The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1886-03-04
THE BRIDGE At MEMPHIS.
GOULUs 1STRNTIONs-A WARN.
ING TO RAILROAD MRS.
Those Interested In the Structure
sh0uld Attend 10 the Passage OF
the Needed Legislation.
ro lhs Edltor. of lhe Arpenl


Some month or 50 since, Little
Rock paper announced that w. e..
Ford, well known here, had filed the
necessary papers in the Secretary OF
States office, at Little Rock, for the
Of n bridge across the
river at Memphis This morning Mr..
MeriWether, city engineer, is reported
as saying that a bridge Is certainly to
be built, and he is not likely to speak
wildly. But there may be "a bug un-
der that chip" and II behooyes our
business men 10 be on time. All OF MS
want bridge, and the business Of our
city sadly needs one but II Jay Gould
controls II, as now seems quite certain,
il is not 10 help Memphis. Confident
that somebody will build that bridge
he and his brother capitalists, who are
all interested in the great railroad lines
connecting st. Louis directly with the
North Atlantic cities, mean to secure
oil chartered rights from Congress be-
fore any one else moves; and IL is not
unlikely that lac already has the pro-
iect 80 secured as To- render charter
certain whenever the Railroad Com
mittce If the House shall choose to
report. You know that Congress sell
dom refuses TO adopt the reports OF
committees, unless there be very
strong and open objections. Now, let
us look alittle further, and ask II Gould
may not have q special interest in
securing control of this bridge.
lie does not care for the gen
eral development of the country
except as IL may llll his railroad trains
with people and freight He was
never known to build railroad ex-
cept ~ n short feeder TO some of his
trunk lines, and whenever he wants q
road now running he sets his allies TO
work, first 10 bear its stock, and then,
when he has q majority control OF ",
10 bull II. Some men call this strong
evidence Of public spirit Just such
motive governs Gould about this
road II he Ii after II at nll Can you
name any road on this side of the
river, south Of Louisville and north of
Vicksburg, that he has any interest
IMP He has none in any road in Ar.
kansas except such M lead directly to
St. Louis. II IL limited that the sale
Of the Paramore or Cotton Belt
road, made at ~. Louis last week. was
in his interest. That road runs from
Cairo TO Texarkana via Pine Bluff and
Camden, and opens up the finest cot
ton section of that State all naturally
tributary 10 Memphis Now he is en-
gagged IN constructing q road from
Bald Knob, via Augusta, Wittsburl
and Marion, to Memphis, for the pur
pose III turning from Memphis all tn,
cotton near the line of the Memphi,
and Little Rock road and directing I
20 ~. Louis by low rates. Can any
sane man question thisp
How about the bridge here2 GoulC
knows IL will be built, and would lik,
to control Il, ThatConhul would meal
lust such regulations AZ regards the uR,
of Il by other roads as would turn al
the trade and travel of Arkansas an,
Texas from Memphis TO II, Louis, an,
let his bridge suffer rather than hi
railroad lines. Let il he remembere,
that IL the bridge were built, Goul'
has no road leading 10 Il, on this sid
OF the river, that would be beneiite,
In the least
II he is after that bridge is not hi
motive evident?
II am correct, would IL not I've YER
advisable for the Cotton Exchange am
the Chamber of Commerce to call a
early meeting, adopt such resolution
as the occasion may demand, and in
struct Mr. Taylor TO see that Men
phis's interests are not engulfed b
Gould and his associate monopolists
Il need not be added that when an
bridge company shall apply for priv
leges at Memphis, nadden, Lee, Mon
geometry and Randle will be there.
Such a bridge as the commerce q
Memphis will soon demand shoul
have a double passenger and doubl
freight track, with the usual WACO
and carriage ways, and, II possible,
should he built by the government
and not by any company OF capitalist
who will always be governed by the
own and their special railroad inte'
ests, and not by a wish TO let all road
have equally fair play, Now, il eve
Memphis needs wide-awake an
broad-gauge Congressman.
A week hence Congress may pas
such a charter as viii be most dan
aging blow to Memphis, let her pc,
pie act al once. J.. T. TREzEvANT,