The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-09-06

Eh1RSTON WAS 6uiiubS Ob~S
civil war. He was In the frat Manassas anu
was severely wounded at Williamsburg
The Texns and Pacific Railroad.
Editors Dispatch: Every real trieno OF
VIRGINIA should thank you for The recent
publication In YOUR columns OF the aumifa.
hle letter of Major Bond. vice.presloeht VI
tho Texas and Pacific Railroad Company, 10
ran,v TO Senator Johnstor's remarkable apo-
GOV TO his constituents for opposing g9'sins
mental aid to that great southern work, anu
s.ijj more thank you for your ape, coucIu.
s;rs and overwhelming editorial comments
an tho two documents. Conclusive as maJol
~ pandse letter aud your article were as re-
n 81 20 Senator Johnston, l think you over.
ed or DID not at least give suinc'en'
s~.,,;ronce to one most remarkaoie incon.
s.,aney hr;ween the Senator's deciarsalon oi
Sr;ondshir to "genutne southern faclu'
ra;Iroadn and one reason he assigns loI OPP
nas;ns the one be is discussing. Inc sena'
10 49,, ehief objection 10 the Texas ana racine
W. ~ that branoh of it" will run TO 81.
1oau where the Mississippi is bridged, and
~. .b,re tho road would connect with northern
,;rae of the same gauge, thGs drawing I'LL
t,te heavy traffic by that route 10 noitnerh
tbC bSe'J
Eorts. oh;a..;o, bo ssvs. CT
oo,ntod ont to Mr.. Scott, in q conversation
| 9th him. the advantages that the Eaoes
1 hr;dce at st. Louis, would give That branch.
Ue renlea that the river at Memphis mlgnt
no crosse1 by running the trains on ferry
bo,ts ar Iy building bridge at that potnt.
Crossins, such 4 sEcam az the MISSISSIPPI
nj Memphis with heavy train on top OF d
hoat would be rather an rSsTEADY AND IN
c.rs rrs1SEss, aps shippers and passengers
would not llke it; and as for building
bridge. it wortd take great deal OF tttne
ana money Captain Fades informed uie
that the bridge at st. Louis, with AL us Access
sories cost shout sc SOC, 600. Inc river al
Memphis ts nearly twice as Wlde as at oI.
! Louis, aud the country IN Arkansas west OF
/ The river is so low that the bridge, when
made bies enough to allow the free passage
of boats. would have to be approached by an
immense and very costly fill. You can make
q very Gair estimate of what this bridge would
cost but can yoa ever make guess as 10
where the money is to come from to build
it?"
Now. what does Senator Johnston mean by
his Language? Why, clearly, that the Texas
and Pacific rosd can never cross the Missis-
sippi as low down as Memphis By bridge,
and cannot safely ferry its cars across the
river. but will be forced to break bulk Oh tue
west bank, and by two landings boat its
freights across the river 10 reach our southern
system of roadS-a burtheu on trafti: and
travel so great that the bulk of it will 90 Ola
st. Louis, and be lost 10 the South. II this
is sound logic, don't it prove too much? Ii
the Texas and Pacific road is thus cut OF
from the southern Atlant c ports by the i'm
passabe barrier of the Mississippi, how does
the Senator expect TO get bis "Senuine
southern Pacific road" across the river Z"
Will it be any easier to bridge the Mississippi
for genuine Southern Pacific road" orfora
q fiye-feet-gauge road, than for the Texas and
Pacific road? If that stream as low as Men,
phis can't be bridged for one it can't be for
the other and therefore we Of Virginia and
the other southern States can have no bridge
connection with bis proposed "genulne
southern Pacific ROAD" and without bridge,
be argues, we cannot compete with the north.
ern roads, which have Il bridge at st. Louis.
He clearly indicates his disbelief in the pos
sibity of . system Of car-ferrlaSe as AN
unsteady and unsafe business" which neither
shippers nor passengers woull like, and be
can therefore see no possible meaCs OF fair
connection between our southern Cls- MisslS-
sipp roads and the Texas and Pacific road.
and therefore opposes bill granting it Gov
eminent aid. repeat, if this is sound logic,
has Senator Johnston not proved that no
southern Poetic road can benefit Us, because
it's continuity must be and remain lneXora-
bly, broken by the Mississippi:
The Texas and Pacific is now furnishing
road of 500 miles in operation, with more
than 100 miles additional graded. 1t bias
the right of way across the continent on
the onIy true and available line for gen
uine Southern Pacific road "--such road as
the Senator would favor. 1t is the owner OF
vast domain of granted lands. 1t has
bought up and cXtinguished all the older
corporations looking TO the same end--a
southern road to SIN Diego. 1t has rights
which the Government itself cannot take
away, and is now an insurmonnlable obSta-
Gle in the way of any other southern road to
the Pacific. The choice for us in the South
is between the Texas and Pacific or no south
ern Pacific road at all. But the Senator says
it is not Il "genune Southern Pacific roau."
| If it was he would 20 for il. He don't tell
US what would stamp it "geGulne." 1t
would not be a change Of location,
for there is no location available
south of its surveyed line within United
| States territory. Does be propose to Top OIL
all its northern connections! Hardly, if he
expects northern votes and northern money
to aid in its construction; and he will not
pretend that without these it can be built.
| And ii be moves in the Senate 10 deprive it
of northern branches or connections, sena-
tors from that section mly insist upon
applying the pruning knife to its southern
branches. Will change of its gauge to five
feet make it "a genuine southern road?"
That would break ali its connections in Ar
kansas, Texas, and Louisiana with existing
roads, save one, and that one, as GU, Messrs.
Editors. pointed out, running 10 Cairo, and
thence to Chicago.
But how would the change to tive-feet
gauge get over the insuperable bridge and
ferry difficulties as he states them!
Can only conceive OF one other mode of
making it ga genuine southern road (which
would command the Senator's support, and
that would be TO turn out Colonel Thomas
A. Scott as president, together with bis
northern directory, and put in their places
General Malone or some other southern rail.
road magnate and his friends as board Of
directors. Perhaps those who have fur
nished the money TO build the road SO far
| might object to such q transfer of the man.
agement OF their property to strange hands,
and cannot well see how the Congress OF
the United States could overcome the objec-
ton. But suppose this difficulty removed,
and General Malone actually president OF
the Texas and Pacific "geuuine southern"
Railroad Company, would that bridge the
! Mississippi at Memphis, or make ferry -boats
! less unsteady and unsafe" in transferring
cars from tive-foot gauge on the low banks
OF Arkansas 10 Memphis? ! can't see it.
The truth is, vito all due respect to Seua-