The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1882-05-25
THE eAvAsxAu VALLEY RAILROAD,

Elsewhere will bc found an account of
tie proceedings 0f the people Of Augusta,
and of the Augusta and Knoxville Rail
road, in pursuance of which the latter
has subscribed twenty thousand dol.
lars to the capital stock Of the Savannah
Valley Railroad, and also certain resou-
endorsing The location Of the road to
McCormick's. This action Of the Au-
gusta e. Knoxville road ensures the
building Of the Savannah Valley road at
an early day, and hence the city Of An
derson will soon have the advantages Of
active railroad competition. This being
assured, We have no doubt that all oppo.
silion to the road in Anderson and the
townships along the line will cease as
there has never been much disagreement
among our people as to the advantages
Of the road. Tho difference of opinion
has always been as to the principle Of
taxation, and as TO the adequacy Of The
capital to secure the road. We have nj
ways thought the taxes voted would lie
collected, and we believe the taxpayers
will pay np promptly as their means will
permit, how that the last and most i'm.
portant point rs to the ability to build
has been settled. for we presume there
will no longer be any doubt as to the
means Of the Company to complete the
road. Up to this time, 2O,44o.l4 have
been collected, and fifteen miles of ro,u
graded, besides full survey of the whole
line and other expenses which will not
enter into future work, no follows, TO wit :
Engineering corps, s2,GGl.79; litigation,
S408; cash and property on hand, S2,.
553.70-&, ,633.40. So that the money
legitimately chargeablc to the grading
account has been Sl4 4,s06G5, or an aver
age Of 1888 to the mile. Tnking the
longest route forty.two miles remain to
be graded, and the Company will have
about equal to ninety thousand dollars
with witch to grade it, or in other words
S2,l40 per mile. There is, therefore, no
doubt of the completion of the road,
and we hope its construction will be aid
cd in every way possible by our people.
The plan agreed upon has not been
and is not now our preference, for We
would, OIL certain evident accounts, have
preferred going to Aiken by way of Troy
on tho Augusta & Knoxville Railroad
In the FIRST place, it is three miles shorter
to Troy, and will, according to tho En-
gineer's estimates, cost $4,000 less to
complete the road to that point than to
McCormick's. 1t is true that the latter
point is five miles nearer Augusta than
Troy, but every one acquainted with
rnilroading knows that the Augusta &
Knoxville would charge no more on
through freights from Augusta to Troy
than it would charge on the same freights
from Augusta TO McCormick's, so that
we would secure the same advantages by
going to Troy, at saving Of some 1885,.
600. OF course, if this were done, the
money paid in by the Bordeaux people
should be returned to them with interest
but this additional sum could more than
be raised from the people of Trvy.
In the second place, by connecting at
Troy, if the Atlantic and French Broad
Valley Road is ever built, we would
have connection with it without the
intervention OF any other Read. "A great
many persons do not believe this road
will be built, but We have no doub,
that it will, from Abbeville to Aiken,
and perhaps further, so that it will afford
our line an additional lever of competi.
tion.
In the third place, we believe that by
pushing our road on TO Troy, and dc.
mcnstrating our ability to get there first,
we could secure consolidation with the
Elgefield, Aiken and Treuton Road, and
thus secure an advantage over the a..
lantic G. French Broad Road which
would DE greatly to the interest OF An.
derson; and by having a line from An
dsrson to Aiken we would secure The
advantage Of competition in freights
from the South Carolina Road, the Char.
lo.te, Columbia & Augusta, the Augusta
s. Knoxville and the Atlantic & French
Broad Valley Road, if it is ever built.
This, wc believe, would be of very great
advantage, both to the new road and 10
our city.
n.tho fourth place, by such cours.
we would be building up our own State
as we'll rs ourselves. In consequence
of these views VIC had hoped and would
yet like FOR Charleston, Edge6eld, Aiken
aud the South Carolina Railroad to take
such amounts of stock as to render the
line an independent one to Aiken. We
know, however that we arc in minority
in these views, and only express them
thus that our position may not be mis-.
represented in the future. We want the
Savannah Valley Road, and do not lro-
pose 10 be hard.headed enough 10 oppt sc
its construction In any way that The bus
iness men of Anderson may see proper
TO adopt.
Ina business matterlike this, we think
tie minofity, however confident it may
feel in its own judgment, should ac1ui-
e'ce with the majority; and therefore
wlile we do notichange our opinion, yet
W, think tie Savannah Valley Road, as
= part of The Augusta & Knoxville sys-