The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1874-03-12
The Ia. q d. Railroad

l. Mr. EDITOR The importance of Il
Of Memphis & Knoxville Railroad
originally projected, to the people
Lincoln, Giles, Lawrence and FVa1rr
n counties, induces me, with your permi
sion, TO beg the attention of your reaC
ers in those counties to a few facts cor
nected with the enterprise, hoping the
l-may take SUCH action as via secure tn
/, location Of this road on q line that VII
! benefit them while in their power to d
+ so.
1 assume, without stopping 70 argu
from the commercial necessities of IN,
intervening country, that an East anC
West Road viii be built some day, hay.
. ing one of its termini at Memphis anC
corresponding in its general direction
with the M. q X. r. as originally pro-
Jected. But without timely action on
the part of the people of those counties,
the line win most probably be located
elsewhere. Now for the facts proving
this hypothesis:
This line was originally projected BY
the citizens of Bolivar; and the induce
ments were first to bring the cotton Of
the counties lying east toward the Ten
nessee River to Bolivar for market
and second, TO secure a direct route TO
J Memphis, which at present they do not
/ have. To secure the cooperation of the
/ counties east and west of them, they
/ projected through line, and organized
company to build and control il. or
| rather control and build it, and to work
with what capital and force they could
raise to build East towards the Tennes-
see river, relying upon private subscrip-
tiOns of stock and leyies of tax by the
counties through which it might pass,
for funds TO extend it.
But the town of Jackson is a rival
and competitor of Bolivar for the trade
of the same section; and the far-seeine
men of Jackson, in the interest of their
city, have indefinitely postponed the
building of the Memphis & Knoxville
Road as originally projected, by the in
auguration of counter projects. Both
of these towns are on the line of that
great thOroughfare North & South, the
Mississippi Central, extending now, in
effect, without break from New Or
leans to Chicago. They occupy the
respective positions on that line that
Pulaski and Columbia do on the N. &.
ID. Road, or South and North Road.
The first counter-projeet advocated by
the Jackson people, was a road from
Jackson to Memphis, which would nee
essarily greatly interfere with the pro-
posed route from Memphis to Bolivar:
and as was probably anticipated by its
projectors, 1t was found impossible, in !
the divided state of public sentiment
along the rival lines, to secure sufficient
funds, either by private subscription or |
by county taxation, to justify putting !
either of the proposed lines under con-
tract for construction. So the proposed /
Memphis d Knoxville Road West of /
the Mississippi Central rests in allowance |
for the present.
Now let us see the situation East of |
the Miss. Central. Let us agree that
the two great North & South lines. the
NJ. G. and the NJ. 81 Ohio Roads stand
neutral towards any East end West
lines, which crossing at or nearly at
right angles, would only be feeders to
them; and the same thing might be as
sumed of the L. 4 n. or South 81 North
Road. So a fair field is left for an East
& West line to be located where the
most activity. energy and capital are
brought together to carry it. The coal
and iron interests being the most prom
inent interests in such route, are likely
to exert q controlling influence Those
shrewd Jackson men seeing this, have
surveyed and estimated a
Road, designated the Birmingham Road,
II a SOutheasterly direction |
from Jackson, through those isolated
counties adjacent to the Tennessee Riv-
er, touching it at Pittsburg landing.
(the Shiloh battle field) about the head |
of navigation of the Tennessee below |
the Muscle Shoals, and designed TO /
connect at the town of Birmingham
with the system of Roads crossing there. |
The influence of this project was suffi- |
Gent to defeat by a small majority, az /
an election two months ago, the levy of /
a tax in Henderson, Gounty-toi carry the |
NJ. & X. Road through that county on /
the line originally projected. And at a /
Municipal election the first Saturday in |
January, the people of Jackson, by |
vote well nigh unanimous authorized |
their Mayor and Board of Aldermen to |
levy a tax of seventy-five thousand dol i
lars on the city to put this Birmingham
road under contract. These facts ought |
to demonstrate to the friends of the |
Memphis & Knoxville Road in Middle |
Tennessee that it is not the part of wis |
dom to stand idly waiting on its friends |
in West Tennessee to bring it to them. !
Especially is it important to the peo-
pie of Pulaski and Giles county to be |
active and energetic.
Your editorial article of the fifth in |
slant shows so clearly the advantages /
and importance of making a COM |
mencement at that point, and building |
the road toward the Tennessee river, |
that l must urge every one of your |
readers to examine the article again /
with care and attention. They will |
find it true and every sentence replete |
with sound sense. The company that /
secures and controls the crossing of the |
Tennessee river will secure the key and |
control the advantages of the whole |
line of the road l suppose Pulaski |
could do this by voting the proposed tax |
of forty thousand dollars, and then by |
organizing an Independent Company !
among the friends of the route in |
Wayne, Lawrence and Giles, and build |
the road from Pulaski to the river /
That link secured, the connection with |
Fayetteville would be guaranteed and |
the friends Of the route West of the |
river would meet you at the point of |
crossing selected by you. Thus all the |
money expended in preparing the road /
for the iron and equipments would be |
expended in the counties through which /
it was located, the advantages Of which |
would be almost incalculable. l have |
believed from the first agitation of |
this project that the citizens of the |
above named counties were really more |
interested than any others, and that the |
real points of connection necessary in |
order to make the road a paving enter
prise to the builders, were the Tennes-
see and the junction with the Fayette-
vile branch of the Nashville and Chat
tanooga road. If necessary, L could
give some facts strongly supporting that
position, but this article is already ex-
tended much further than l proposed.
CITIZEN.
--~ss--
"a The Wayne County citizen, in
speaking of the NJ. & X. Railroad, has
this true and sensible thing to say:
Wherever this east and west line
crosses the Nashville & Decatur railroad