Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-11-09
CUMBERLAND AND OHIO RAIL-
ROAD.


Facts Concerning the Financial Sit
nation of the Enterprise.
From the Louisville Courier journal, Nov s.
Mr.. w. III. Dulaney, president of the
Cumberland and Ohio railroad, has recent
" returned from Scottsville, on the line of
his road, near the Tennessee State line. In
a conversation with Mr.. Dulaney concern
ing the road and its prospects in the present
peculiar condition Of the finances, a Courier
journal reporter cleaned the following in
formation: Between Eminence and Tay-
louisville the work in grading and masonry
is proceeding with great rapidity, a large
force of men being employed. The portion
of the road bed between Eminence and
Taylorsville will be ready for the iron on
April LIST.
/ Between Lebanon and Greensburg a
large force is employed in the tunnel
through Muldrough's Hill, on the county
line between Marion and Taylor counties.
This is the heaviest work on the whole
line. The tunnel is 1900 feet long, three
fourths of which distance is completed.
The approaches to it are easier than on the
Louisville and Nashville or Elizabethtown
and Paducah Railroads. Both north and
south approaches are nearly finished. The
1uCh anu u1N dJ Jlllo
point. The next heavy work is on the
Green river, where it is necessary to treStle
over the bottom and cut through the blue
limestone cliffs from twenty to sixty feet.
The river at this point is about one hun
dred and fifty yards wide.
No work is under contract in Barren
county. In Allen county force is at work
north of Scottsville, and south of that town
to the Tennessee State line the work has
been advertised, but not yet let. The dis
tance from Scottsville to the State line is
ten miles. The work between Gallatin,
Tennessee, and the State line, a distance of
twenty-four miles, is being prosecuted with
vigor. 1t is all under contract, and large
force is engaged there. Some of the work
is of a very difficult character. The road
bed at this point will be ready for the iron
on July l, 1874. On this portion of the
work, convict labor from the penitentiary
at Nashville is employed, the rations all
being furnished by the State of Tennessee
and the contractors paying a per diem.
This force of convicts has been found very
efficient and diligent. The introduction of
this class of labor has created no feeling or
opposition among the. free worlmen as is
sometimes the case.
Mr.. Dulaney speaks very hopefully
about the prospects Of the road. He re-
ferred to the once general feeling that the
road never would bS built, and regretted
that Louisville had never moved in the
matter Of a connection with Taylorsville,
which he believed would eventually be &C
compliShed when the Cumberland and
Ohio was in running order and the advan-
tage of such a connection could be seen.
As to the effect upon the construction of
the road by the present financial pressure,
Mr.. Dulaney made the following state
ment: The sale of the bonds of the road
was of course impracticable at the present
time, when they are accounted, with all
other railroad bonds, as valueleSs so far as
their worth Us securities is concerned. The
Cumberland and Ohio Railroad Company
had, however, got along very well with
the county bonds which had been subscribed
along the line. County bonds had been
sold readily until quite recently. The sales
were now comparatively light. The people
along the road were DESTROYS of putting
their money in their own bonds, and rs
soon as the severeSt pressure Of the panic is
over they would doubtless do so. They
prefer them to any other securities which
may be offered Of the same description.
Mr.. Dulaney read an extract from the letter
of one Of the directors and agents of the
road in Spencer county, in confederation Of
these statements, who said that the county
bonds were better appreciated and regarded
with far more favor than before the panic.
The counties were redeeming their bonds
from their sinking funds. Spencer county
had redeemed a large amount. The fact
that the County Commissioners are required
by law to use the sinking fund to redeem
their own bonds makes them especially
valuable, as they can not invest in other Sc
curities. The interest on all the county
bonds already issued had been promptly
paid on October l. The next payment
would fall due on April 1.
Mr.. Dulaney was Of the opinion that the
work on the road would be continued with
out interruption with the present distribu-
ton of the working force.
In regard to the present severe ordeal of
railroad companies, especially those con-
structing lines, Mr.. Dulaney deprecated the
introduction Of farmers oranges in the
Southern States, where railroads were alb
solutely needed, and where they had not the
spirit of remOrseleSS monopoly which char
acterizes a few Of the Northern railroads.
The oranges tend to create opposition to all
railroads, and the movement being recOg-
nized abroad as a war on the railroads, for
eign capitalists regard the railroad securi-
ties of this country with distrust and de-
cline to take them.
Railroads, he thought, were greatly need
ed in Kentucky, and to misrepresent them
to the people, as warning against their in
terests, was unwise and to be deprecated.
In regard to the development Of country by
the Cumberland and Ohio railroad, he
thought the future was promising. The
coal and ironregiOn, between Sparta, Tenn.
and the State line, was ineXhaustible, and
while the distance was too far for the coal
to be of any benefit to Louisville, there
were sterling advantages suggested by the
rich deposits of the finest iron ore in the
world, which could be brought to the Ohio
at a greatly remunerative price.