the
Blue Ridge route, would exclude
Charleston from the proposed con-
onection. Whilst he admits that. the.
French Broad route is few miles
]; nearer to Charleston, and is to
axhat extent the shortest and most
lhdffcetH route, lie contends that tho
'other route is the. most eligible one.
to connect equally with Clanlcston.'
Augusta, Port Royal and Savannah
Without joining issue with Mr.,
:S.eedman as to'the respective mer
Its of the two routes, Major Whit
alIa aplIear urges TIT for twenty years the
ssrexed qsestion has been settled by
siahe adoption of the Blue Ridge
hapte in 1858, by the State and city
Of Charleston, and by the expcn-
diture of over S3,OOO,O00 upon the
route, which have already compile
tod some 80 miles of road, and
advanced to completion a large
portion Of the heaviest of the un.1
finished work; that the route opens
up country teemiug with agricul-
;.rural and mineral wealth, and
makes connection by the most de-
>sirable lines with Brunswick, Sa-
2yaat,fah.,', Port Royal, Charleston
and Wilmington on our Atlantic
coast. lie 1coufpas his view Of
the advantages Of the Blue Ridge
route, tbyan extract from the Re-
''.port Of the various Committees
1nale to the Railroad Convention
held in Louisville in 1866. In
speaking Of the proposed and pro
bable connection Of Knoxville
with Louisville and Cincinnati by
raif,, e'report says: ''''.''' -
- "The connection being then re.
gardeQ as.certain,. let US now COM
pare tle advantages offered by the
-the two, rival routes for reaching
g ahe South Atlantic Ports-that bv
sCumberland Gap and the French,
Broad, and that by the Rabun Gap,
j, or Blue Ridge Railroad. Let the
question be first considered in re-
1'lation to Cincinnati.
81 s'h the prosecution Of the en-.
tefptise, the point Of departure for
Her would be Paris, this being the
easternmost point on the Lexing-
*ton Railroad. The distance from
"Paris to Cumberland Gap in a
straight line is I20 miles; from
.sCumberland Gap to AshevilIe, n.
c., 100; from Asheville to Spar
tanburg, S. O., 100. :, ta.g1. =.
%.ss:.Trhpsit : is seen that tt would re-
quire the construction of three
hundred and twenty miles of new
,fFsad to, accomplish by way of Cum.
rtberland Gap. the gssat object in
view. ." ... - n'.. ..-'a''
cs,asThe cost at moderate estimate
2 would notbe less than $12, 1000, ,O00..
THE trade Of Georgia, too,' would
Be lost to the Road, for it would be
nearly or quite as short for her to
Z carry on her. traffic, as now, by
way of Knoxville and Dalton.
=. -, @By way Of Rabun Gap, on the
oAer hand, there are only one hun
,fT4d and siXty-four miles of new