The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1877-05-09
For the Dispntch.l
ro,aF or Railroad.

Company and Of the Buchanan ana
Cl;fton- Forge Railroad Company "will
lend his aid to this important WORK:
Having very considerable interest III
ihc terminus of the canal, and being
citizen OF Richmond withal, l beg 10
be allowed to express contrary nope,
and to say that the greater the ability OF nlr.
.JohnS;on-and l conccdc good dcal 10
him-thc greater, il he takes TINS Wofk III
hand and completes the railroad, VIII DC the
misfortune TO Richmond, to the state, ana
| TO the bondholderS. Personally the bond
holders. both of the first and second mort
cages. have more interest in it than any
| one else, for their security will be injured
| il the attempt Is made TO build the railroad
and COMPLETELY destroyed il the road is bulit;
| cyccpt for those who combine and Dliy the
whole affair and take the dock, the basin,
and the watcr-powcr for their debt.
As rho subscription OF the James River
and kanawha Company to this railroad IL
bv law limited to 100000 on third mort
cage, it is plain that next to nothing can ne
realized on bonds representing that amount
| when the first and second mortgages pay so
little interest and have so low Il marker
yahc. And therefore il the railroad Is bllt
| II must be by money subscribed from other
sources. That will make it an independent
concern, which of course will look wholly
| to lis own interests; and these point uncrr-
| inrlv To 4 connection with some other raul
road, Il cannot be helped. All the rail-
| roads in the country are IN difficulties, most
OF them bankrupt, and the best OPINION
| X that this result is due 10 three call>cS-
| low through-lates, which they could not slls-
| tain: hi.h Iocal-ratcS, which have lmpover-
i>hcd tic pundcrcd localities. and high
suIarics to too many officials. Ii long rail
roads have met this fate under able admins
trations, what can be expected in road
| thirt y-,lrce miles long. with its corps OF raw
officials, its two transhipientS, and Its IN
ability TO Get tlayel-for it starts from a way
station and lands in 4 rillage-and It's heavy
expenditure for rollin&-stock: For theI
| cannot expect To use the rcllnG-stock ol
! the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad without
paving the cost of these tranShipmcntS; anu
| this gives the real, practical ownership OF
| the line 10 that company, whose tender con-
sidcra!ion for stockholders, bondhoiders.
and local freishtcrs is now matter OF record
| in the very remarkable decree OF JnuSe
Beverly II. Wexford.
Tie only argument for the canal-and
that one the railroad-mcn would not face
last wiatcr-is its chcapncss OF transporta-
ton especially for such raw produce and
heavy products rs will form the staple OF
| its trade; and this the railroad cannot
give.
| Tie Chesapeake and Ohio now transports
coal from Clifton ForgC-or Covington-to
Richmond ut three-quarterS OF cent per
ton per mile, or about S1.5G per ton to
| Richmond. But the Buchanan and Clifton
| Forge having, with its short line. to charge
way-freight prices, cannot transport it for
much less than cents per ton per mile, say
G6 cents; and as it has been shown that the
canal cannot transport it for less than a
cent per mile, or % cents for its whole dis
lance, that gives s;l.G1 per ton total charge,
or IL cents per ton more than the Chcsa-
peakc and Ohio now charges.
For such reasons / am convinced that
when the bondholders give up to this eX-
creSccnce the franchises and half million OF
work done from Buchanan to Clifton Forge
they really permit the railroad to center :"
a wedge which will shiver their interests
for the benefit of other people, and ulti-
nately, whether they so intend or not, for
the benefit of the Chesapeake and Ohio, the
Baltimore and Ohio or some other railroad.
| This, particularly il the road is carried to
Lynchburg (Which I suspect is their ultl-
mate destination) along the tow-path or bed
OF the canal, may pay somebody, but not the
bondholders, of the canal or the State or
Virginia. 1t is the interest OF the buchanan
and Cliiton-Forgc railway to run the bonds
| down, buy them for a song, appropriate the
dock aud water-powcr, and run railroad
along the tow-path to Richmond, OF let all
between here and Lynchburg go down, to
the great gain of Baltimore and OF the Chesa-
poaEe and Ohio railroad, but to the great
injury OF this city.
What other object there was in the rail
| 4 To I,,tytt ~ do M
by sacrificing all its interests, | could never
see. This independent organization has
derived all its strength and plausibility from
the canal, claims that il will DO built on her
credit, has had its route surveyed by her
money-amounting by the way, to about
hall her deficiency in intcreSt--llle9ally
taken from her creditors; and what little
work has been done on the road has been
mainly taken, and illegally as before, from
her treasury; and all this when the James
River and kanawha Company has the char
tered right to make their connection by rail
or water. Why this anxiety to change
unless it be to change the whole policy and
substitute rail for water? know that IS the
wish OF some Of them, for they have told
me so. And so intent are they on this IA
yorite idea that they do not appear to see
that they are sacrificing every interest m
VOWED in pursuit Of their plan, and that
they have acted in open contempt of the de-
iiberatc will of the Legislature, which take
it for granted will next winter have some
thing to Say on that subject not only to the
canal company, but to the Board OF Public
Works.
That there is apathy on this subject in
Richmond | do not deny. There is dis
position to speak OF the canal as Il bankrupt
concern, and to blame the plan, and not its
management. But think the action of our
City Council and our directors has shown
that there is enough leaycn to lcaven the
whole lump when the time comes. The great
mismanagement which from the commence
ment has marked the administration Of the
canal, even in the most patriotic hands, IS
the result of bad system. For forty-odd
years the attempt has been made to build
and run it on bureau principles. when, be-
ing not a matter Of government, but OF
business, it should have been managed on
business principles. This is what ais the
canal; and tins the Legislature saw last
winter, and would have corrected but for
the inconsistent veto of the Governor. 1t
remains to be seen whether this great work
belongs to the Governor and the Board OF
Public Works or to the people of the whole
State. TERMINUS.
The aiOvernorsI,ip.
We have received from all sides assurances
Il $h,$~ rs oil fI,o (Iip oh