Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1884-10-11
THE FACTS.
Mr. Stahlman replies TO the Letter
OF MIR. Turley.
Comparison Of Rates showing the
Commission Absurdity.

To the American:
The press and people win bear me out
in the statement that the owners and man
ayers Of railroad property in Tennessee
have submitted in silence to much misrep-
resentation, villifcation and abuse; that
they have defended only when further
silence would seem TO give color TO the
charges and falsehoo1s put in circulation
TO the detriment Of their property.
Col. John III. Savage has recently put
forward circular headed: Railroads in
Tennessee War upon the People
the caption being an index of what was to
follow. 1t did not take long TO discover
that the pamphlet contained substantial
rehash of his Tullahoma and Sparta
speeches, sandwiched with legal points,
furnished by the attorneys in the commits
sion cases, which three learned judges, in
their opinion, said had no bearing upon the
question at issue in Tennessee.
And now comes the clever gentleman
from East Tennessee, Mr.. Turley-not to
state single fact having any special bear
ing upon the commission; not 10 show
that ffty-six Democratic journals in the
State have expressed themselves in opposi-
ton to the commission, but with the cry OF
water, water, water, seeking thereby TO
divert attention from their own short.
comings.
These gentlemen are evidently getting
warm under the collar, and need the cooling
influence of water to counteract the effect OF
their heated condition.
They understand fuh well that the follies
Of their brief career have not met the
approval of the masses; they know "they
have been weighed in the balances, and
found wanting" Realizing this, Mr.. Turley
proceeds 10 belabor the East Tennessee,
Virginia & Georgia road for having wstered
its stock, and exclaims in evident throes of
agony, my countrymen, my countrymen,
my brother farmers and brother merchants,
open your eyes 70 this great subject !"
What the farmers or merchants OF Tennes-
see care about the water in the stock of the
East Tennessee road Is not shown; they are
a reasonable, sensible people; they have no
interest in "stock jobbing; +" the success Of
Vanderbilt and Gould, or the failure Of
Willard, Seney, Baldwin and Kean interests
them but little; all they ask is reasonable
rates of freight and fare-they want no
more.
But admitting they have an interest,
what are the facts2
In 1870, when the stock of the East Ten
nessee, Virginia and Georgia was s., O00, 900,
il consisted of 242 miles. Between 1870
and 1880 it bought and constructed the
following additional roads: Cleveland to
Dalton, twenty-eight miles; Alabama Gen.
trail, lib miles; Selma, Rome and Dalton,
III miles total, Sl2 miles. In addition 10
this it largely increased its equipment and
improved its road-bed and machinery.
Thus taking Mr.. Turkeys figures as basis,
a dilapidated road, poorly equipped, was in
1870 stocked at s., 300 per mile, while in
1850 a we'll equipped snd conditioned line
was stocked at s., 900 per mile.
ain 1884," says Mr.. Turley, there was
a second water" true, but why7
From 1880 to 1888 the company acquired
by purchase and construction the following
lines: