The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-01-08
Duck River Valley Railroad.
TO the Editors ofke Herald and Mai:

10 the Editors Of the HerGtu ana -hdLt'
How is II that none of your wide
awake, public spirited men have not
been sufficiently moved to speak out,
after reading the very important and
interesting letter of Chief Engineer tal-
Counet, published in the HEKALD AND
MAIL, December Is? Let US impress il
il on those who feel an interest in the
prosperity OF Maury county, and espe-
cially of Column bia, and desire the CONS
pletion OF the road, to read that letter
carefully, and my word for it they will
be moved by self-interest, if not by
feeling OF public spirit. We learn by
that letter that the road bed bridges,
and trestling, are nearly completed to
Lewisburg, at a cost OF an average OF
81. go per mile, being one third less cost
Than any other rOad, bed ever built in
Middle Tennessee, even when labor
could be had much cheaper than now.
The letter iDtimateS that the l.. " y. K.
K. Go. will take the road. bed and make
il a broad gauge, iron and equip 1t and
make it a aranch of that great road,
which is now great monopoly, Operat-
ed entire+pi in their special interest. By
such change our county town, which
every citizen of Maury county should de-
sire to see built up till it becomes city
of some importance, would become d
mere way-StatiOn. The trade and pro-
ducts of those two rich counties, Mar
shall and Lincoln, would whip by US,
from which we would deriye the same
profits that we now do from the pro-
ducts OF Giles, when shipped oyer the
same Louisville and Nashville and
Great Southern Railroad. Were it not
that the cost of a broad gauge road so
far exceeded the cost of a narrow gauge,
and that au important link in the great
system of narrow gauge roads, begun in
tennessee, would be destroyed; and
that the one most important thing to
the farmers-th4t OF a competing road,
the only thing that will ever bring
down treights to a fair price, say but
for these things, the citizens of Marshall
and Lincoln would prefer the road to be
a branch OF the l. IL n. IL G.. S. road.
How would it operate tor Columbia
and Maury county? a few statistical
facts would show that both Maury
county and Columbia would lose thou
sands of dollars annually by such
change. Knowing that figures are dry,
we will not resort to them in this, but
appeal to the common sense of the peO-
pie, We have now secured the build
ing of a road bed to the town of Lewis
burg, for comparatively a small outlay,
and shOll we lose what is already 81
we'll and economically spent, or shall
we act the part of sensible, wide~awake
people, by responding to Major Falcon
nets request and vote the S25, 900 which
was voted to the west end of the road
to the east end with the explicit under
standing that the entire SIS, 200 is to be
used for rolling stock exclusively?
And when changed by vote, instruct
the board OF Mayor and Aldermen to
issue the bonds of the denomination
of $500 $4,000 and 500 90 each, like
those issued by the New York Central
Railroad Company, which bonds, with
the coupons attached, are smaller in
size than five dollar greenback-litho-
graphed, Such bonds would be as cur
rent here in Columbia and Maury cOun>
ty as any national bank notes; in fact,
after a few months interest had accumu-
lated, they would be worth premium.
Several OF the contractors, who with
difficulty got clear of some of the first
issue of bonds at a sacratice, told the
writer that had the bonds been for $50
or 500, instead of $500 ond $1,000, they
could easily have purchased all supplies
needed with them in Columbia, and we
could thereby have had SIS, 900 dollars
more circulating medium than we now
have; and besides, the loss OF s., 900 dis
count sustained would have been saved
to the road. | must not be understood
as rejecting on those who got up the
bon Is as they are. At that time we had
no experience III SuCn matters, is ii
not time to be up and doing, and not let
$40, 900 worth of railroad track and
| bridges wash and rot away, rather than
expend thirty or forty thousand dollars
and thereby greatly enhance the value
| of and save that already expended. ]
| know we have a few old dead-beats
among us, who will oppose this as they
| have every other improvement, unless
| it was the building of street, road OF
pavement jvst in front of their premises.
! A few oppose the railroad by crying out,
'turnpikes." All we have to say to
them is, fix up your turnpike pro-
! gramme, and you will be puzzled tC
| know which is our tavorite, as we will
! partake freely of each dish. There is some
! sense in a hungry mans refusing tur.
key and insisting on taking ham when
both are set before him, but not much
! when only turkey is on the table.
RAILROAD OR TURNPIKE.