The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1878-09-19
Transportation.

To our mind there Is no moro momen-
tous question before the American pco-
pie to-day than that of transportation.
The facl that railroads have superseded,
and always will supersede, oil other
k.ads Of transportation, coupled with the
ias:so. &c: :l.set transportation: and
rapid transportation, too, affects mate.
rally in one way or another almost every
citizen of the land, makes railroads u
most important aud potent factor Ia the
industrial and social economy Of our
Government What would We be with
out railroads? And yet it must be ques-
tionable to every thinking man whether
this necessity has not brough. with it as
many necessary evils as II has benefits.
Without our railroads what would we
have done with the unnatural increase
Of our population Perhaps We would
not have increased SO. rapidly, aud would
haze been that much better oil.
Without railroads we would not have
opened up the great western domain of
this country. Perhaps We would be bet
ter off if we lad not openc,; it up.
The ramification of railroads has,ened
the coming Of our great civil war, aud
enabled the North to conquer the South.
In fact our country has been developed
by railroads, and by their assistance the
American people have been made the
strongest and, perhaps, the most influen.
tial people in the world. The people
built the railroads, and should to-day
own them, but unfortunately they do
not; and long-hcaded, far-seeing, able
financiers have stepped in between the
builders and their building, and taken
possession, and to-day own or control
that enterprise, which, though not half
as s.old as tho government, and i'll nowise
connected with it, is or holds control
Ing. influence i'll the civ. poli,y of the
Union.
Such men rs Vanderbilt, Scott, Gar
rett, and other great railroad magnatcs
exercise more influence and exert moro
power among the people and over the
legislation of the country than does the
President of the United States. That
they nre opprcssors, can be heard on all
sides but that they are more malefac-
tors than bcnefactors, we do not believe.
They arc the representatives of capital,
which though timid is always oppressive; !;
and far more, they have that capital so
invested that the investment is Il neces-
sity to the country. hat they use their
power and privileges wisely and we'll, we
arc not prepared To assert, but we doubt
whether according to their opportunities
they are as huEtlul to society Us arc some
OF the lesser lights of the came brother
hood.
We ass not now proposing to discuss
this question in national point of view
nor do we care to allude TO the troubles
created on the great trunk lines of the
country by reason of the discrepancy
they make iI favor of through" against
local ffeights. Bus We propose sub.
uniting few facts upon these points, in
which our own people sud :Ae railroads
that they have built, and are compelled
to patronire, are vitality interested, and
We do 80 free Of prejudice sud pro bono
pxbiico.
The railroads of South Carolina are in
trouble, and two of our most inportau,
and most cherished are about being taken
from these who really own them, bu,
perhaps who never lent q hand in con-
strneting them. We feel sorry for them
because =e always sympathize with the
unt,sr dog in the fight, but We are pre-.
pais,4 10 believe the time has arrived
yes, and has long since arrived, when
these roads should have been pu, under
different administrations. We have
never had any experience in managing
railroads, but like every other man We
have always had our opinion as to how
they should DC Managed, end haye al
ways believed that the South Carolina
and Greenville and Columbia Railroads
have not been managed to tho interests
Of those who patronized them. We sag
nothing about the passenger travel
| though we have and do differ with the
management of those roads, in the idea
that te,iuEiicn 0s :.aso vii: not produce
enincfease OF travel. We believe il, as
certainly as wo do that a reduction oI
ices will increase the custom Of a
corner grocery. AS experience has
never tested this question in South Car
olinn, opiuions here are like honors in
whist, ''easy."
We do propose, however, to say some
thing upon the freight arrangements OF
those two roads, and what we do say shall
be simply recital of facts and il thew
are not incontroyertible arguments il.
favor of our position we would most
gladly DO set right by wiser heads. Let
US start in the mountains:
'T',AkS$SAetI VIC inSt u tsIssu III OCOQee VINO
we2 buying up cattle for the Charleston
market, who told us he was collecting
cattle to he. shipped from Seneca City
probably by way of Atlanta, Ga, to
Charleston, s. c., because the freight was
about the same aud Recommendations
were better. From Seneca City to AT.
laSsa the distance is l2l miles. thence to
Augusta III, and TO Charleston 1877, or
total 329miles. From Seneca TO Colum-
bin Is 16S miles, and thence to Charles
ton $50, or total 2S6.
While beating about the bush in that
opper end of the Third Congressional
District, We encountered wagons hauling
merchandise from Central on ehe Air
Line Railroad l,he Blue Ridge Railroad
is managed by the Greenvslie and Co.
lumbia Hailroa1 adSnii.iisss.ssasss:eal iisss.ssasss::eal Z, PEN
dieton and Anderson, two points on the
klue Ridge Railroad, and respectively.
We believe, Il aud IS miles below Seneca
City. where these two railroads cross
each other. AT Seneca the Blue Ridge
haa no depot, though the Legislature
nearly one year aga passed q law re-
curing them to build one there. They
haSe one, however, AZ PeEFyville, two
miles below Seneca, as which we have
seldom If ever seen passengers, or freight
received or discharged. In fact, tho lsst
trip we took up that road, arriving s, she
PefTyvine depot little after 8 st night.