The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-02-19
The Blue Ridge Route.
Editorial in the Ne,rs and Courier.

Good must come out of the revived in
terest in railroad projects in South Caro-
lima. Attention will be attracted to at
tempts to steal away the business of th'
State and the public, knowing wha
movements are afoot, will have the oppor
tunity to counteract them. The time, fol
example, is drawing nigh when the
Greenville and Columbia Railroad vii
be sold, and it is evident that there vii
be serious injury to the business o.
Charleston if the road pass into the
hands of corporations who will work it il
the interest Of lines leading out of the
State. Charleston will not suffer alone
1t is injurious to the whole people to per-
nit South Caroliha to be made a mere
wsy station. There is as little wisdom in
paying freights and commissions for the
benefit of other points as there is in send
ing raw cotton to New England to be
manufactured there and brought back
again in manufactured condition, with
the expenses of transportation, the cost
of manufacturing and the profits Of the
spinners added on. A. bale of cotton
which comes from Columbia to Charles
ton gives to South Carolina interests the
whole of the freight to this city, and the
freight from Charleston to the port of its
destination in the North. If it 60 to
Charlotte or to Wilmington, the money
left in the State is far less. The greater
part of the freight money helps to enrich
other communities. Hostile interests are
scheming already for the business of the
Greenville and Columbia Railroad, and
it is high time that there should be some
combination of interested persons to Sc
cure the road for the benefit of the State.
With the Greenville and Columbia Rail
road and the South Carolina Railroad
out of court and under the same manage
meut, with improved terminal facilities
aud better steamers at Charleston, the
business of the State, coming and going,
can be transacted with economy and with
CELEBRITY. We must remember always
that, to secure business, Charleston must
be prepared to handle it as cheaply and
as promptly as it can be handled by other
lines. Other things being equal, this can
be done. There is no question that the
alienation of the old Charlotte and South
Carolina Railroad, from. Columbia to
Charlotte, is damaging to the State. And
if the Greenville and Columbia Railroad
take the same course the hurt will be in
creased. Both the Greenville and Colum-
bia Railroad and South Carolina Rail-
road are interested in avoiding any such
consummation.
The Importance of the Greenville and
Columbia Railroad is exhibited in Re-
ceiver Conner's report of the operations
of the road for the year 1879. 1t appears
that the gross earnings were S4S5, ,9l9,
being an increase of $23, ,005 over 1878.
From freight the receipts were 1888, ,25S.
The cash in hand on December 81
amounted to$9O,375. Great progress has
been made in improving the condition of
the road, and the people along the line
speak loudly in praise of Gen. Conner's
management. The report will certainly
be highly satisfactory to every one who
is interested in the road and its for
tunes.
Already another corporation is fishing
for the advantages the State hopes to OBJ
tain from its prospective western connec-
tious. The Airline Railroad offers to
take the Blue Ridge Railroad and run it
from Anderson to Seneca City and build
it through Rabun Gap. This is an in-
sidious scheme. The Airline Railroad
has little more in common with the rail-
road system of South Carolina than the
Pennsylvania Railroad has. 1t is COM
mercial enemy, though it has local and
limited advantages for those living i'm
mediately along its line. To allow the
Blue Ridge Railroad to 60 into the pos
session of the Airline 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
peoples, and not the people ofSouth Car
olina, will grow rich by it. The right
thing to do is to pass some such bill as
that which has been drafted By the An
derson delegation. There will be no OBJ.
lection, we should say, to authorizing
counties to make subscriptions to the
Blue Ridge Road, or to releasing the
road from back taxes, and granting an
exemption from taxation for term of
years. The proposition to grant the road
one hundred thousand dollars year for
FIVE years will be opposed. We hope that
this opposition will be overcome. Tile
oaly question is achether 1t is arorth to the
State half million dollars to have the
road completed in three gears, not a cent
of the money to be paid until the road
shall be completed TO KnorriNe! We feel
that it will be worth millions, although
,,o aould MI oJv,c. fhot opothor dollar
be furnished by the State until the work
is done. The State can richly afford 10
pay for results, but cannot afford to pay
for promises. 1t is mistake to suppose,
however, that the deep interest taken in
Charleston in the Blue Ridge Railroad is
the expression of any feeling hostile to
the Spartanburg and Asheville Railroad.
What We would give to one road we
would give to any other that offers
similar advantages to the State. With
both roads, and with all Western roads
the aim should be to give South Caro-
lima the benefit of the completed work.
Some misunderstanding on the sub
ject of the Spartanburg and Asheville
Railroad is cleared up in the letter of
Col. Duncan, published to-day. The
condition of the road is shown, and the
objections made by the Pickens Sentinel
are clearly answered. We should beware
of any prejudice that will allow one
road to antagonize another. The advo-
cacy of the Blue Ridge Road is not hos
tility to the Spartauburg and Asheville
Railroad, and the friends Of the two
lines should combine in obtaining such
aid as the State can give.
--LATEST TELEPHONE SToRIEs.-The
marvels of the telephone are innumera-
BILE. At an experiment made the other
day between this city and Harrisville,