The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-09-04
ONLY ONE ROAD is YET OPEN.
PLANT SYSTEM KEEPS SAVANNAH
IN TOUCH WITH THE WORLD.

Great Accumulation of Delayed
Mail Matter Poured In Yesterday
and More Expected To-day.
vice President Egan Finds
Condition In the Country
Have Not Been ExagEer-
ated - Possibility of Other Roads
Not Being Open For Two or More
Days.
Vice President Egan of the Central, ar
rived home from New York last night He
came home by way of Augusta and Miilen,
and Travelled on a Pullman, an ordinary
coach, q work train, hand car and on
foot to get here Part of the way down it
was hard to tell whether he was in Geor-
gla or on very muddy sea.
No, it has not been misrepresented or
Exaggerated, -" Mr. Egan said last night IN
talking Of the conditions prevailing along
the line of the road. The whole section
within a hundred miles of Savannah mas
gone wet l never thought there was
quite that much water outside the sea. !
worked my way down from Millen in Or
der to get good idea of the situation, and
am satisfied that the Oldest residents VINO
told me there hadn't been anything ike it
in fifty years were telling the exact truth.
1t looks actually as though the rivers had
got tired OF going along in the old chan
uels and were trying to cut new ones IN
several directions. 1t seemed to me pass
ed the Ogeechee river three or four times
and every time it was trying TO do as much
damage as possible. Up at Eden, just as
we had got everything in working order,
the Ogeechee made its appearance, cut
ting across a half mile or more of fields as
though 1t were hungry for few miles oil
railroad tracks and road bed. l am nope
full. though, that we can hold IT down ana
nut a train through on the regular sched-
ule as far as Guyton tomorrow. We DO
not run a local train to Guyton on Sun
DAYS, but as an accommodation /
have directed that the train
leaving here daily at S:45, so out as far as
that point and return on the schedule
time of the day train from Atlanta"
Mr. Egan said that at the point where
the Central crosses the Ogeechee, and at
one or more other points between Guyton
and Neldrim, there is great trouble DelhS
experienced. Large gangs of men are at
work under experienced road constructors,
and he is hopeful that train may be put
through to Atlanta by Monday. Every
thing seems to depend on the Ogeechee
river, and that stream has developed wan
dering habits, the effects of which are
beyond guarding against.
The Central is open from Augusta to
Millen, and Millen to Atlanta. From
Savannah TO Mllen, which Is seventy-nine
miles, it is open to Medium, twenty miles,
and probably to Guyton, ten miles further
west. In the intervening stretch of fifty
miles Is where the trouble mainly lies.
All that can be said is that the officials
will get the road open as quickly as pos
eible. They will doubtless consider them
selves fortunate If they can declare the
road open TO Atlanta tomorrow.
AS a matter of fact, the railroad situa-
ton, as a whole, has changed in but one
respect since yesterday. The Plant Sys-
tenn is open to the North, having got the
breaks on It's Charleston and Savannah
branch repaired. The Plant System is the
only one open in and out of Savannah in
any direction.
The Florida Central and Pc
ninsular Is using it's tracks to
the south as far as Jesup,
and to the north as far as yemassee.
From Jesup 1t goes over the Southern to
Everett and then over its own tracks to
Jacksonville. From Yemassee its trains
are moving over the Charleston and West
ern Carolina to its own tracks at Fairfax
and then on to Columbia. Its officials do
not attempt to say when there own roao
bed will be in service again. They are
handling all their business in the manner
stated, working where possible and wait
ing for the water to recede at the worst
breaks before the necessary repairs can
be made. Its first train to the North
followed that of the Plant System about
O'Clock yesterday afternoon. There
were a large number of passengers. The
81 81 al NJ
four day coaches, and all of them We're
filled, many of the travellers having been
held up in Savannah the past three days.
No further trouble is expected on the
Plant System and all trains on both roads
will probably leave on schedule time be-
ginning to-day.
The Georgia and Alabamas condition
has not improved. Now that the Central
IS open to Meldrim the Georgia and Ala
bama finds it impossible to proceed over
its own tracks. Yesterday 1t brought
back to the city the train which left here
Wednesday. II had been at Meldrim since
then. The mail matter on it was sent by
the postofice around via the East Tennes-
see. Two or three miles west of Meldrim
is where the Georgia and Alabama $
troubles lie. The Ogeechee river, with the
big swamp on either side of it, is a raging
torrent. Some trestling has been carried
away and it was impossible 20 repair II
until the river gets back to something like
tts normal proportions. There seems to
be little hope of getting trains running be-
fore two or three days, as the reports
last night indicated that the Ogeechee was
far from falling.
Mail matters are rapidly being righted
except on local points. Nail for the West
is now being sent out over two different
routes, by way Of Charleston, Augusta
and Atlanta, and by way of Jesup and
the Southern Railroad. All mail matter
received at the Savannah postoffice has
been forwarded except that for loca
points.
Several bags of mail for points between
here and Mil.en, on the Central, and fol
points on the Florida Central and PENN.
eular and Georgia and Alabama are held
at the postoffice. Whenever II is possible
TO reach points by shipping mail arounC
by other roads ii is being done. By TO-
night all mail due al Savannah is expect
ed to be in and distributed.
The first train from the North over tn,
Charleston and Savannah Railroad sine,