The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-09-20

From The London Financial Times dated Sep
tcinbcr 3, 1881
London swarms with American rail
road presidents, to whom the healthy
state OF the American market must be q
very agreeable spectacle. Most of them
profess to be bent on holiday making,
but it is their custom to combine bust
ness with pleasure and very probably
they are taking 1.-The mixture as before"
The other day Mr.. Chauncey Depew fav-
orcd us with his views on the railroad
outlook, and they seem to have been
well received in the House, for they
gave strong impetus to the boom. His
friend, President Ingalls,, of the Chcsa-
peakc and Ohio, which is also now en-
rolled among tho Vanderbilt systems,
has paid Il flying visit to the city on his
way TO the Continent. Hints have been
dropped that he had card up his sleeve
which may be of interest, not TO the
stockholders of Chesapeake and Ohio
only, but even moro so to the proprie-
tors of the Ohio and Mississippi
Our distinguished visitors from tho
other side include likewise President
IL.
lie is now regularly looked for in the
autumn, and every year he receives u
swarm welcome from wild ening circle
OF friends and stockholders. Mr.. Kim
ball IS the sort Of president that Eng
land investors like. lEe is much moro
after the style Of our own railway chair
men than most of his associates. lie
Identifies himself with one road, and
gives his whole life to ii. AS railroad
man and Il ilnancior, he has no thought
OF interest apart from Norfolk and West
ern. Whatever promises TO help to
build it up and TO hasten its expansion
into great Southern system command
his unwcaried devotion. Another pecu-
liarty about him is that he is always
glad TO furnish information either to
shareholders or the press. Every detail
i'll the practical working Of the Norfolk
he is familiar with. All the threads Of
its widespread qualifications are in his
hands, and he holds them firmly. Its
traffic and its financial condition he
can accurately describe at any point
and his explanations indicate man of
broad mind, who looks all round him.
taking everything into account that is
likely to bring grist to the mill.
President kimball enjoys in an I'M
usual degree the personal confidence
and esteem of all The large holders of
his stock with whom he comes into
personal contact. They not only have
great faith in his management, but they
| accept implicitly whatever he has to
say about its position and prospects,
When, rs on the present occasion, he is
sanguine and hopeful, they Know he
must have good reasons for it. The
Norfolk and Western, nc thinks, has
come wonderfully well through the
slack period, which now appears to be
drawing TO an end. The latter was
hard Oh the South, whore the preceding
boom had been most rampant but the
reaction has, III Virginia at last, been
lighter than might have been expected
In the new towns buyers have paid their
installments and held ON to their prop
critics most crcditably. The good crops
which imply active business by-and-by,
have put fresh life and energy into
them. During tho coming year they
may be rs cheerful and lively again as
they were in 1900. That portcnds a fine
revival Of local business for the Norfolk
and Western. New settlers and new
capital will begin to crowd in again and
progress will resume it's intcrrupted
course.
But it is through business that inter
ests MIR. kimball most just now. At
last the Clinch Valley connection with
the Louisville and Nashville has been
got into operation and it has made
very satisfactory start. a thorough
service was not fully organized TIL The
beginning Of last month, but since that
time the two roads have exchanged on
an average nearly ninety cars per day.
Most Of them have been east-bound TO
Norfolk. the only drawback Of the SER
via / -.
being scarce the interchange has been
rather onc-sided. But all east and west
roads have of late been making the
same complaint: everything has been
going east, and return freight to the
west has boon relatively small. In the
new route via Clinch Valley there are
great future possibilities which, had
they been limited at a few years ago,
would have been dismissed as dreams.
President IIimball claims that he is
now III position to compete with the
Northern trunk lines for almost any
kind OF export trade. He can give
through rates en- -four from Minneapolis
via Louisville and Norfolk. to- any
British port as low as they can be mado
via Chicago and New York or via the
500 and Montreal. He can in the same
way through rate wheat and corn from
st. Louis, Kansas City or any Western
point. The haul may in some cases be
rather longer than by Northern route,
but as an Offset to this freight can be
handled decidedly cheaper at Norfolk
than at Baltimore, Philadelphia, or New
York.
Tie ample and well-planned shipping
facilities provided by the Norfolk and
Western Company at Norfolk were re-
Gently described at length by our spc-
cial correspondent. 1t will soon be
seen now what they are worth in actual