Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1877-06-19

the interest semi-annually, and ulti-
mately redeem the principal.
, AT this early day, Railroads had re
Gently been introduced, and our people
, did not know much about them. The
first Railroad in America was a short
road built in Massachusetts about 1927.
, The idea then prevailed, that it was i'm
, possible to overcome high grades with a
: railway and if a man, at that time; had
} spoken of tunneling the Blue Ridge, he
would have been regarded as madman !!
BY degrees, however, the sentiment
in favor Of Railroads strengthened, and
the knowledge of their capacities for the
transportation of freight and passengers
increased.
Within the next twenty years. the in
ternal improvement feeling in Virginia,
and especially in Augusta county, be-
came so strong that no man could have
been elected to the Legislature, who was
suspected of indifference to the cause
Nothing short of open and avowed ad-
vocacy OF the system would satisfy the
public mind
The following table taken from the
Report of the Auditor of Public Ac-
counts, made in 1866, will show the
amount expended prior to 1861, for vari-
Gus classes of Improvements:
| For Railroads. ............ .. SIS. So, ,92S 2S
Canals and Navigation Companies II JIG 30
Plank Road Companies. ..............- 299, ,755 Al
turnpike Companies......- 2Sl,O ,OO9 10
6rioSe Conpa I04,4II 66
otate foads......-... lS25,S2S S3
Aggregate. $40 100 50
1t will thus be seen that over thirty
five millions and a half of dollars, of
what now constitutes the public debt of
Virginia, was incurred in constructing
internal improvements in the State of
Virginia. These improvements are still
in existence, and are, every day, minis
tering to our comfort and profit. Every
time we ride on Railroad OF Turn
pike, we enjoy the benefit of this ex-
penditure. And every barrel of flour,
or whiskey,-every pound of bacon, or
butter, or lard and every head of cat
tie, hogs, sheep, lambs. and calves, that
we send to market, by the cars, furnishes
substantial evidence of the wisdom of
the outlay OF this money in the form of
q reduction of from fifty to seventy per
cent. in the cost of transportation, and
reminds us of the fact that before we had
Railroads neither calves, lambs, hay,
nor many other articles, which are now
sources of profit could be shipped at all
LII any man has any lingering doubt
as to the wisdom of making this large
expenditure for railways, &C., let him
bring the matter to practical test. bv
asking himself the question: "Would I
be willing to see all these improvements
blotted out, and our people put back to
the condition they were in forty wears
ago. if thereby we could be relieved of
the public debt?" I venture to affirm,
there is not sensible man in Virginia
who would give an affirmative answer
t. this questi n.
i Let us pause for moment to consider
what these improvements have done for
Virg MIA, notwithstanding the ravages
of fur years civil war; and the depres-
sion in business caused by eight years of
Federal mi rue.
They have raised Richmond, from q
small town, of but little over thirty
thousand population, to prosperous
city of over seventy-two thousand souls
whose wealth enables it to pay ONE
NINTH PART of all the taxes paid into
the State Treasury
They have converted Norfolk, from
sleepy, and declining borough, by the
sea, to an active, enterprising city, which
is now the second cotton port in the u.
s., and destined, at no distant day, to be
an emporium ofgeneral commerce, with
the Western States, and with the outside
world
They have infused new life into Peters
burg, Lynchburg. and Winchester. and
Harrisonburg, and dear old Fredericks-
burg the Rip Van Wrinkle of Virginia
cities, under the magic influence of rail
ways, il awaking from her slumbers,
preparing for new career.
They have raised Danville and Staun-
ton, from small lethargic towns Of 1000
population. to busy marts of industry
with four times their former numbers
But as you fellow citizens, are mora
interested in staunton, your COUNT
town, than in any other city, l beg your
attention to a few facts connected with
her history.
In 1886. when first went to the Leg
islature, the population ofStaunton was
very little over 1000. Such a thing as a
grocery store was not to be found in her
limits. She had little or no trade She
furnished no market for the products of
agriculture, beyond what was necessary
for the consumption of her limited pop
ulatiOn. Two wagon loads off1our would
have glutted the market and often, in
looking up and down her principal
streets, not a vehicle of any description
could be seen!
How different is the condition of
things now! Everything is lite, activity
and hustle Our population has increas-
ed to near 5000, and is steadily increas-
ing. Dry goods and grocery, and pro-
duce stores in abundance, are to be found
in all parts of the city, and it is often
difficult to thread your way through the
streets from the crowd of vehicles which
obstruct them. A ready market is rails
ed up, as it were, at the very doors of
our farmers, for everything they can
raise on their farms; and accommodating
merchants and mechanics are ready to
supply, on moderate terms all the wants
of the people from the country.
Two noble public charitable Institu-
tiops which cause an annual expenditure
of over S100 200, in our county, adorn the
suburbs of our city, and four first class
female schools, which draw to US every
year, three or four hundred young ladies,
from abroad crown our principal hills
What is the source of all this prosper
ity? hesitate not to say, that 1t Is, in
large measure, due to our railroads and
I turnpikes. The ready means of access
which we now have, to all parts of the
country, not only give facilities to trade
and manufactures, but they make Staun-
ton an eligible place for residence, and a
centre of female education. Does any
one suppose that Staunton would have
been chosen as the best site for the
Lunatic Asylum, the Deaf and Dumb
Institution, and the Court of Ap-
peals or that the large female schools
which contribute so largely to its
prosperity would continue to prosper
If it We're remote from lines of railway {?
Strike our railways out of existence, and
how long would our schools survive their
destruction? Our public Institutions
might remain, but they, certainly, would
never be enlarged.
This historical review, naturally
brings me to the consideration of various
questions connected with the PUBLIC
DEBT, and as that is subject which
concerns us all, and on which, I am
sorry to find, that much ignorance pre-
walls, even among men of general intel
ligence, 1 propose, even at the hazard of
prollxity, to present to you, in a plain
common sense, business way, the more
important facts bearing on it.
At the first session Of the Legislature,
after the close of the war, measures were
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