The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-01-15
RAILWAY NOTES.
From the Nashville American.

A through line OF sleeping coaches
between Nashville and jacksonville,
Fla., via the Nashville, Chattanooga
d st. Louis railway, is to be put on
within the next few days.
The officers of the Louisville &
Nashville d Great Southern and OF
the Nashville, Chattanooga Il St.
Louis railroads assert that it is all that
they can do to supply the cars required
on account of their increased business.
The Colesystem of railroads embra~
ce 2,030 miles of road, of which l.
180 miles are south of Chattanooga,
and 900 miles north of it. The dis,
tance from Nashville to Savannah via
that route, $50 miles, while it is ,059
miles from Nashville to New York,
and 316 miles from Nashville to St.
Louis. 1t will thus be seen that the
distance from st. Louis to Savannah
is 902 miles, OF 157 miles less than
from Nashville to New York. This
will give some idea of the shortness of
this route to the Atlantic seaboard.
In an interview with Gov. Brown,
of Georgia, concerning the arrange
ment which he and Col. Cole have
just made with the Georgia Central,
an Atlanta Constitution reporter ask
ed:
GLOW came the contract to be
made?"
"Col Cole and myself" said Gov.
Brown, have been looking for a line
from the west to the ocean for several
years. He has always favored Port
Royal. l have always contended for
port in my own State-Savannah or
Brunswick. The matter has been
open all the time, and one or two adj
vances have been made. A short time
ago Mr. Wadley invited Col. Cole and
me to come TO Savannah and have a
business conference with him. Col Cole
had never been in Savannah, and
agreed to go. A careful examination
of the harbor facilities, and of the for
eign trade already built up there, con-
vinced him that it was what we want
ed, and negotiations were opened and
closed in the contract announced"
"What was the necessity for the
consolidation of these lines ?"
"Simply that we felt that the South
ought to compete with the Northern
lines for the export trade. There are
four great lines that carry the West-
ern produce to the ocean. The New
York Central, the Erie, the Pennsyl-
vania Central and the Baltimore &
Ohio. Each of these lines pierces the
West, and it is under the control OF
one man. He says Co. and every
thing moves. The trade that they do
is enormous. They have virtually
unlocked the West and made valua-
bic exports Of corn that years ago was
used as fuel for the lack of a market.
The South has never had any great
line to the ocean. 1t is true we have
had continuous lines from the West
to the ocean, but they have always
been under half dozen different man.
agements, usually antagonistic or jeal-
Gus of each ether. The work has
been insufficient and unsertain. We
have'a line that Is virtually under one
control from st. Louis to Savannah,
while the same line has its steamships
to ply the ocean"
"You think. then, that you eau COM
pete with the Northern lines"
"Why can't we? We have a line
that is 800 miles shorter from st.
Louis (Which is the great center of the
Vest to our port than the New York
Central is to its port. And then. pro-
rating the water line from Savannah
to New York al three miles of water
for one of rail, we have line that is
20 miles shorter from St. Louis to
New York than the Pennsylvania
Central. Our roads, when laid with
steel rails, cost about S18,00 a mile,
while the northern cost averages in
some places $4,000 a mile. We
have thus less capital invested and
less to pay dividends on. Then our
line is open all the year round, while
many of the northern lines are block
ed with snow and ice many times du-
risg the year. We have every ad-
vantage, it seems to me, except expe-
rience, and that we will get very rap
idly The trouble is that there has
been a general impression that 'the
South cannot do these things. The
only reason is that We have never be-
fore had line to do it with. We pro-
pose to do it now"
The Savannah News thus rejoices
over the organization of King Coles
line from St. Louis to that city
There is universal feeling of conf |
dence in the vast advantages which
will enure to Savannah from this ar
rangement, and real estate and city
bonds have already both materially
strengthened in tone. This shows
conclusively that the property-owners
and payers of Savannah confident
ly anticipate a grand future for Geor-
gia's cnief seaport-ac confidence which
will become still more firmly establish |
ed as soon as it is generally known
that the combination agreed is fixed
fact beyord peradventure. As we re-
marked yesterday, it is impossible to
nver.estimate the substantial benefits