The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1874-10-21
The Southern Seaboard and the West

The Southern Seab0ard and the west
The Charleston Nc,Us and Courier
publishes full report of an enthusiastic
meeting in behalf of the Spartanburg
and Asheville Railroad, held at the
latter place OIL the sth inst, at which In
teresting speeches were made by Mr..
Memminger, Major Barker, Gen. Vance
and others; and though the enterprise
concerns us less than the rival scheme
which proposes to connect Greenviile to
Asheville by another route, yet we are
all interested in any enterprise which
promises to build up any section of our
State, and which will open up a great
highway between the fertile valleys OF
the West, and our own Qheen City of
the South. That the enterprise is of
easy completion, and is in successful
progress, and that it will do much to
restore the past greatness of our section,
and to put it on :he road to successful
competition with other more prosper
ous sections Of the Union, has been
abundantly shown by tile Speakers on
the occasion.
The immense trade and travel which
this route seeks to control, once found
it's way by way of Asheville to the sea-
board and back again. This trade and
travel has not been destroyed, but has
gone to build up the cities Of New York,
Boston, Philadelphia, baltimore and
Norfolk. The object of this enterprise
is to open up the the closed gate WHICH
affords an easy outlet to the coast, and
which in distance and grade possesses
an advantage over all competing routes.
The route selected is the original route
projected in 1885 for the Charleston,
Louisville and Cincinnati Railroad and
which is now revived under changed
conditions and better auspices. 1t will
run from Spartanburg, along an almost
level ridge to the mountains, through
Howard's Gap and Butt Mountain Gap
to the 9alley of the French Broad, alcng
which it runs by Flat Rock, Henderson
vile and Asheville, to Wolf 'ccreek.
The distance from Spartanburg to Ashe-
vile Is only seventy-four miles, and
thence to Wolf Creek, where 1t connects
with the East Tennessee, Virginia and
Georgia Railroad is only forty-three
miles further. Spartanburg Is already
connected by railroad with the coast, and
Morristewn with the railroads of the
West, and hence the building up of a
gap but little exceeding one hundred
miles, will place our seaboard in cohnec-
ton with the valleys of the Tennessee,
the Ohio, and the Mississippi.
It is proposed that the North Carolina
and South Carolina sections be COM
pleted by the people of the Respective
States, and the Intervening gap of
twenty-three miles through the noun
tains, by the resources of the cohsoli-
dated company; and it is said that the
subscriptions of every County through
which the road is projected are sufficient
to complete the road-bed without the aid
Of private subscriptions, which have
been encouraging in amount; whilst
the judicious location of the route, and
the popular favor which it is receiving.
afford a guarantee that the enterprise
will enlist in its behalf the best capital
of the country. The Chesapeake and
Ohio Railroad had been built by the
people of Virginia, with its thirteen
tunnels in twenty miles, at cost of
$50, 100000, and this road, without a
single tunnel, involves the expenditure
Of only million and half of dollars.
The speakers dwelt at length upon.
the superiority of this route over all
conflicting routes, and the great benefits
which would result from its completion,
in the influx of population, and the
material development of the country
which characterizes the Northern and
Ncrth Western States - urged that
Charleston would again become the
great emporium, of that trade which
was directed to New York by the con-
struction of the New York & Erie Rail
road, and afterwards in part to Baltimore
by the building of the Baltimorc& Ohio
Road. This route will be the shortest
and best; and develop incalculably the
material interests of both sections. AS
we have said, the people of this section
are only indirectly concerned at present.
in the. enterprise, but its completion
will only pave tile way for other roads
which will bring this tide of trade and
travel to our very doors, and develop
here as elsewhere all the blessings which
are to grow out of our connection with
the European ports on the one hand and
the fertile valleys of the West. 1t: Is
only a question of time.