The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1875-09-25
TEN AS.PACIFIC RAILWAY.
Better from General q. 4. Rcnuregnrd
10 General John II. Gordon. of
Georgia.
IErom the Richmond Dlspateh.l


HEALING SPRINGS BATH COUNTY, VA, }
September 9, 1875. j
General John b. Gordon, United States Sen
ator, Atlanta, Ga;
My DEAR misunderstanding the
interestyou take in all public questions
touching the welfare and prosperity
not only of your own great State bl t
of her sister CommonWealth5, take
the liberty of making you the medium
through which, as citizen of the
South, | may set forth some of the
views | entertain upon measure, see.
Ond TO none in importance, in which
or section has q Common concern, and
against which, to my surprise, | lind
some few gentlemen in this State man
ifestng remarkable opposition. |
mean the plan submitted to the last
Congress for c0mpiGtiay the Transcon-
tinental railroad to the Pacific upon
the thirty second parallel of latitude.
Some weeks ago United States Seua-
tor Johnston, OF Virginia, addressed q
letter to General Joseph Il. Anderson,
of Richmond, Va, whom there
is not more public-sp irited gentleman
in this State or in the Soutll--setting
forth views 50 antagonistic to this bll
that it received II prompt and emphatic
reply from Mr.. Bond, Nire-Pre,ident
of the Texas and Pacific Railway Com
pany. The first WAS published in the
Richmond Wing; the latter in The Dis
patch, of the same city. Lest they
should not have fallen under your eye,
! shall enclose them to you | ha,e
perused very carefully and critically
the honorable SENATOR'S lengthy com
municatOn; for coming from so distin-
guished q source, and himself the rep
reseMtative III part in the United States
Senate OF this great and reNered OF
States, | beth0ught me that perhaps it
contained solid and unauSWerahle, and
therefore to me ROrd, GgumentS
against scheme upon when ] had
supposed the entire South was unit.
| have failed to discover, however,
with all respect to the author the
slightest ground to change the opin-
ions had formed of this great enter
prise, and the reasonable and practical
BILE plan for obtaining Government aid
for its contamination. Mr.. Bonds let
ter TO General Anderson humbly con
ceiVe to be complete and triumphant
answer TO the Senator's objections, 1t
is so regarded, | learn, BY most Of the
leading men in this state.
The charge Of the Senator that the
bill was not for southern road, but q
northern road in disguise, is sigually
refuted by the president of the
Texas and Pacific Company in the ir-
resistible array OF facts going to show
that the bill asking Government aid
before the last Congress had the en-
uorsement of the public sentiment OF
the South and Southwest through leg
i5lailVe bodies, cham bers of commerce,
and boards OF trade of ! believe, all
the Southern States or Southern cities,
Indeed, in eight of the Southern States
they went so far as to pass resolutions
in their legislatures g MStractiRg their
senators dad requesting HcN repeseJt-
tdtiypsn to vote to aid the YtrUS and
Pacific rdiiiCdY route to the Pacific,
And it is at least u little curious, and,
/ confess, to me ineXplicable, how the
charge that the bill was in northern
interests could have been made in the
face Vt this record. Then, too, If !
mistake not, the ou!y vote THAT was
taken ON this measure was in the low
er house of Congress, when the indl-
cations Of the sentiments of the south
pru members We're greatly in tdr0r OF
the till, While those from the North
'Ajfci ,t&fadiUcS were as pronounced
against it. Surely this was u result
yeFy irrecOncilNUle the allegation
thar.it was Intended to defeat the great
Commercial and agricultural interests
of the Southern States. When 1t is
borne in mind that the present Texas
aud Pacific Company have already
built, equipped aud have in good
running order, several hundred miles
of this road, and that they have been
examined and accepted by the United
States Government in accordance with
the stipulatious of their charter; that
they are in possession of millions or
acres and land reservations both from
the General Government and state OF
Texas; that they show that the
routes of all the divisions to the Pacific
have been developed with the greatest
care, and that their location has re-
quired ten thousand miles OF instrll'
mental lines and fifteen thousand miles
OF Reconnaissance II is not too much
to say that ii u southern trans-contl-
mental line is to be built during the
last quarter of this century it must be
done under the auspices OF the present
company g}C. ~ w
But, my dear General, did not mean
to discuss this subject atsueh length IN
this letter. have no doubt that 1t has
received, and will continue to receive,
your careful conslderatin. My object
has been chiefly to call your attention
TO the anomalous movement in TINS
state to defeat "A measure in the sue
cess of which we all feel so intense an
interest. With me 1t has been cher
ished hope for years, and the fact that
1T is Projected by Colonel Scott, with
whom am only slightly acquainted
not in any way onnected--welghs NOT
feather in my mind against the SUI
pendous advantage ofbrlnging the I'M
mense and varied trade which VIII Dc
r.fyeloped along the,whole line of tins
road TO the Pacific many hundred
miles nearer than the other trans-con'
tinentalroutes to every Southern city
between the two oceans, and from the
Potomac to New Orleans ana the hlo
Grande.
The objection Of Senator Johnston to
the difference of gauge between the
Texas Pacific railroad -four feet eight
and half inches) and the railroads OIL
the cis-Mississippi Southern States
live feetl has been so successfully an
swered by Mr.. Bond that will only
add that engineers do not attach AT
present much importance to that oo-
stacle. which not long since was consid-