The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1883-01-24
What Railroads Have Done.
Nashville, Tenn, Banner.l


There is so much hostility against all rail-
roads, among certain classes, a stranger
would think they were the greatest enemies
we have. 1t is one of the established max
inns of some people to hate all corporations
they say corporations have no souls, and
therefore. if killed, they are not damaged.
1t may be a wise thing to ask few questions
about railroads in this connection. The
measure of friendship does not consist in
empty words, but in deeds. A man may
have great many friends but when he goes
10 one for help in an emergency, he fails to
| get it. Another may come TO his assistance
| who never pretended friendship nor ever
made any professions of friendly feeling.
Which man would be looked on as q friend ?
| 1t may be that railroads simply come in for
their share of the natural hostilities against
corporations; however that may be it may
| well be asked whether railroads have done
| more evil or good to the State. Before the
coming of railroads we had good old times,
say some; that is, corn sold st from fifty to
seventy-fv cents q barrel in an average
| year, while in years of drought it sold at
whatever was asked. The man who was
cornless was simply depleted of all he had.
In 1855, the year succeeding the drought, 1T
sold for S. and 81 barrel, and it would
have sold for more il the money could have
been raised. But great many people were
forced to do withou it altogether. Wheat,
like corn, sold for either nothing or fabu-
lous price. Generally it sold for forty or fifty
cents All necessaries of life off from the
| river sold high. Sugar at quarter-dollar
the pound, calico twenty-five cents yard,
| and other things in proportion. Horses and
mules sold from twenty five to sixty dollars,
only fine ones bringing the latter figure
Land was in the same relation to the value
with its produce The best land in David
son County, off from Nashville few miles
could be bought for $40 per acre. With the
advent of railroads. prices have gone up fol
all farm produce and keep at uniform prices
while land has followed suit. The country
store can now sell Is cheaply as the city
sore. If a drought ruins the crop of one sec
ton, railroads equalize it by bringing in
more at once. A nation can be fed by the
labor of a single railroad. No longer is a mar
compelled to go without bread because of it:
scarcity. Goods of every description have
gone down because we are close to the fac
tory by means of the railroad. Money for
merly in the hands of few men, and
not much at that, is now in the hands
of the many. any who will work for it
Land is looked upon as valuable or otherwise
in proportion to its distance from railroad
1t took man twelve days to go tn Memphi,
and returR-it now takes one. The taxable
value of property, exclusive of slaves, ha'
trebled in value in the State since the intro
duction of railroads. While it took three
months to go to New York and return, in
the good old times, merchants now 60, buy
all the goods they need and return in ter
days. Therefore, the business age of man il
as ten days are to three months; or as ten II
ninety so is mans life. In other words, {
man can now accomplish as much in one
ninth the time he then could. Therefore
mans age is nine times rs long as before
railroads.