The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-09-17
Letter from General Beauregard.
so,,tbp,.n pdciffc Railroad.

e.. son,,or Joussros, of this State, de.
= onrced This road as northern. Let US ASK
in all sincerity, which has the best right 10
decide az to what is southern and what IS
northern. Senator JOHNSTON or eeneEa'
hero Of the southern strue'
o,e and citizen OF New Orleans, city
rh,ch has interests in this road greater than
those of any community north OF itP Look
at the records Of each, and tell us.
We are not speaking 10 the interest Of any
CORPORATION, or "ring," II you choose, but
ia the interest Of our country-aye, and OF
our Beloved South. A railroad altogether
southern geographically and that Is the
best intica.sr Of what Is southern-is To-
c ,ted, begun, and fue hundred miles Of 1t
built TheIoyerument has granted it LANDS,
and the way for southern line to the Pac'hc
Is occupied. AS we understand it, there Is
No ground upon which another railroad
can be with advantage located. AND up
springs q very small southern party, mainly
eucamped upon the soil of Virg'nia-a ny
Withhold it-and raises the cry that this rail-
way 50 chartered and begun, and continued
forsfize hundred miles, must be set ASIDE DE-
cause it IS northern road; aud either an
other road must be chartered or this one
must be wrested from the corporators ana
trroed over TO some "southern Governors"
with some sort of southern cooked nat al
the head of it. We ask every practicai
gentleman If ever there vas more aDsurd
and visionary proposition! Of course no.
bodr could ever expect conmon-sense IDEA
from the mind OF any man who u'tefed or
believed in it. Whether Senator JOHNSTON
is so wild in mind as to approve this utoplan
scheme or not be certainly opposes the pre-
sent Southern Pacific scheme, as though there
were power in Congress to violate vested
rights and kick out corporation which has
not only been organized, but has built more
than five hundred miles Of railroad. Can ab-
surdity 60 furtherS Yes, it can:
It Gao 20 so much further as to propose to
apply to Congress that the Southern Pacnc
railroad shall be given to certain southern
Governors and their agent-whoeVer he may
behind you, because the corporation now
having the road in hand is northern. Is
there man in the Union who IL such DOCK
head as to suppose Congress controlled
entirely by northern votes, and the votes OF
those northwestern members who represent
interests either Indifferent or hostile to the
building of the Southern Pacific railroad,
would do any such thing2 The idea is so
absurd that a man involves himself in abb
surdity by seriously combating it.
But we are writing much when We only
intended in the beginning to introduce what
is 50 very important on this subject:
GENERAL REAUREGARD'S LETTER.
HEALING SPRINGS, BATH COUNTY. FA..l
September 8, 1915.
General John B. Gordon, United States Sen.
atOr, atlanta, Ca:
NV Dear General. knowing the interest
you take in all public questions touching the
welfare and prosperity not ouly of your own
great state. but Of her sister Comma wealths,
| take the liberty Of making you the medium
through which. as citizen of the South, 1
NAV set forth some Of the views L entertain
| upou measure, second to none in impor-
| lance. in which our section has common
concern, and against which, TO my surprise,
| find some few gentlemen in this State man.
ifcsting remarkable opposition. | mean the
plan submitted to the last Congress for COM
Dletino the traus-conllnental railroad to the
Pacific upon the thirty second parallel OF ati-
tude.
Some few weeks ago United States Senator
Johnston. of Virginia, addressed q letter 10
General Joseph Z. Anderson, Of Richmond,
Va,,-thau whom there is not more public
sprited gentleman in this State or in the
South setting forth views so antagonistic to
this bill that it received a prompt and EN-.
pba,ic reply from Mr.. Bond, vce-president
of the Texas and Pacific Rlilway Company.
| The first was Published in the Rica moud
| IYhiG; the latter in the Dispatch, OF the
same city. Lest they should not have
fallen under Your eye, shall cEclo>e
them to YOU have perused very care
fully and critically the honorable Sana-
tors lengthy comHuuicltiOE; for cohing
from so distinguished source, and hiH.ei
the representative an part in the United
States Senate OF this great and revered of
STATES, l bethought ne that perhaps it
contained solid and unansweeable, and
therefore TO ire mac6l, arguments against d
l.
tire South was emit. ! have failed to dis
cover, however, with all respect to the au-
thor, the slightest ground to change the
opinions I had formed OF this great enter
| prise. aad the reasonable and practicable
4 plan for obtaining Government aid Eor its
!, cousummation. Mr. Bonds letter to Gene
I ra, Anderson | hmmbly conceive to be q
leomplete 2sld triumphant answer TO the Sen
atoI's objections. It is so regarded, l lesen,
|, BY most of the leading men In this State.
The charge of the Senator that the bill was
not for Soa5hern road, buta northern roaG
in, Disguise, ia signally refuted by the vice.,
president Of the Texas aud Pacific Company
in the irresistible array Of facts going to
shoY that the sia asking Government aid be-
fore the last Congress had tie endorsement
Of the public seEtiment OF the South and
Southwest, through legislative sodes, cham
bers Of commerce. and boardE ,G trade Of, |
believe, all the southern States Sr southern
cities. Indeed, in eight of tie southern
States they went 20 far rs to pass re-
solutions in their legislatures L" instruct
inq their Senators and requesting their
representatives to E3te aid to the TEXAS
and Pacific rail,ray route to the Pacific
Aud it is at least little curious, aud, con.
TESS, TO me neXplicable, bow the charge that
the bill was in 4Orthern ieterestS could have
been made in the face of tits record. TAen,
too, if mistake not, the only vote that was
taken on this Measure was in the lower
house OF Congress, when tie indications Of
the sentiments oil the southern members
were greatly in faNr Of the bill, while those
from the North and .Sorth,ceI were as pro.
noncez against it. Sarey this was result
very irreconclable with the allegation that ii
was intended TO defeat the great commercial
and agricultural interests of the southern
States. When it is bosne in klind that