The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1874-03-27
WHY RAILROADS INCREASE
THE VALUE OF LANDS.

american gives some very Interesting
In his speech at Lawreneeburg. a
pamphlet copy of which lies before US,
Major w. j. Sykes gave some valuable
statistics IN regard to the value of land
! IN Tennessee. In 1854 the value Of
] farm lands was SIG 233 sos, and in 1859
1t had risen to 1912, 820,9 95, or nearly
double what it was in 1854 The war
and the partial destruction of our rail
roads reduced the price of lands little,
/ but 1t has risen within the last two years
! until now the average value of land in
| Tennessee is as much as it was In 1859
| The value of farm lands in the five States
! of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and
( Wisconsin was nearly 500, 100000 in
| 1850, and it vas in the same States over
three billion dollars in 1870 The rail-
road debt of Tennessee was Ia 1860, S34,.
| 62T ,6S, and it is now very little over
! Sl6,O00,000. This fact SHOWS what our
| State authorities have been doing for the
relief of the Taxpayers. Major Sykes
says " 80 great has been the abuse of
State aid since the war, that many good
men who are the friends of progress
and improvement, begin to doubt the
wisdom and propriety of the system"
After giving an array of facts to show
how the value of land had been increased,
he proceeded to give the reasons why
this took place, as follows:
Having shown that railroads do iu>
crease the value of land to an extent
almost incredible, the question is pre-
sented how and why do they produce
this result ? This l now propose to an.
swer. 1t is done by cheapening the cost
of transportation. This adds to the value
of articles grown on the land, and as the
value of the productions increases, the
value of the land producing them in
creases also in the same proportion. If
an acre of land produces fifty bushels
of corn, and it costs fifty cents a bushel
to get this corn to market, that land is
taxed twenty-five dollars per acre for
each year to enable the farmer to get
his corn to market, but if it should only
cost ten cents per bushel to get the corn
to market, then the farmer would only
pay five dollars on each acre for trans
porting his produce to market, and thus
save twenty dollars on each acre planted
IN corn.
Cotton is worth four dollars more
per bale at jackson or Henderson Sta
ton than at Lexington and three dol,
lars bale more at Columbia than at
Lewisburg, because Henderson and
Marshall counties have no railroads.
Peanuts were worth, last year, fourteen
cents bushel more at Waverly than at
Centreville, because Hickman county
has no railroads. 1t costs fourteen cents
bushei more to get Hickman wheat to
Nashville than it does Maury or Giles
wheat, for the same reason. Let these
examples suffice.
Some entertain the idea that it costs
man nothing to haul in hia own way
Ons and with his own teams What a
mistake The wear and tear of the
wagons, the injury done to the horses and
mules, the feed of his teams, besides
the cost of his labor, really amounts to
as much as to hire it done, to say moth
ing of the losses sustained by his absence
from home, and his exposure in having
the hauling done. Experience has shown
that 1t harms horses and mules as much
to haul farm productions a considerable
distance over bad roads as it does to
pillow them. A man might say, with
as much truth, that it costs him nething
to cultivate a crop with his own wagons
and teams, and on his own land, as to
say that hauling in his own wagons and
with his own teams costs him nothing
1t costs as much to haul corn, wheat,
potatoes, and such heavy articles many
miles over bad roads, as it does to raise
them, and sometimes even more. For
these reasons we need cheap railroads
into every agricultural eighbSrhood
The tax upon the productive industry
OF the country in transporting agricul~
turai products to market is the main
reason why our farmers are not more
prosperous.
Cannot any one see that where there
is cheap transportation the land is made
more valuable than where transportation
is high, although the land produces the
same amount of corn, wheat cotton or
potatoes2 The remarks which have
been made in reference 10 corn, apply to
all other articles, in a greater or less
degree. Articles comparatively value
less on account of the want of railroads
and the distance from market, become
valuable as the cost of transportation is
reduced.
THE reason why lands increase in
price, as railroads are built, is because
they increase in real UGlLe. The pro-
ductiOns of the forest, the field and the
mines depend for their value and use>
fulness upon cheap and easy access to
good markets; and, therefore, if the
stockholders should never realize any
direct profits from the roads, the incl
dental advantages would more than cons
pensate them for their construction"
There are many other interesting and
important facts and 5tatst; cs, for which
we have not space, and must refer the
reader to the speech itself
The annexed paragraph, taken from
the Official records, contains some START
ling facts which are worthy of the most
serious consideration of every man and
woman in the land. Read it we'll, and
see if there is not something terribly
solemn in its awful truths:
There are 100000 more persons en-
gagged in the liquor business in the
United States than in preaching the
Gospel and schoolNteaching; and from
the effects of intoxicating drinks. 100000
are annually sent to prison, 10000 to
drunkard's graves, and 100000 children
are reduced to want The total number
Of persons engaged in the business is
SOC, 900, of which SO, 663 are employed
in making and selling annually 5,S65, 633
barrels of beer.
1t is estimated that the clergy of the
United States costs annually So 900, 900;
the lawyers, c-im inals, prisoners, ETC.,
$50 ,00O,000, and Intoxicating liquors,
81 ,474 100000.
The Savannah Republican says that