Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-01-24
TmE RAILnoAp REVOLUTION.

the Olden time When demise or me
croiCa took place, and hurried from
the death-bed of the old King to
the presence chamber of his heir
with supple knees and whispering
lowliness" to push their interest by
worshiping the rising sun. We
have no kings here but railroad
kings, and among them demise of
the crown has taken place, at least
so far as GAINESVILLE is concerned.
King Cole is dead, and we have
nothing now to do except to throw
up our hats and cry, Long live
King Standiford
awell, by all means; wen not be out of
fashion.
So hurrah for StandifordI and
may he do the handsome thing by
Us. He viii if he finds it his inter-
ests and not otherwise, and the
same might be predicated of King
Cole had he remained in the as
cendent.
But perhaps we had better come
down TO plain prose and tell our
readers what has happened to cause
the great revuIsion in the world of
railroads which has set people talk
ing. 1t is simply this: Col. Cole
thought himself in control of the
Nashville and Chattanooga line by
virtue of the stock he holds therein,
and 10, Mr.. V. K. Stevenson and
one or two other large stockholders
in that road sold out their stock to
the Louisville & Nashville road.
and that concern now virtually
owns the n. & G. road. Col. Coles
projected Owensboro line and his
purchases in Georgia lines were all
designed to supplement his connec-
tons with the Southern Atlantic
States, of which the N. & c. line
was the chief connecting link. That
failing him he has no further inter
est either in a line to Nashville
through Greensboro or in lines from
Chattanooga southwark and east
ward, and of course the OwensborO
road will not be built, and the Red
river, Princeton and Nashville
boom is dead-at least the Red
river part of it.
This leaves US just where we were
before the recent railway agitation
struck us-no worse and no better.
Whether the Owensboro road, with
which we proposed a connection by
the projected Red river line, would
have been to our advantage or not
we consider a doubtful question
Without our proposed connection
with it, it would unquestiOnably
have acted ruinously on our inter
ests by transferring a large portion
of our business to Russellville, and
we have throughout been very
doubtful whether the Red river
connection would have cured the
evil it made, and it is still a prob
lem whether it would ever have
been made. At the worst we have
missed possible good and escaped
a very probable evil. But all thai
is in the past now and no longer {
practical question with us. 1t is {
more important question where
this sudden change leaves us in
reference to the present and the
future. For one thing, our eXclus
i've dependence upon the Louisville
& Nashville road is more decisively
settled than it was before, since
even if we ever get to Nashville
now by any other than our present
circuitous route, we find the l.. an
there in full possession of all com
municatiOns north and south, east
and west. 1t is best to let the inev.
liable alone, and, as regards distant
connections north and south, con
tent ourselves with watching and
waiting, and meantime pay atten'
ton to our nearer connections
which everyone must admit to be
in a very dislOcated condition
From the pOrtentous condition OF
our roads, GAINESVILLE is virtually al
this time in a state of siege. ThOus-
ands of hOgsheads of tobacco are
spelling in tobacco barns because il
is impossible for mules, horses, oxen
and men to get it here. The three
ferrys which connect us with the
Southside are practically inaccessi-
BILE, and, If the times we had in 1861
were to come again, the Yankees
would have no need to put out
pickets on every road as they did
then, In order to starve US into sub
mission. General Mud could do for
them very thoroughly what Col.
Bruce very inadequately succeeded
in doing.
We want to raise the siege,
GAINESVILLE can do a very large bus
mess with what railroad cOnnec-
lions she has now, provided she re-
opens her connections with all her
naturally tributary country. These
are probably I'm worse condition
how than they were before she had
any railroads at all, and if they
long remain so, the farmers of those
districts will despair of communica-
ton with us and look to other points
for their market.
And when we speak of local con-
nections we include the project of q
narrow-guage road both north and
south to the coal and iron regions
which are essential 10 our manu-
featuring interests. We can do a
business on our agricultural re-
sources alone sufficient to employ a
population of 10, 900, and if we will
give half a chance to our abundant
means for establishing manufactures
here, that number can easily be
increased to $4,000.
We don't want to see GAINESVILLE
4 great railway emporium; what