Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1878-11-09

sippi and San Francisco, the Who'll
current of whose trade has alread
run too deep for change along tn
course of the Northern line. Ii
face of the fact that the reports O
the Southern Pacific Company shov
that it isrun at an annual loss of owe
half million dollars, and does no
pay the interest upon its bonde(
debt, is it not clear that the useles
and profitless line to Yuma from
San Francisco was built for the pur
pose of defeating competition, by
alleging that this connection woulC
furnish the South what it asked for
and thus diminish the chances O
an independent road?
But even this ingenious contri
vance to make a southern cOnnec.
ton merely subordinate to the great
monopoly is
A DELUSIoN AND A SNARE.
I know it will be said, that this
company has indicated its good
faith by proposing to push its work
from Yuma to FL Paso, and why
should it do so except in execution
of genuine southern connection
Look at the map. The work is pro-
posed to be resumed from Yuma
eastward under the delusive pre-
tence of going to FL Paso, but the
line of proposed work goes else
where as well, ,and is directly in con-
nectiOn with Otherroads. Long be-
fore it approaches FL PasO the point
of divergence will be reached at
which its real destination will be
evident, and then, the vote having
been taken upon the Texas and
Pacific bill, it will, leaving Ell Paso
and the Southern trunk line two or
three hundred miles below, join the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe
road by way of Albuquerque, and
furnish another rich tributary to
the great northern current. /
charge distinctly that such is the
purpose and intention of the South
ern Pacific Company upon the line
of true Southern connection. The
evidence of it is patent to those
railroad enterprise, and concealed
from the public after the recent let
ter of General Sherman to the Vice
President of the Southern Pacific
Company of California, from which
I quote the following paragraph, as
published in the San Francisco
papers:
81 am informed that you contem-
plate an extension from Yuma east
ward to Santa Fe, Nelc MericO, and
that about two hundred miles to
Maricopa Wells are to be contracted
for at once"
/ notice that since this letter has
been published on this side, the
words ",SdIltG Fe, NelO MericO," are
omitted, and the word "eastward"
left to confirm the delusion of a real
Southern purpose; for surely the
intelligence of the Southern people
must discern that a connection from
Yuma northeastWard1y TO Santa Fe,
New Mexico, and thence by the
AtchisOn and Topeka road, what
ever its commercial value may be
to certain sections of the country,
is not a Southern connection with
Southern ports.
THE TEXAS PACIFIC's SOUTHERN
CONNECTIONS.
SecOnd-That the bill in aid of
the Texas and Pacific road does not |
secure such certain advantage to
the South as it needs and claims, |
but places the control of its traffic |
in the hands of Col. Scott, who rep
resents what is charged to be a rival |
interest:
Mr.. Langdon says: "Take Ala
bama as an illustration. Not a
shOVelful of earth will be moved in
no Alabama laborer will |
find employment; not a dollar of |
the thrty-eight millions of Govern
ment money will be circulated /
among the people of Alabama"
Suppose not but can Alabama be |
isolated from the general prosperity
Of the South? Has she no CONNER
cial relations beyond her borders,
and does Mr.. Langdon consider
Mobile a sea port and one capable |
of development Have Alabama, /
Georgia, West Virginia
and East Kentucky advantages in
the abundance and cheapneSs of
their iron ores which can not be
and, with the proper
energy, would not the building of
this road and its branches develop
This valuable industry? And what
would be thought of a citizen of
New York, Cincinnati or Chicago
who would have opposed the
of the present Pacific con-
nectiOn because mot a shovelful of
earth would be mOved' in New
York, Ohio or Illinois? The Texas
and Pacific road no more proposes to
enter the States of Alabama, GeOr-
gia, South Carolina, than the Cen
trail Pacific proposed to enter New
York, Pennsylvania or Massachu-
sets. The one is a connection be-
tween the Mississippi and the
Pacific, at San Diego, as the other
was a connection between Omaha,
on the Missouri, and the Pacific, at
San Francisco. The theory of both
Is that between the termini of the
Atlantic system of railroads and
the Pacific coast there was an inn
mense territory which offered OBJ
5tacles beyond the means of private
to overcome, while the
wants of national commerce, nation
al defense and national unity i'm
required that the con-
nection should be accomplished.
Unable and indispOsed to undertake
the work itself, the Government
was willing to give its aid in re-
turn for the advantages which this
connection gave to its own imme-
date business. In doing so it was
bound 80 to control that connection
that its privileges should be equally
shared by the various systems of
State roads then in existence. How
that duty was discharged in the
Ease of the Central Pacific / need
not now discuss. But in the case
Of a Southern line the necessities
and requirements of equal justice to
the existing system of Southern
State roads are to be met by a trunk
line which furnishes in its eastern
terminus on the Mississippi point
with which the Southern States
could connect with equal advantage.
But this line does even more, for it
secures the right of connection on
equal terms at any point which the
interest of any Southern State may
require. This is all that the Texas
and Pacific proposes to accomplish,
and if it makes it's trunk line fair
distributor of its traffic at such east
ern terminus, it has accomplished
its purpose. Mr.. Langdon, there
fore makes a graver and more per-
tinent charge when he denies that
the provisions of the Texas and
Pacific bill secures a