The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-03-11
TUESDAY, MARCH, II, 1890.


In weighing the different agencies now m
operation that seem best adapted 40 adj
vance the material prospects Of Virginia.
there appear 20 be none which should eNer-
else more powerful or a more far reaching
influence i'm this direction than her rail
roads. There is not a material interest Of
the state. whether connected with its cities
or its rural districts, whether agricultural
manufacturing or mining, or in the line OF
trade and construction, which its railroads
cannot by pursuing an enterprising policy.
either directly OF indirectly, promote and'
in promoting, increase theirown prosperity.
Although Virginia has been settled and
been under cultivation for so great "a length
of time. it is still virgin territory if the
higher stages Of development 70 which D.
can be carried. are alone considered. The
railroads intersecting il, whether built re-
Gently or many years ago, have to deal win
the conditions of new country. IL
makes no difference whether they run
through communities ar old as those Of Fred
ericksburg and Williamsburg, or as new -
those Of Crewe and Roanoke, these condi-
tions are the same; the field is compare
lively unoccupied, and just in that proper
ton it is open for the exhibition Of the most
indefatigable enterprise on the part Of these
great corporations.
The improvement in the economic posi-
tlbn of the state, which grows more ana
more notable, is due in large measure TO
the influence Of her railroads, but there can
be little doubt that, as a rule, these rail-
roads have not conferred as much Deneht
upon the material interests Of Virginia as
they might have been done, if more active
and thoughtful policy had been pursued by
them. The object Of the Nirgiuian rail-
roads has, generally speaking. been TO
extend their through connections so that
they would be more or less in
dependent Of the districts adjacent
10 their lines in this state. One consc-
auence Of this has been that the great diner
cnce between the charges for the long and
short haul, respectively, which have been
so much criticised and condemned, have no
where been more strikingly illustrated than
here. What has been the result Of this lat
ter facts Nowhere, probably, in the United
States are railroads more unpopular as cor
rorations than in the rural parts Of Virginia,
and this is not due entirely to provincial
narrowness OF prejudice, or TO envy ON the
part Of classes that are fully aware that
they are pursuing losing occupations as
compared with the proprietors Of these eX-
tensive railway systems.
There is but one railway corporation in Viz
ginia which has systematically carried out a
policy that has not looked almost exclu-
siyely 10 the formation Of vast through con-
nections irrespective Of the parts OF
this state through which it passed.
This is the Norfolk and Western
Railroad Company, which, with
line extending from Norfolk on the sea-
board through a country Of the most varied
resources to Bristol on the Southwestern
border, has wisely recognized the special
conditions Of the local surroundings, and
have taken the most judicious steps to
develop the country tributary 70 the
road II is true that Southwest
Virginia is a region Of ineXhausible natural
wealth which is calculated in itself TO at
tract attention without special advertise
ment, but not until all the influence Of the
Norfolk and Western, under the operation
Of its present policy, was brought TO bear,
did the development of that section give
promise Of reaching the proportions to
which il has even now attained, and what
those proportions will be in the future ii
would be difficult TO eXaggerate.
Let all the railroads Of Virginia only
initiate the example which has been set by
the railways that penetrate the newly set.
tied parts of the West, railways that have
not iufrequently preceded rather than fol
lowed population, and which have left
nothing undone 10 build up and maintain
the prosperity Of the country through which
they have been laid. Every railroad in this
State, whether separate line or the link
in system, should establish bureau foi
the dissemination of special information
with regarl 20 the resources of the
country adjacent TO IT, Above all, each
railroad company should constitute Itself
into board Of immigration, not merely %
offer inducements 10 persons who might bC
led TO settle along its line OF road, but TO di.
rect them thither through competent agen.
cies, and afterwards TO furnish them with
every facility for making the change Of 10
cation most advantageous TO their interests
In proportion TO the display OF this energy
will Virginia expand in wealth and popula
ton. and the reflected influence Of thi'
growth upon the fortunes Of our railways
will be almost incalculable in its benefit.
MN nNETYE