The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1879-10-16
Pittsburgh Southern Railroad.


We find in the American Manufacturer.
published at Pittsburgh, Pa, brief report
of the remarks of Col. J. II. Hopkins, Presi.
dent Of the Pittsburgh Southern Railway.
before the Chamber of Commerce Of that
city, in the interest of the improvement at
the head of which he stands. During the
summer Col. Hopkins visited the White
Sulphur Springs, and while there interested
himself in gathering information of the iron
resources Of West Virginia, and especially
the localities along the prop osed line of his
road, intervening between Pittsburgh and
the Chesapeake & Ohio railroad. He saw
there enough to convince him that it was not
necessary to extend his line further than to
intersect with the Chesapeake & Ohio rail-
road. While in his remarks before the
Chamber of Commerce, he quoted from re-
port made in 1870, under the authority of
the Legislature of West Virginia,as to the re-.
sources Of West Virginia, and from Mr.. Dufree
as to the ore fields Of North Carolina, which
it was proposed to reach for the benefit Of
Pittsburgh manufacturers, his own informa-
ton, based upon personal examination, must
have convinced him that the demands of
Pittsburgh could be met in West Virginia,
several hundred miles nearer than the point
alluded to by Mr.. Dufree. 1t was estimated
by Mr.. D. that Pittsburgh consumed 1,OO0,-
900 tons of iron ore at a cost Of $40, and that
ore could be gotten from North Carolina at
saving Of "a per ton, or an aggregate
saving OF 100000 annually. The knowl-
edge that subsequent discoveries has furn-
ished, that in West Virginia the ore can be
had at much less cost, must have Its inf1u-
ence in determining the action OF Pittsburgh
in aiding in compile ting this improvement,
which cuts across the coal and timber belt of
West Virginia in reaching the ore fields Of
Greenbrier and Pocahontas, where ore of
various kinds can be had without shafting,
and in inexhaustible quantities.
The truth is, the furnaces Of Pittsburgh
must look to West Virginia and Virginia for
the ore to keep them in motion at reasonable
profit. 1t is only question of very short
time, when the demonstration will be forced
upon the country that iron can be manu-
featured along the line of the Chesapeake &
Ohio railroad at what it has been costing
Pittsburgh for tae ore, and that the centre
of the iron interests will be located in that
region of country. The capital already in
vested in iron manufacture in that city may
make desperate struggle to save itself, and
may exc out a spasmodic existence, but
when it becomes clear that iron can be pro-
duced at from $40 to sl2 per ton in another
section, enterprise and capital will seek in
vestment there. The Pittsburgh Southern
Railway, completed to the Chesapeake &
Ohio, near the White Sulphur Springs, may
save the Pittsburgh iron manufacturers for
a year or two, but the day is coming when
the ''sceptre will depart from Judah" and
a new dispensation be inaugurated.
Since the above was written we see it
stated that the Chamber Of Commerce, of
the city of Pittsburgh. have endorsed the
railroad enterprise referred to, and will aid
it all that is possible.
The Ohio Election.
The returns from the election in Ohio on
last Tuesday, indicate very plainly the
temper of the American people in regard to
the course of the Democratic majority in the
extra session and the two previous sessions
of Congress. The attempt Of the Democratic
party to arrest resumption Of specie payment
and che business development and activity of
the country; its niggardly policy in gripping
the healthy operations of government by
the necessary appropriations for
its use; the housing committees organized
to ferret out Republican wrong-doing, which
resulted only in exposing Democratic
profligacy and piiferfng /; the Potter
which brought to light
the cipher dispatches, and the well
digested and arranged purpose Of Tilden to
bribe himself into the Presidency; the boast
that all the legislation of the country con-
firming and maintaining the results of the
war was to be swept from the statute books,
and the attempt to resurrect and vitalize the
doctrine of State sovereignty, and by neces-
,ary implication secession, have all been an
,wered by the sweeping victory in Ohio. |
New York will come next, and the verdict
here will be Of similar import and signifi-
,ance, foreshadowlng the result OF the more |
important contest OF 1880.
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
At meeting of the directors OF the Balti- |