The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1881-05-25

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South of us, refuse to accept the
bounty of Nature, turn our faces
from the straight and easy way,
and content ourselves with a long
divergence to the Southwest to
Knoxville, at which place we will be
further from our objective points than
when at Morristown
The Northern connection of Knox
vile and Chattanooga, completed
and in progress Of construction, do
not, and can not, meet and fulfill the
exigencies of the case, That they
have been secured is certainly a
matter for graduation. East Ten
nesseans at largo, and particularly
the people of those cities and of the
comparatively narrow section Of
East Tennessee traversed by those
roads, have much to expect and hope
from their construction. But they
can not possibly answer and fulfill
what may be we'll termed the great
national need and purpose, the most
direct, the shortest and most easy
communication between the Ohio
and the Southeastern Atlantic States,
and they fall far short of developing
the most valuable of the agricultural
and mineral interests of East Ten
nessee as we shall show in the Sc
quel.
MOrristown ia much further north,
and consequently much nearer to
Louisville and Cincinnatithan Knox
vile from which it is clear, as we
have just said that after several
hours shall have been consumed in
traversing the distance from Nor
ristown to Knoxville, over the East
Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia
railroad, the point OF destination
will be more distant than when at
the former place. A reference to
Killebrews, or other accurate map
of Tennessee, will fully verify this
statement. 1t is manifest that the
route from MorristOwn by the way
of Knoxville, is many miles out of
the way, involving the mcOnven-
fences and Interruptions of the use
of another road, inevitably super
vening however amicable may be
the relations, the loss Of much time
even if close connections at Morris
town and Knoxville should be made,
which certainly would not be accom-
plished with uniformity, and much
additional cost, care, wear, tear,
trouble aud vexation. At this day,
when the rush and flight of the en-
CINE and the instantaneous cOmmu-
nication of intelligence on the wings
of electricity, are but typical of the
progress of commerce, travel, trade
and political and social events;
when the fate of millions, the veal
of the nation, and within the range
of possibility the existence of en-
pire itself may hang upon an hour
of time, such delay, such zig gag
gings about and through the coun-
try can not and will not be tolerated.
The distance from Morristown to
Cumberland Gap, by direct air
line is about twenty three miles, and
as the common road is now located
about forty miles. This being so,
Cumberland Gap on the direct line
can be reached in less time than
Knoxville, situated off in the south
west over forty miles, and south of
the latitude of Cumberland Gap at
least forty-five miles, on the direct
line. Every consideration demands
the fewest miles and the shortest
time with the smallest expenditure,
and the minimum of these can only
be attained by adopting the direct
line from Morristown, following the
natural track to Cumberland Gap,
the common corner of the three
great commonwealth of Virginia,
Kentucky and Tennessee.
By reference to an accurate map
it will be seen that a direct line from
Louisville to Charleston passes a |
very short distance west of Cumber- |
land Gap, and Immediately by Nor |
ristown, and that a direct line from |
Cincinnati to Charleston passes still
further east, short distances only |
from both of those points, but on
this last line there is no such natural |
passway as on the former, and the
completion of the road from Paint
Rock to Morristown may be re-
garded as definitely leading the
road on the direct line from Louis
vile.
As we have already said, nature
herself, with her own plastic and
benefcent hand, and we may add
with merciful design, plan and
scheme, intended to be perfected by
man, has here made a passage
through our mountains from Ken.
tucky's fields of teeming fertility.
the land of the blue grass and the
short horn, to the Southern Atlantic
slope Turning northward, the en-
gineers who some years ago sur
veyed and located the line of the
Cincinnati, Cumberland Gap and
Charleston railroad from Morris
town to Cumberland Gap, found
that streams of water, affiuents of
the rivers HolstOn, Clinch and
Powell, running north and south in
almost dlrect lines with each other,
had with two considerable excep-
lions only, opened passways through
every considerable mountain and
hill elevation. Along these, as
rule, road of any kind can be
more easily and cheaply constructed
Than across an ordinary open undu-
ating country. The two excep-
ions are the Clinch and Cumber-
and mountains; but even in these,
md in a direct line of correspondence
almost with tho radical alluvial
openings cut entirely through the
,ther and smaller ranges, are very
leep depressions, or gaps, through
which the common road from Ken
lucky to the Carolinas has always
passed, the one in Clinch known as
bo Raonio Gtoti0n aO6 tho OtbaV. 90