The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-01-16
The HaStanfi Biz before the Conn
tniffCc.


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The Has,ana Bill before the Conn
miffcc.
The fax having at length been paid in &C
.orilr.c with the law, Mr.. Ragland's bill Is
%, i,t before the Senate committee. NO
.,r,lnrv ! needed, therefore. for returning to
,i,c >uiicct. whose importance indeed to the
n,,hIjr n large and to this city cannot easily
=, nvc:c.fimatcd. The bill seeks such
,,,rndmCnt Of the existing charter of the
rnaa owned by Mr.. Ragand and his partners
i. will enable them TO buy ont existing
road, hctwccn Petersburg and Washington,
consolidate with them, or build alongside OF
them Il second line parallel to them in general
aud yvi>>mg through the same points,
Elrhmond, Fredericksburg. Alexandria
,nd cities and towns being empowered to
take stock in the proposed extension to the
annun, all toldl Of Si0.00n,N00. The first
and M overwhelming objection TO the bill Is
nd we hope the committee VIII duly con-
>,d"r it) that 1t exposes the taX-laying, re-
>p1uSibe property y-owning c!liZen> oi cach
p! these cities and towns TO bc plunged INTO
- rf debt by the irrcS Sponsihl', ignorant,
ani docilc voters who will obey the bidding
ct such native patriots as Mir. Iiatt ana
- show that il this bill becomes Il law our
own city Il Petersburg, for example. can lie
lnp,lc, II the nod Of one man from Vermont
md another from Massachusetts, to vote
u.r!f one. or two or three millions III debt.
This ou" consideration alone should make
every taxpayer in Petersburg stand aShast
II = proposition - dangerous. and astouDd-
I'll At the tari. not that IL is falhered by the
senator from Petersburg, tut that any re-
~pon-ihle, citizen outside of the beneticlarleS
should seriously support it. Much is said at
intervals of the enterprise, responsibility
wealth, &c. OF the five citizens who ask three
rl'ir> and one town of this Commonwealth tC
.Iyv them absolute power over their corpo
l.,t" purses.
OF these qualities Of the owners we know
little: their solycpcy we would MOI dispute
but >olycncy in Petersburg is not generally
measured by the ten million. OF their citi-
zrn>hp and general responsibility 10 doub
has been expressed by us; but we car
N! remember how their president and chic
w,> oI" Of hat other syndicate which bougb
the Rirhmuul and Petersburg road under {
W,iI-uHd"r>toud pledge that they bought II
81 citizens and resident, OF Virginia, ye
Baltimore p"npl" and the Southern Sccurit.
tnHI,any appear ut the stock meetings o
that property.
Hut AL til, aside.
when we look 10 the past OF the managers
|Hj UNn"Is Tor Il g'li,l" toward discovering
"iud would Their future course he unde1
'"" vast powers proposed 10y this h!ll to bs
!itni"l. Wt iinI
i>t. That this management >ignaized toe
dat, ~heu it took clarge hy raising The
tariffs on local tradc-tiIat is. trade plying t
Hnd from Ictcrsburg-an average of ten pei
cent.
-d "" find that they set on foot system
81 discriminating rates. hy which the,
CHARGED bale of cotton only siyty-odd cent
If it was billed 10 New York but one dol
hr and twcuty-odd cents if it WAS bound tt
"ilr own merchants and market.
W imd that. beng in competition at Wei
ti.'n with III. >eahoard road, it 50 far aids tn
'Hdg Of Portsmouth and Injuries the trad
81 Petersburg Is to charge the aainc frcigh
"n >iX(N-twU miles a. the .Seabuard charge
ior eighty.
These fact, have been over and over agar
as.",t"d they are susceptible OF proof tn
syndicate b;'> been challenged to deny or re
i'l'" them. and neither direct denial nor an,
>Auw Cf relutation has been offered. On'
wlyoChle OF the syndicate quibblcs over eSti
mated ir"lght> OF cotton, thinking thus L
overcome calculations made from actual case
and actual weights. Another advocate
speaks Of the statistics (neyer denyin.
them) As "arlfully selected IA term which
wei suits them. for they were selected will
'hc supreme art OF truthful selection, ant
they are fatal to any and every claim to con
Sitcration the proposed bill might have
Bot more than that and on wider ground
%!c tic future issues Of tins bill should it be
rone law. What The syndicate has don
'or Petersburg with the Petersburg road
taat with the Weldon and Washington roat
they would do for Richmond and all Eir
:inia. 4 bridge they would throw acros
"Gr commonwealth Il viaduct from th
border OF Carolina to the District of Column
in. through which they could and woult
i"ic" 10 flow such streams as never yiaduc
u Rome conveyed across the thirsty earth
j'@'IHg 40 drop by the way, and carryin,
al {" swell still more swollen capital.
NcGld they do il: Rather, Can any doub
II : But Il few months ago their whole aspi
ltloh Wis 10 tuild u road to City Point, au(
",cly citizen knows how they even went Il
i'M 20 condemn property for that purpoS
oi one allied TO it. Now that project is rs
u never had been. Now they scorn Cit,
fuHt aud Richmond, AppoGattoX ant
Warrington, ut the falls of Potomac, tn
sHnllowe>t and most useless, commercially
"i Atlantic rivers. II is too thin disguise
Washington they are not seeking, but New
l"tk, and they seek 1t already 10y carrying
litithcr two halc5 for what they ask to briu:
one 10 Petersburg.
IN truth the speculation has widened be
l'!r them. First, failing to sell TO Mr.. Johr
N"hn>on within week of the purchase
lien failing TO sell to the Pennsylvania Rail
road Company, then failing to sell to tn
southern Security Company, at hst-al
other cNrcdicntS tailnS-thcy modestly asl
~" A-scInh!y 10 give them power to confs
'Tl" 10 miles Of railroad, in part owned b.
'!r State. and TO make four Virginia town
'Hhscrhe to their bonds and loans and pro
IL" under the compulsion of the ignorAn
E'.,ro and the knaysh Radical vote, and a
:" ave them irom loss in their srccula
tpn.
u Is too much. No man would believe tha
SorA proposition aS this bill, so dangerou
'ad ~ utterly without reason, could he nail
''in"d; vet such as we have given It, sue
4 IA truth it is. Let the Senate committee an
4 ~" people of Virginia judge of it.-Peters
8 h"g I.tcr.