The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-08-08
REPORT OF
E. B. Wheelock. President,
To the Board of Directors of the New
Orleans Pacific Railway Company.
REPORT OF
New ORLEANS, Aug. 6, 1875.

| New ORLEANS, Aug. 6, 1875.
Gentlemen Duty and pleasure combined iH
duce me to lay before you an accurate accoun
of my proceedings, during the time of No.
absence, on the important business your hon
orable board saw proper to intrust to M
| charge.
| My duty in the matter is to explain full
| the reasons for the perhaps apparent respon
sibility l may have assumed in some cases
The pleasure take in making this repor
can only be augmented by the realization O
what should justly be one of our most cher
ished hopes-the completion of the glorious
enterprise in which we have emb .rk ed-th.
advantages of which to New Orleans. ant
also to the entire route throughout our State
it is impossible to conceive adequately OF
overrate.
To simplify the report of my operations
will present it in the form of a diary:
Saturday, July 10, we left New Orleans for
Alexandria, our initial point of operations
accompanied by Major Green and party Of
three others, for the purpose Of inauguratine
the first survey of the road from Alexandria
to Cane River, a distance of 25 miles. We
reached Alexandria on Tuesday morning,
where I remained a week to ascertain the
feelings of the people toward our project. 1t
was my intention to have left Alex andria for
Shreveport by the boat advertised to leave
New Orleans on Wednesday, the 18th, but
was detained at Alexandria till arrival OF the
next boat the following Monday. This, how
ever, gave me the opportunity of being pres
ent and taking part in large and enthusiast
tic meeting of the town apd parish, of which
the papers have given you some account. On
Monday, the 10th, we took the first passing
boat for Shreveport-the A. P. Kouns-on
which we proceeded to three miles above
Campte, getting aground twice and losing thir-
ty-six hours thereby. when Major Green and
myself concluded to leave the boat and re-
trace our steps to Natchitoches, where we
were most cordially received, and during the
day arranged the preliminaries for public
meeting, to be held on our return, Monday,
the I'd of August.
The evening of the day on which we ar
rived at Natchitoches by hack, we started for
Mansfield, distance of IS miles by the trav-
eled road, reaching Mansfield Friday night,
the 23d. We spent Saturday there, and ar
ranged the preliminaries for public meeting
of the people of the parish for the Saturday
following. Sunday we proceeded to Shreve-
port, spending the next day there. The
morning after our arrival there we were in
vited by Mr.. Haven, President of the South
western Road, (narrow gauge), TO meet the
directors Of his company at the Office of
Messrs. Sale Murphy; we met an assem-
blage Of fifteen or twenty of the leading citi-
gems, most of whom, however, had no con-
nee ion with his road. The chairman of the
meeting asked me what propositions l had to
offer with a view of making Shreveport the
terminus of the road.
My reply was that I was simply on q tour
making report Of things as I found them to
my board on my return, and should be glad
to hear from them on the subject as to what
propositions Shreveport might be disposed to
make to that end.
The reply to this was, in substance, as fol-
lows:
That they had no money and we're very
poor, but on certain conditions and stipula-
tons. they would do all they could. They
then proceeded to state the immense a6van-
tages their city presented over any and all
other places. At this stage of the proceed
ings, remarked that desired to clearly and
fully explain to them my position, and would
ask them not to misjudge me or to consider
that what might say was the conviction of
my board, for in fact no definite determination
in regard to the terminus of our projected
road would be decided upon till the final
action of the board would determine the
question.
then proceeded as follows:
find myself face to face with gentlemen,
some of whom l claim among my warmest
and best friends, and all Of you are fully
identified with the best interests and pros
perity Of your city. Now, in order to ventil-
ate this question, propose to state what I
consider the objections to your city as our
terminus. My ready acquiesence in all you
urge in favor Of Shreveport as we'll as the
doubtful advantages, as you may have
termed the claims of Marshall or
Jefferson, would, of course, lead you
my board would be in accord with your
views. In the first place, if l am correctly
the road leading from Shreveport
to the State line. en- route to Marshall, is only
leased by Mr.. Scott for term of years, some
six or eight only before the expiration of
the same. At the expiration of that lease,
what would be the position of our road, with
its terminus at Shreveport and short line in
the hands of the Vicksburg and Shreveport
Road enabled to dictate terms for business
to our road, on as important link as the one
leading to the State of Texas In the next
place, should our road terminate in Shreve-
port, Marshall, d alas and all of the northeast
counties of Texas would unite and build a
road from Marshall, or some point west, and
tap our road at Mansfield. What, then, woul1
be our condition with the terminus of road
at New Orleans, destined to connect in the no
distant future, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans?
What right would we have to compel the
whole travel and traffic of Northeast and
Middle Texas pass over some 80 miles of su-
perfuous road herewith submit the propo-
sitions of the Shreveport gentlemen, in
writing, which asked for, and will only add
that it is more modified in tone than their
verbal demands. The evening of the day of
this interview we proceeded by rail to Mar
shall. The next morning we were called
upon by a committee, already formed and
our arrival. Our reception was
cordial and enthusiastic At meeting of the
committee at which we were present, held
that day, it was arranged that We should visit
Dallas the ne Il day by a special train, kindly
placed at our disposition by Col Noble, the
General Superintendent of the Texas Pacific
Road, who, with his General Freight Agent
NJ Nawuap accom panied us and that n non