The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1881-04-20

leave there and I was afraid that RI
would land here Ia Red River and get
stuck. AS Colonel Hazlehurst has told |
you live on and cultivate poor lands !
in Georgia. spend many hundreds of
dollars for fertilizers and am then we'll
to make bale Of cotton to ev-
cry two acres Of land, and have MAN.
aged at that to make some money farm
ing. Poor as the land there is if any
man were to talk OF buying any of it |
the people would want to shoot him
down. Now that have been here and
have seen the richness of your lands-I
without fertilizers of any
kind bale Of cotton and from one to
three hogsheads of sugar to the acre
it is all can do to keep from buying
every plantation / see, as far as my
means would 60. I am not so sure but
that will land here yet, so impressed
am with the fertility of your SOIL
your genial and many natural advan-
tages. A narrow gauge road forty
miles in length anywhere will pay
We built twenty-six miles in Florida
through pine barren where the lands
are so poor that the soil from your pine
lands wonld be good manure for it
Qaughter>-and yet this will prove to
be a profitable investment. This vi
dalia road will pay. We built a road in
Alabama with chips and whetstoues
which will prove to be a paying insti-
tuition. Col. Hazlehurst was the hard
est man I ever saw to convince of the
advantages of the narrow gauge road.
No argument could convince him until
he saw them running. The wide guage
roads of the South are all wrong.
was so convinced years ago. The en-
CINE and cars of wide gauge road
weighing hundred tons lose money
hauling extra weight. You had as well
hitch four horses to buggy. Narrow
gauge roads are the only roads. l say
narrow gauge all the time. The great
secret of The cars of Colonel BremOnd is
that they are not loaded down with ex-
ira weight-dead weight. When you
take loaded train on q wide gauge
road you have as much dead weight as
freight, On the narrow gauge road
you have two pounds of paying freight
to one pound Of dead weight. The
question with you now is how you are
to get this Vidalia narrow gauge road.
We are here as contractors on the Pa
ctic road and will do our work in good
faith and then 60 home, but we will
cheerfully give you our advice based
upon our long experience in building
railroads. You ought to encourage the
building of this road in every way you
can. If Col. Brenond is spared his
road will succeed. The starting point
with you is to put corp of engineers
In the field to run the survey of the
route and to examine the topography of
The country to see if it is practicable
sometimes it turns out that proposed
route is not practicable. do not think
any such thing of this route. This
work is usually done by subscription
and when the road is built the subscrip-
lion goes into stock. l don't think you
can be too libertl with these gentlemen
Of the Vidalia road. This will be an
important line, running from Natchez
to Texas. Take map and put string
from Jackson, Miss, to Houston, Tex,
and you will find that it passes through
Alexandria. Alexandria is now the
most important town in your State out.
side of New Orleans. When the sys-
TEN of roads of when it will be the
center is built, property in your Town
and in the country around yOu will be
quadrupled in value. / am already very
much impressed with the thriving con-
dition of your. Town and am satisfied
| that Alexandria has great prospects in
the near future. While Col. Halle
hurst and | are here we will cheerfully
furnish you any information IN ouI
power.
| Thanking you for your attention an(
cOngratulating you upon yOnr "grea
expectations" l will now bid you gooo
night.
Col. Lanes remarks were warmly
applauded, and he was frequently in
terrupted from the same cause. The
meeting was most favorabiy impressed
with the addresses Of the two gentle
men, and it was also much gratitiet
that those gentlemen had taken tue
trouble to tell them so many Things
the, could not otherwise have known
about the building and running o
railroads. There were many convert
to the narrow guase system betor
they had concluded.
The Chairman, Mr.. j. G.. White
called Mr.. w. A. Griffin, one of Pine
yiIle's most worthy and substantial
merchants, to the Chair, and lie tool
the floor and made the following "fey
remarks" viz:
Mr.. Chairman and Gentlemen -Yo
have heard the remarks Of Messrs
Lane and Hazlehurst, and they hav
doubtless impressed you, .s they hav
me, with the conviction that our Tow
is to be great railroad center. Lik
the few fortunate people of whom TIL
poet aud teacher tells us, We are t.
have "greatness thrust upon us;;" an
vet this result is not altogether fortui
tous, for I firmly believe that if Co
Wheelock and the people had moi
some four years ago, taken hold OF tt
Pacific road, Jay Gould would not nov
be building that road, with his char
acteristic vim aud energy. You hav
not forgotten the trials and tribula
tons through which we have passed
when heavy taxation consumed on
, substance, when bad government an
corruption in high places paralyz ed a.
our energies, and when deferred hop
had made our hearts sick with waiting
, We will carry with US for years
come the vivid recollections of thos
dark and dreary days, and | allude
them now that may call your after
ton to the lesson taught US by on
, struggles and trials in the past: th
fact that whatever has been accOlr
, plished since then has been by OF
iabors and efforts to rid ourselves
r the Incubus that weighed Us dow
, Like the "br,ght Lexicon Of You'll