Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1880-02-19

] State. Aud il the Greenville and Columbia
Railroad take the same course the hurt will
be increased. Both the Grcenyille aud
Columbia Railroad and South Carolina
Railroad ore interested 10 avoiding any suoh
consummation:
The importabee of tho GreehyIle and
| Columbia Railroad is exhibited 10 Receiver
Conher's report of the operations Of the
road fot the year 1879. 1t appears that tho
gross enrnlngs were 8435,9i9, being an
iforease of $4,000 over 1878. From
freight, the receipts were 1888, 1858. The
cash in hand on December 81 amounted to
S9O,875. Great progress has been made n
improving the condition of the road, and
tho people along the line speak loudly in
praise of General Conner's management.
The report will certainly be highly satisfac-
tory to everyone who is interested in the
road and it's fortunes.
Already another corporation is fishing for
the advantages the State hopes to obtain
from its prospective Western connections.
The Air Line Railroad offers to take the
Blue Ridge and run it from Anderson to
Seneca City aud build it through Rabun
Gap. This is an iDsidous scheme, The
Air Line Railroad has little more in common
than the Pennsylvania Raitood hos. 1t is
q commercial enemy, though it has local and
limited advantages for those living immedi-
ately along it's limo. TO allow the Blue
Ridge Railroad to 60 into tho possession Of
the Air Line Railroad, or of any similar
concern, is to ensure one Of two things-
either that it will not be completed, or that,
if completed, other people, aud not the
people Of South Carolina, will grow rich by
it. The right thing to do is to pass some
such bill as that which has been drafted by
the Anderson delegation. There will bo no
objection, We should say, to authorizing
counties to make subscriptions to the Blue
Ridge Road, or to releasing the road from
buck taxes ahd granting an exemption from
taxation for term Of years. The PROPOSE
tiun to grant the road one hundred thousand
dollars year for five years will be opposed.
We hope that this opposition will be over
come. The only question is, whether it is
worth to the State half million dollars to
have tie road completed In three years, not
cent of tho money to be puid until the
road slall be completed to knoxyille2 We
feel that it will be worth millions, although
we could not advise that another dollar be
furnished by tho State until the work is
done. The State can richly afford 10 pay
for results, but cannot afford to pay for pro
misses. 1t is mistake to suppose, however,
that the deep interest taken 10 Chareston
in the Blue Ridge Railroad is the expression
of any feeling hostile to the Spartanburg
and Asheville Ralltohd. Whut We would
give to one road we would g;se &c any othcr
that offers similar advantages to the State.
With both roads, and with all Western roads,
the ain, should be to give South Catolina
the benefit Of the completed work.
Some misunderstanding on the subject of
the Sparlanburg snd Ashevile Railroad is
cleared ub 10 tho letter of Col. Duncan.
The condition of the road is shown, and the
objections thadc by the PicEens Sentinel
are clearly answered. We should beware Of
auy prejudice that will allow one road to
antagonize another. The advocacy of the
Blue Ridge Road is not hostility to the
Spartanturg md Ashevillc Railroad, and tho
friends of the two lines should combine in
obtaining such aid as the State eau giyc.-
Neiys and Courier.
THE KEY NOTE
We publish elsewhere all outspoken aid
qble artcefrom our respected contemporary,
the Charleston NeOs and Courier, which Is
the key Dote Of the situation as TO the fail
road interests Of The Dtais. It is exaotly
on the right line, and if the people Of the
State mean to preserve their place in the
future history IT the 6ountry as free and
independent people they must heed the
teaching of our contemporary 10 this mat
ter to it's last word.
We have before spoken for the Register
its plain and unqualified views touching
this matter, and We propose now that our
contemporary aud ourselves should stand
shoulder to shoulder on this question 1t
needs no reasoning to roach right conclu-.
sion iu the premises 1t is only necessary
to feel like CaroIinian to stand squarelv
right 1t is only necessay to open map of
South Carolina and SEQ for ourselves that
outside influences and capital propose to
ho,d dominion ever us for all time, to
transport our trudo deliberately away from
our marts to extraneous centres of trade
and levy such contributions upon our local
business Us they choose to cnact-yes, en-.
aot-while they sweep, by through rates,
the lest vestige Of business away, from our
Commercial metropolis. 1t is not necessary
for us to explain this further than we have
hitherto done, and which our contemporary
so we'll sets forth in his present article.
But we turn to the map to see the absolute
dominion that awaits us. Here is the vii.
mington and Augusta Road in the hands Of
foreign owners. This corporation even
goes SO far as to excuse itself from fulfill
ing the requirements of its charter in
affording through passenger train between