The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-02-05

amount and character of the assistance
which they desired to obtain from
Charleston and from the State. Mr..
Murray said that they had not come ask.
ing for subscriptions from the people of
the City and County of Charleston, be-
cause they felt that Charleston in this
regard had done all that could be expec.
ted of her. What they wanted was the
assistance of Charleston through her del
egation in the Legislature and her inAu-
ence over the delegations of other eonn-
ties of the State to put the Blue Ridge
Railroad upon its feet once more. 1t
does not require, he said, any coh,idera-
tion of the railroad policy of this State
to see that there is no system at all. 1t
seeks to build up trade out of the State
at the expense of those In the State, The
merchants of the up-country are getting
goods over the Air Line Railroad, which
means that they are trading in New York
and Atlanta. And moreover; q wagon
train has been started between Central, O
town on the Air Line Road, and Ander-
soh, which lays goods down at Anderson
cheaper than our railroad system will do.
If the railroad system had been carried
out as originally contemplated by its
founders, this strange condition of affairs
would not be in existence to-day. L
don't think YOU will find State whose
railroad policy is so devoid of aystehi as
it is in this State! But that has passed.
The next best thing is to turn our atten-
tion to that which is before US, and seek
to repair by the construction of lines in
the future the injuries done by the lines
constructed in the past. While we do
not expect Charleston to frown upon any
road that seeks to come to her gates, yet
there are objections to the AsheTille
route which should be considered. In
the first place there is gap of twenty
FIVE miles from Aston which would have
to be filled either by building road or
controlling the Greenville and Columbia
Railroad from that point. At Spartan
burg the road is owned by two capitalists,
whose interests are in Spartanburg and
not with Charleston. The same discrim-
ination in favor of North Carolina may
be expected from .the capitalists who
owned the road in North Carolina. Fol-
low the road to Wolf Creek and there
you find the East Tennessee and Virginia
Road, which will be necessary in order to
get to Knoxville. These roads may COM
bine, and may locate route, but you
have no guarantee that if they start the
road from Knoxville to Charleston that
it will remain combihed:. We thihk this
route by Asheville will be good route
for Charleston, and that it will be built
up, but we think there is another enter
prise of far more importance to you and
the State. This enterprise is the Blue
Ridge Railroad. There are charters now
in existence which allow privileges to
the different routes through the same
gap. The first of these routes which is
built will secure the gap. There has
been great deal of work done upon the
road. It is an expensive road, and has
three tunnels to be completed. The first
tunnel is three-fourths completed, the
tunnel in Georgia is three-fourths COM
pleted, the tunnel in North Carolina has
been avoided by as good route, and
there is tunnel of 900 cubic yards in
Tennessee. You will see by the Me,rs
and Courier the amount of grading. in
cubic yards needed in South Carolina.
The cost of finishing the grading of this
road is an inconsiderable amount. 1t
would not exceed $l75,0OO. The tunnels
and bridges will of course be more ex-
pensive. You will find that $850,000
will cross-tie and iron the road, showing
an expense of 81, 100000 for the grading,
cross.ties and iron, leaving simply the
tunnels and bridge work to be done. If
we can give confidence to the people of
North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee
the road can be completed. think we
can place the road in such condition
by legislation that capitalists will be glad
to put their money into it. But if we
fail in that We can make other arrange.
ments to do our work in Georgia and
South Carolina, and Tennessee and
North Carolina are ready to do their
work whenever we meet them at the
North Carolina line. What we want is
to ask Charleston to cooperate with us
in getting through the legislation we de-
sire. We want the passage of an Act
allowing US to make corporate subscrip-
tions along the route, and we are conf
dent we can obtain half million of dol
lars by this means. Anderson alone will
give $4,000 if reasonably guaranty can
be given that the road will be completed.
We want to secure a release from the
taxation that has accrued upon this road,
upon the condition that the road shall be
completed within a certain number OF
years. We should also ask for exemp-
ton from taxation for a certain number
of years. The State is getting nothing
now, and in the future she would not
only get the taxation from the road, but
from the enhanced value of property
along the route and in Charleston. Then
we should ask for convict labor. There
is no other road upon which convict labo:
could be made so available. The con-
victs could be put to work in those tun-
nels where escape would be impossible,
and where the temperature is neither cold
nor hot. 1t is always the same. The
granting of this labor to that purpose
would not interfere with the quarrying
of the stone for the Charleston jetties,
because that work is done by a class OF
conyicts who could not leave the Peni-
tentiary bounds. The next thing we
want is for the State to give subsidy OF
a half million of dollars towards the COM
pletion of this road, to be paid in install
Inents of 100000 year for FIVE years,
the first instalment not to be due until
the road is completed. This road will be
worth that much to the State. 1t will be
sound financial investment, because
you only pay for what you get and when
you have got it. 1t is to secure your in
fluence to pass this legislation that we
are here. 1t is a matter in which the
whole State is interested. All the profits
will be kept within the State, and every
corner will feel the benefits. We feel
therefore, that it is not unreasonable tc
ask the State to do this. We have re,
Gently seen the State very wisely grant
certain privileges to Columbia on the
ground that what benefits one portion o