The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1879-12-11
THE =. &w. R. R.
Shall It Be a Bread or Narrow Guage
and How Shall We Raise
the Money?

PULASKI, Dec. 8, 1S79.-MR. Nc
CoRD:-Allow me space in your
| columns for little railroad talk, as
1t seems to be the all-absorbing
theme in Pulaski al present. The
meeting of last Thursday night
demonstrated that we want a rail
road, and are going to have one, too,
If the choice of charter members is
any evidence. They are all good
business men, and believe will
use every endeavor to carry it to
a successful completion. / am
not an advocate of railroads, espec-
tally, but we wanted turnpikes and
could not get them, a railroad is
next best and in a certain sense, bet
ter, so let US have it, and at once,
before the whole of Pulaski's trade
leaves, which it will surely do, If we
make no effort to retain it. We be
lieve it is going to be built, however,
and the main object of this article is
to make a few suggestions which
we hope will not be out of place at
the present time. The first ques-
ton naturally arising in agitating a
project of this kind is, can sulfi-
Gent capital be raised, and if so,
hoWP The road should be built
by stock subscriptions, paid by the
communities along the route and
those interested in the development
of the country, who are the inter-
ested parties in the operation of the
railroad. Experience Las shown
that the whole cost of a road should
be divided between the stockhold-
ers and bondholders, that not more
than one-fourth of the whole amount
should be raised by bonds, while
three-tourths should be raised by
stock subscriptions aided by out
side help. Floating debts should
never be too heavy, and at any sac
rifice new railroad should place it's
debt beyond contingencies, The
late Chief Justice Chase in 1861 laid
down this principle in a striking
form: 1t was essential, he said, for
a large debtor to maintain control
over his Indebtedness. 1t is espeo-
Tally needful for railroads to get
such control. Aud the hest way TO
do is to avoid demand obligations,
and to convert as rapidly as posi-
BILE their floating debt into long
bonds.
The next object for consideration
is in examining the cost, the nature
and extent of traffic to be provided
tor. If this is heavy and of char
acter to demand high rate of
speed, the work must be adapted to
bear the contemplated service. If
light traffic and slower rate of speed
is anticipated much may be saved
in the expense of construction and
also IN the expense of operating
the railway, by adapting the works
required of it,
A narrow gauge railway should
not be built where heavy traffic is
expected or a high rate of speed is
demanded, as under these circum-
stances the standard gauge should
be laid, but where country like ours
has to be developed by a railway, Tin
the absence of good roads or turn.
pixies J transporting its products to
a market, and where the develop
ment will take time and the commu-
nifty are unable to raise the capital
for and support the standard
gauge, then the narrow gauge road
is the one to adopt. If this princi-
pie had been more closely followed
previous to 1878 by railroad compa
MES generally, the country would
not have suffered as it did after the
panic of 1873. 1t is believed by
some that a light standard gauge
can be built as cheap as a narrow
gauge road and would thus obviate
the break of gauge and the trouble
of transshipment; an examination
will show this idea to be erroneous.
In the first place the earthwork
would have to be the same; being
the same gauge you cannot reduce
the cuts, banks nor tunnels, so
there is no saving on that score.
Lighter rails, lighter bridges and
trestle work might save a little,
you could also use lighter cars and
locomotives, but any railroad man
with any experience would tell you
that it would not be safe to run
this light rolling stock on to anoth
er road doing heavy through bus
mess, as they would be demolished
directly. Or supposing a heav y
car on one of these through lines was
loaded with goods to its capacity
and consigned to some point on the
light road, why the consequences
are obvious, either transship or run
the risk of doing some serious dam
age to the light structures, SO that
there is neither safety nor economy
in adopting it, while a saving Of 33
per cent. can be effected in adopt
ing the narrow gauge, besides the
economy in working it. We have
now arrived st the conclusion to
build the narrow gauge. What
will it cost!
Conclusion next week. I. W.
Forty years trial has proved BLACK