The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1889-03-07
CUTTING THE TRUNK LINES.
The Continent to be Crossed From
Southeast to Northwest.

Southeast to Northwest.
81 have justseen signatures affixed,
said Gen. Thomas L. Rosser, "to :
construction contract which means .
new trunk line across the American
Continent and a new transatlantic
route for freight and passengers. II
means also the development by civil
zation OF the birthright OF the Chero,
kee Nation, the last aud richest cNrne,
of this great land of ours TO yield its
treasures to the locomotive and the
forge.
"Have you ever noticed that the
great American trunk lines run from
northeast to southwest, through the
richest portion of the country? To
the north the continent it crossed
more evenly by the New York Central
and Pennsylvania systems, but their
general trend is from the northeast to
the southwest. The Baltimore and
Ohio and Chesapeake and Ohio. the
Norfolk and Western and the Rich.
mond and Danville systems take their
course southwest from the Atlantic
coast. Hence parallelism and compe-
tition. But why not have a trunk
line cutting across all these and run
ming from the southeast Atlantic coast
across the new mineral regions OF the
South, which is the mineral depot OF
the world, to the great Northwest, the
grain depot OF the world2
"This has become practically ac.
complished fact by the award yester-
day OF two and a half million dollar
construction contract by the Charles
ton, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad
Company. through the Massachusetts,
and Southern Construction Company
of New York, to Mcdonald, Shea &
Co, of Knoxville, Tenn. The entire
contract for the construction OF the
new trunk line from Charleston S. c.,
h the Northwest had been let to the
Massachusetts, and Southern Construc-
tion Company. The latter sublet yes
terday to Mcdonald, Shea & Co., the
building of the road from Rutherford
ton, N. c., to the great cokiRg coal re-
gion OF West Virginia, in Pocahontas
County, which may now begin to
complete with the camel and coke
trade of Pennsylvania for the trade of
the world.
Take railroad map and see how
unliormeIy the great railroads run to
the southwest from the Atlantic sea-
board. Now look at Charleston, s. c.,
and take Il bird's-eye view of the new
railroad route from that southeastern
port straight up to the Northwest,
through Western North Carolina,
Eastern Tennessee, Southwestern Vir-
ginia and Eastern Kentucky to the
great grain regione Of the Northwest.
The Charleston, Cincinnati and Chi.
cago road proposes to run from Ash
land, KY, to Charleston, and the Mas
sachnsetts and Southern G obstruction
Company are to build it through so
lar. From Sumter to Charleston it
uses the lines of the South Carolina
Railway, which it will eventually buy.
The connections with New York are
made indirectly by putting the other
great trunk systems, with which traf-
fic arrangements are and are to be
made, and directly by the Old Domin.
ion and Bay lines OF steamers and the
Seaboard Railroad system. which con-
meets directly with the Charleston
CINCINNATI and Chicago Railroad at
Catawba Junction. The Bay Line
also gives direct connection with Bal.
timore and Philadelphia.
There is romantic interest attach
ing to the wonderful mineral country
which will be tapped now for the first
time. 1t is the heritage of the Cher
okee Nation and the story is that un-
princ;pled white men bought it from
the Cherokees for consideration Of
pots, pans and kettles. So ignorant
were the Cherokees OF which they
were selling, and so artful were the
whites that the latter took from the
side of one hill enough iron to mske
all the pots, pans and kettles mention
ed in the deed, and OF such purity
that the ore itself was beaten into the
required utensils without so much as
putting FIRE to it, know it to be u
fact that ut Wilder's Forge, in that
country, Gen. Wilder takes out ore so
pure that il requires no treatment.
The indians undoubtedly used to
make their horseshoes out OF the ore
The hard woods found In that country
now are walnut, cherry, ash white oak
black walnut. red oak, white pine and
poplar. Some ofthe poplar logs are
from four to six feet in diameter. -
NJ Y World
BuckIen's Arnica SaIye.