The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1891-04-02
OFFICIALLY OUTLINED.
President Ingalls, Announces the G.
&c O.'s Policy.
Manufacturers Record, March %.

ness men Eflan Uilab OF Il hundred unknown Wit
nesses. Notwithstanding all that has been
written concerning the resources of that portion.
Of the two Firginas which is travesscd by the
Chesapeake q Ohio Railway, nevertheless there
believe that such enormous resources as exist
could have continued SO long i'll q comparative
iy untouched condition within the limits OF the
mother of States.
Accordingly the Manufacturers Record com
missioned the writer to visit Mr. NJ. Ingalls,,
the president of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chi
cagO 81 ST. Louis Railroad commonly called the
Sc Big Four Route'9 and OF the Chesapeak Ohio
Halfway, in order to find out what he thought
of the resources Just referred TO and of the out
look of the new towns that are springing up
along the line of the Chesa peake & Ohio, and
what would be his policy for the encouragement
of developing industries.
The general result of my interview was to
persuade me that III Mr. Ingalls, the two Virgin
las have found an ally whose work will be felt
from the mouth OF the Big Sandy all the way to
Hampton Roads for centuries yet TO come.
Endowed with robust physique, an untiring
energy, NJ. i. Ingalls, is witlial quick perceiv-
er, a man of enormous resources and, best OF all,
his soul is i'll the work OF lifting the veil that has
so long covered up the treasures of the two Viz
gnias:
Railway, which represents a little over one
thousand miles OF track, stretching from Gin
cinnati eastward up the Ohio and along the
Great kanawha through the rich coal, iron and
timber OF the Appalachian re2ion, across the
shenandoah Valley, through tile Blue Ridge on
to Newport News and Old Point Comfort en- the
sea.
1t has a line from Clifton Forge via Lynch
burg to Richmond and line from isessener. Oh
the James river, to Newcastle, penetrating the
Craig valley iron field; a line from GordonSville
to Orange, and traffic arrangement from Or
ange to Washington, D. c.; a line from Coving-
ton, Virginia, to the Hot Springs adjacent to
which are the Warm and Healing Springs,) be
sides numerous branches reaching from the
main line to colleries in the New River district
and to the iron mines of the Alleghanies. Its
powerful ally-the Big Four RaiIway-reaches
the most important sections OF Ohio, Indiana
and Illinois, and a traffic arrangement exists
Kentucky.
1ile traffic on the Chesapeake g. Ohio has al
ready assumed large proportions, and yet, as
MIR ingalls, remarked, it is in its infancy.
Turn back decade said esH'and compare
the business OF the Chesapeake q Ohio with that
Of last year. Marvellous as has been the growth.
yet it is but poor Indication of the possibilities
within the reach of our earning power Let me
read from this statement said Mr.. ingalls,, as he
reached for batch of papers on his desk, land
you viii readily see the advances we are max
ing in our earning capacity. IN 1850 there was
earned from passenger traffic 1884 900 and from
freight s2G20o0e in 1850, from passenger traffic,
Sits 000, and from freight $a&5,Ot0. The esti-
mate for the end OF onr fiscal year, June. 1881,
shows passenger ~, 000, lGG freight $4,000 000n
.What is your honest opinion OF the resources
of the region traversed by the Chesapeake &
Ohio?''
'.rhe country through which the Chesapeake
s. Ohio Railway runs from Newport News Va,
to the Ohio river, is one si the richest sections
in America i'll respect to the possibilities of its
development. AS an agricultural country, a part
Of it is UNSURPASSED by ans either district i'll the
United States, While as Il inInerdl and tlnbel
region, its resources are practically unlimited.
Crossing the two States, reaching fran the sea
board to the West the Chesapeake s Ohio opens
up mineral and timber region that must in
evitably become the center OF ali enormous de-
yelopment. surprising anything that has ever
been seen in the South.
.'m fact he declared, sit is undoubtedly true
that this territory will become as populous ami
prosperous and as much crowded with thirty
ing ufecturing cities and towns as any part
OF PENNSYLVANIA row is IL is II country OF al
niasi inaIitss REQUIRES, and the work that has
been done during tie last iNn Eaas ia the open
ing Up Of this region and the building at towns
and the establishment OF manufacturing enter
prises is but the beginning OF an advancement
that will create an enormous amount Of wealth
and win cause the building of manufacturing
cities along the entire line of the road i'll the
two FirginiaS.'
Taking the State of West Virginia alone,
MIR ingalls, proceeded to say, lit is by far the
richest coal State lii the Union, having about
one thirteenth of the entire coal area OF the
United States and about one ana half times as
large coal iisld as all Of Great britain. For ali
purposes of manufacture and SIS d coke produ
Ger, the coal of West Virginia is without ss;pc-
rior. 1t is easily mined. IL reaches the sea
board on Gle eide at q low cost for shipment to
the North as well az for supply ing foreign
steamers and on the side it strikes the 0hie
river. having The benefit of cheap Transporter
ton by river ant! rail to the entire West. The
peculiarly favorable position OF the State, lying
between the seabOaTd and the West. gives as
surance of an increasing demand that must
fully tax the output OF all the mines i'll the
State.
:saraat Britain, you know said he, with its
much SlA1ar cgal area is producing i'll the
coal a year, and evea Wien the pFoqlctiql! Of
West Virginia shall begin to approximate to
such enormous figures, the supply is so unliinit-
ed that there will he no such mat efial enhance
ment in ens5 of mining As III Great Britain,
where coai is every year becoming more aud
more expensive owing 10 the enormous depth
at which the mines are being worked. A strlk-
ing contrast between coal mining in West v IL
ginia and in Great britain is seen in the TACT
that a recent miEe in Great Britain cost 5000.
0G0 fer the preliminary work before ton OF coal
Mag plt out the mining operations being car
i'ied sssii about 500 feet under ground. In the
durham, coal ioid ron, Wtioi. comes t.;e larg
est sapply CT coke for sn.siand.H fli.iiacea, b!is
coal Is mined at n depth or i,sNfoeb ira vein
that, il am not wrongly Informed, is ohly about
two feet wide. and the heat is so intense that
the men can work but short time without
Eluei CT coal field is above water level, and
the coal is ininad ii drifts and at cost that is
amazing to English coat operators. The coal
field of the State covers it, D Square nls, L:l;i
is very much larger area than the entire coal
area of Pennsylvania.
Mr.. Ingalls, continued, ''in Virginia and iii West
virginia, there is an abundance of iron ore to
shppo.:k raany furnaces for all time to come.
instance, as Craig COUNTY, AID IN chg ragiqn
tributary to Coyington, Clifton Forge ami at
in quantity as the coal. The branch road tlint
now building into Craig county, and the
line that will be butinto the Potts creek region
BY Senator camden, viii open Up some of the
finest iron ore properties iii Anartca. Many 2x
perts have claimed that Craig county is she
richest mineral county In the United States, all..
in that section there is an abundance of high
grade Bessemer ores and manganese.
Heretofore the people of the South" said he.
'sAaye scarcely realized the magnitude of their
timber Interests ad tlle infiueEca that this is
going TO havesupo the deveo,inenb q the
country and the building of lars industrial oen-
ters Those who watched the growth OF West
ern cities some years ago WHIT their progress
mess and wood working enterprises of all kinds,
have been somewhat surprised that until re
GENTLY Southern town builders did not seem 80
appreciate y.e iatnence the lumber business IS
going TO have in Size ei,r,eimalt cf the South.
The great forests of tile Northwest are bSi.sg
rapidly destroyed and the immense capital
in numbering, furniture making and kindred i'll
terests throughout Wisconsin, Michigan and adj
Grafton in the South West Virginia alone, as
an example, out Of TOTAL Of G.fl9Ua acres i'll It's
entire t raa has Oyer h 1 te acf ie eYefe
most every variety of hardwood, from the inex
pensive to the most valuable, aud also large
foi iuaumefahle furniture factories. agricll!tlii
al implements, wood HofkihS and for general
manufacturing enterprises Of wide diversity IN
the numbering and wood working Interests or
tile stats. which is now under way. and which
will keep pace with the growth of the coal and
iron development, will add millions OF dollars
annually to the wealth of West Virginia and
furnish employment for many thousands OF
hands.
s-.-r;lking these three items of coal, iron and
timber Hone, there is a basis OF latent wealth in
the country dyaliled by the Chesapeake s. Ohio
and its branches that viii furnish a solid foun-
dation for large number OF big Cities. as well
az fer great many prosperous INDUSTRIAL FoWnS
with population Of from. 1900 TO l5mf0 anq 2O,pD
each. When to these advantages we add the
great agricultural resources OF the two Stat IS,
the petroleum, natural gas the fire clays and all
the other wealth creating resources, 1t can be
readily seen that there is practically no limit to
the healthy advancement of the entire country
ffom Newport News to Cincinnati.
"as 80 cheap iron. am sure it is susceptible
OF demonstration. MIR. Ingalls, here took occa-
sion to say, ssthag DoWnere III America can iron
of equal quality he made so cLeapiy as will soon
be possible within radius OF Fifty miles at the
Bessemef or CoviRgtan. Va as a center. Here
iron deposits exists so rich and so enormous
that conservative description OF them would
sound Incredible. Covington will be great in
dustral center and Clifton Forge one of the
great cities of the South. between the two a
branch road extending nine miles from the main
'lne, will reach Rich Patch mountains, where
thereis 9 paTsisteat vein of ore 100 feet thick.
isessemer on TIE Janies River division, is mics
from Clifton Forge, y l!acated at the mouth of
Craig creek. The branch liHe, nearly completed
Craig creek iron field. liessemer, being the
point where iron from this district first REACHES
the coal from the New river district, will ua-
be I: manufacturing. town.
What about Newport NewSf' asked.
Newport News said lie, us destined to be-
come one of the most important exporting cit
MA fiiiiiG4ur,pg point The export trade from
That points GegGlepng very rapidly, the total
value Of 70 foT lg shpiaonts A9ring 1890 being
ing year. The large grain elevator at tilap
Olnt, Which has a capacity OF about l,50U,00U
bushels OF graiil is steadily increasing the
mount OF wheat and corn that it handles for
'oreigR trade. The shipments of coal to the
Sosth Yla NeTpsrt News are increasing every
year. and VIII pildolbtedly continue to grow
eyen more in tile future G.lan in the past.