Asheville daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1890-1900, 1894-07-14
THE SOUTHERN RAILWAY
WHAT THE NEW REORGANI.
zATION MEANs.

Interview with Samuel spencer,
the New President-what We
May Expect-S0me Interesting
Speculati0ns.
Some readers Of THE CITIZEN have
doubtless kept informed of the events
that have been transpiring in the South.
ern railroad world for the last few
weeks. The Richmond and Danyille was
sold on the 18th of June and reorgan-
lied as the Southern Railway com
pany. which company bought the L. T.
Y. & Ga. system at the foreclosure sale
at Knoxville on the 7th inst, and Tues
day last the Charlotte, Columbia &
Augusta, and Columbia & Grcenvile
went under the hammer and were
knocked down to the same bidder. Be-
fore the first Of September the same cut
and-dried program will have been car
ricd out as to the several other pro-
perties formerly comprised in the two
systems, all will have been brought I'm.
der the same name, the same general
management, and that other necessary
adjunct of every first class railroad, the
same blanket mortgage.
"nas 20 all these changes SIGNIFY e
is the question thoughtful men in every
locality reached by these roads are askinp
Generally speaking. the feet on the
whole South, it is believed. must he
highly beneficial. Whether this new
compapy is controlled by the Wander.
bits or not and it is widely accented
belief that it isl, as reorganized il is cnor.
mously strong, financially, and is bound
to become, under the progressive man
agement of Samuel Spencer. one of the
most potent factors in the industrial
development OF the South. In an inter
view that THE CITIZEN had Yesterday
with this gentleman. he said in answer
to the question. "Wbat effect will the
reorganization have upou the South ~
that he hoped it would be most benef.
cial and saw no reason why it should
not be.
The question here however is. "What
is to be the effect on Asheyille,, and il
was to this point that I he CITIZENS in.
quiries of Mr.. Spencer were particularly
directed. The prospect of the early
erection of a fine new depot at Biltmore
under the auspices of the Southern Rail
wav Company with the cooperation
of Mr.. Vanderbilt lends color to the be.
lief that the Vanderblts are largely in
terested in the new deal.
But taking no account of suppos;tions
of Vanderbilt control and Vanderbilt
favor for Asheville, which NAV or NAV
not be fanciful, the logic of the situation
seems to assure AsLeville marked ad.
vantages under the new deal. The uni.
ication of the two systems lifts the en-
bargo which has been laid upon our
commerce at Paint Rock. The outrage
Gus pro rate on that 44-mle haul will
be impossible under the new regime
Under the new system the rate las
already been reduced. We will have the
same shipping facilities over the old L.
T., v, g. G. lines as Newport or Morris.
town. Henceforth western freiphts to
and from Asheville can take their natural
channel, ins tcad of being fore d "around
the world to get in at the back door"
The Chief advantage to accrue to US,
however, is BY making the Western
North Carolina railroad a trunk line for
both freight and passenger traffic. A
glance at the map will show this road
to be the key to this consolidation
problem-the natural and indispensable
link between the X. & ID. and i. T.. Y.
& G. properties. without which they
could never be really one. As one the
enormous through traffic of the L. T..
V. & G., which has hitherto been handled
by the Norfolk and Western will come
this way. This assertion is based on a
straiphter tin than any utterance of n
diplomatic railroad president or man
ager. Figure for Yourself and YOU will
find that on north and east bourd bust.
ness fre III Knoxville. CHATTANOOGA and
Memphis routed via the Norfolk and
Western, as formerly, the Southern Rail
way would Get an average haul of 3OS
miles; via Asheyille It would pet an
average haul of 77s miles. or the whole
distance to the Potomac river. To
state the case is to prove it. When men
learn to be unsclfsh. and water ACQUIRES
the habit of running uphill, then, and
not earlier, will a railroad allow 40
miles of its own track to rust from dis
use in order to throw the long haul to
a competing line. The control of this
47O-miie haul on the whole volume of
through business of the L. T.. V. & G.
lines was no doubt the weiphtiest con.
sideration that moved the ruling now
ers to weld these two systems into one.
This consolidation, then. transforms
the W. N. c. railroad from branch to
a trunk line, a main artery of trade be.
tween New York and Chattanooga,
Memphis and the Southwest.
How the "stonc rejected of the build
ers" is become "the head of the corner !"
A few years ago this property was so
little thought of that the Legislature of
North Carolina was convened in extra
session to give it away, almost
The transformation can but work
ureot good to Ashev;llc Tho ore-tro;n.