The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1873-09-05
9EeeIinS at little LOf-RaiI-
road Enthusiasm High i'm
Hickman

8seeIing at LfGdIe LOt-RaiI-
road Enthusiasm High i'm
Hickman.
On last Friday Major w. J. SYKES
and Col J. II. LEWIS, of Marshall,
addressed a large number of the citi-
Zens of Hickman at Little Lot. 1t
had been said the people in that part
Of The county were opposed to the
county subscription. The result eff
that meeting shows what an error
that was. Major SYKES made
good speech, producing the usual ar
guments in favor of railroads, and
convincing many of the DIRECTORS to
county subscription. The most inn
portant fact he stated was that the
Cairo and Tennessee River railroad
wouId ere long be built to the Ten
llessCe river at or near Johnsonville,
thus giving a continuance and I'M
broken line of ilWay of the same
ssaugC to ST. Louis. 1t was the in,
tentiOn TO extend this road through
Middle Tennessee to Huntsville, Ala,
thence 10 the South Atlantic coast.
Whether it would go this way de-
pended on Hickman and Maury
counties. If they did not subscribe
and do the local work on that part
OF The line in their counties it would
20 up Buffalo and through Giles to
Huntsville. Now was their last
,:Sarcc. If they did not want it let
them vote down the subscription.
Col j. Ii. LEWIS made one of the
aS9est and most conclusive speeches
ever made i'm Hickman county. We
wish we could report it, but as Col.
LEWIS must speak in Maury at many
places, this somewhat consoles for
our inability to report his speech at
length. lie showed that every coun
ty in Tennessee that had built rail-
roads had been benefited fen times
a. much as the roads cost item, even
when they did not pay dividends.
Their wealth had been increased
that much, and this was caused by
the cheap freight which they had
compared with the counties that had
TO railroads. The extra freight that
his county, Marshall, had now to pay
because she had no railroad WOnld
pay for a road in few years, and
Marshall was not near as bad of as
Hickman in this particular. He
stated that laborers and renters Of
land were quitting Marshall where
there were no railroads and going to |
Maurv, Giles and Bedford, where
shev had railroads that if land rent
cd a little higher the value of the ar
ticles produced increased much more |
than the rent. A man could better |
afford to pay five dollars ali acre rent
near a railroad than TO get land for
nothing fifty miles from road.
Articles worth nothing in Hickman !
because of remoteness from market |
wOuld pay the rent twice over. He |
said it was unfortunate for Hickman
that majority was not allowed to !
rule. 4 few men could rule the /
many, and keep the county from en- |
towing the advantages enjoyed by !
other counties. This clause in our
constitution was against the spirit of !
the age and would tend greatly TO /!
retard the progress of Tennessee, and
her growth in wealth, anl it was es-
pecially hard on Hickman. His |
county, fortunately, did not labor !
under this disadvantage, and she |
would be relieved. Her march |
would be onward and upward from
.his time OH. Those, said Col. Lew |
as, who wish to see Us always de- |
peudent on other sections, impoTer- !
-sbirr ourselves TO make them rich, |
-aould oppose county subscriptions,
Tor As 20 building railroads by pri.
yltc subscriptions alone every man
Of any Intelligence knows it cannot
sle done. There were many Other
strong points made by Col. LEWIS,
f1-., as we nope TO hear him often we
mike no further report at this time.
After the speaking was over the vote
was taken. and not a single man
,,oIrd AGAINST the subscription &c the