The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1873-08-13
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centre of empire; and railroads be-
|Same the principal means of IN
||terstate communication, this noun
tair, curtain was felt to be an i'm
mense drawback upon the pros
|perity of the States covered by it,
Maryland first made the effort to
overcome it, and broke that noun
tain barrier through the maguifi-
cent gorge at Harper's Ferry. The
Baltimore and Ohio road imme-
diately transferred the West India
trade from Charleston to Bal
timore, and made that city one of
the finest upon the continent.
Georgia rext pierced that noun.
tain barrier by the Georgia State
road, and built upon poor high
land chestnut ridge, the magpift
cent city. OF Atlanta. Then Vir-
ginia made the effert, and after
long struggling and many difficult
ties has at last, only the other day,
reached the Ohio, river by the Ches-
apeake and Ohio Railroad. The
expectation is that it will add great
ly to the prosperity of Richmond.
That whole portion of the noun
ta;ns lying between the Georgia
State Road and the White Sulphur
Springs in Virginia.. remains to
this day as complete a barrier to
Railroad communication, as it did
on the morning Of the creation.
Shall this thing remain SO? Shall
we allow Maryland and Virginia
on our right hand, and Georgia on
our left, to scale the mountains,
and we remain idle and inactive,
whilst we need assistance quite as
much, indeed more, and can return
advantages at least as great? 1t
cannot be! For the great West
the shortest route to the sea is by
our route, and we regard it as GER
tain that this road will be built, as
that to-morrow's SUN will rise.
When this road is built, We
think, from necessity it must take
something like the old track Of
the Blue Ridge Railroad. AS a
matter of course the road must run
upon the Carolina side of the
Savannah river, at least to the
neighborhood of Augusta.
l. This route is the shortest and
most direct. If a cord be stretch
ed upon the map from Chicago to
Augusta, it will pass near Edge
field and precisely over Abbeville
and Anderson in the State Of South
Carolina.
2. It is the cheapest, There are
the Rabun Gap and Sassafras Gap,
both practicable. The Blue Ridge
Road has done an immense amount
of work-tunnelling,. grading,
bridging, &C., and is actually run
ming from Anderson to Walhalla,
which portion of the road, those
urging the Savannah valley route,
are in favor Of throwing away.
8. It is the most practicable.
The ridge from Anderson to Alb
beville and thence to Edgefeld by
the "old Generals wagon road
seems to have been made for a
Railroad-no mountains or large
streams in the way and almost
parallel with the Savannah River.
4. This line will run through a
fine productive country, the Wes-
tern counties of the State Of South
Carolina, the best cotton region in
the State, and all things considered
inferior to no portion Of the South,
We have no doubt the conven-
ton will be harmonious, and we
hope eminently successful in thier
labors.
The following are the delega-
tons, SO far as we have been able
to learn them
From Anderson, Messrs. j. P.
Reed, B. F. Whitner, James A.
Hoyt, sThos. B. Lee, W. Fl. D.
Gaillsrd, J. B. Sitton, VIM Perry,
J. w. Norris, D. L. Hall, James A.
Drake, w. SnPickens, G. W. Cox,
Dr.J. H. Reid, S. c. Humphreys,
R. S. Hill. John r. Cochran, B. F.
Crayton, G. W. Maret, John R.
Moore, w. S. Brown, James L..