Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1873-04-10
RAILROAD MEETING IN YORKvILLE,

A meeting of the citizens of York county
was held in the Court House on Monday last
9TH instant. On motion of COL W. B. Will.
son, H. F. Adickes was called to the chair
and L. M. Grist requested to act as Secretary
On motion of W. I. Clawson, Esq, Judge
Mackey was requested to address the meeting
on the subject of building the proposed Mar
row Gauge Railroad from Chester to Lenoir
in North Carolina, the consideration of this
question being the object for which the meet
ing was called The motion unanimously
prevailed, and Judge Mackey was loudly
called upon for speech. Appearing on the
stand, he spoke as follows:
Mr.. Chairman and Gentlemen and Felloao.
Citizens of York county:-I have been re-
quested to address you upon the question
whether the county Of York should vote a
subscription to the proposed railroad from the
town of Chester through your county, and
thence to Lenoir, in the county of Caldwell,
North Carolina, connecting at that point with
other railroads, and furnishing to this section
an outlet to the Great West, North and East.
It is pleasure to me to speak on subject
which can be discussed without offending any
citizen, or wounding the selfrespect of any Of
nv hearers, however much they may differ
upon the subject discussed; and on this occa.
sion my appeal shall be to your judgments,
not as relating to political or religious ques'
tions, but to the common interest Of all the
people-a matter concerning the daily bread
of the farmer and the working man of York
county.
1t is very common thing, in South Caro-.
lima, to pro ject the building of a railroad
but very uncommon thing, I regret to say,
for one ever to be built. The Blue Ridge
Railroad is an example, with which you are
all familiar, and one not likely to inspire con-
6dence in the public mind, if that is to be a
model of this enterprise. But, fortunately,
this is not Blue Ridge railroad scheme. 1t
is important, however, for you to know what
it is and what it is not. The Blue Ridge road
began, as you remember, in the pockets of
the State, and ended in the pockets of few
individuals. Such is not to be the fate of the
proposed road from Chester to Lenoir.
At the last session of the Legislature, the
Chester and Lenoir Narrow Gauge railroad
was chartered. The charter was given-not
paid for-not secured by private agents-nor
were lobbyists required to carry the bill
through. So much for the honesty and good
faith of the corporators.
It is proposed to begin the road at the town
of Chester. 1t enters into the plans of the
company to purchase the Kings Mountain
railroad and change the gauge to that Of a
three-feet or "narrow-gauge" road. The
three-feet gauge lessons the labor and cost of
construction more than one-third, the wear
and tear are proportionately lessened, while
the carrying capacity Of the road is not re-
duced, and the rates for transportation are
cheapened.
The route proposed is to pass through the
centre of York county thence to the town OF
Dallas in CASTOR county thence to Lincoln
ton, in Lincoln county; thence to Hickory,
in Catawba county, and thence to Lenoir, the
terminating point, in Caldwell county. In
South Carolina it will traverse Chester and
York counties, tapping the Airline railroad
nineteen miles from Yorkville.
It is to the interest of York county, the
town of Yorkville, and even Rock Hill
though as to the latter town, few affect to
think diferently-that this line should be
constructed. The Airline from Charlotte
to Atlanta, passing nineteen miles from York
vile, is the natural line south, and diverts
from this section the products and freights
which the Chester and Lenoir road would
bring to this point. The farmer needs quick
and expeditions route to convey his products
to market. The quicker the route, the cheap
er the rates, and in this proportion it is better
for the farmer, as in the end heavy charges
invariably fall upon the producer; and as ne
is taxed, in like manner, the tax operates on
the consumer. In other words, he can better
afford to give away his surplus corn at his
crib, than to transport it thirty miles by wagon
and get for it thirty cents per bushe!, or one
hundred miles and receive two dollars per
bushel. The cost of transportation is a dis
count upon the value of the crop. Cheap
transportation means cheap food.
Travelling in the interior Of Iowa in 1857,
directed a man in my employ to leave our
wagon train and 90 distance Of one mile, to
a farmhouse, and purchase one hundred BUSH
els of corn. The man remaining absent un-
necessarily long, I went myself to see what
detained him, when l found him quarreilng
with the farmer and accusing him Of acting
exorbitantly in demanding FIVE cents per
hueho1 for oorn whan II conld he houpht for