The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1899-10-13
THAT NEW
RAILROAD.
Col. Hughes to Confer With
Eastern Capitalists.
ROUTE OF THE PROTECTED LINE,
And the Country Which VIII BE Tribn-
tary to 1.-THE Road Would BE Fx-
tended to Columbia.
ROUTE OF THE PROTECTED LINE,

Col A. NJ. Hughes left last week for
Washington and New York, where he
goes to confer with capitalists in regard
to building the Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee
& Milan railway, which has just been
chartered by Messrs. j. A. Cunning
ham, A. M. Hughes, j. H. Fussell w.
B. Gordon and H. F. Alexander.
The name of the road indicates its OBJ
jective points of chief consequence. 1t
is about 100 miles from Mt. Pleasant to
Milan, and about fifty miles from Mt.
Pleasant; the proposed road would cross
the Tennessee river somewhere in Perry
county. The line runs through the mid
die of the entire high grade phosphate
field of Middle Tennessee. 1t not only
takes in the Mt. Pleasant district, but
affords an outlet to the phosphate de-
posits of Hickman, Lewis and Perry
counties. The quantity of high grade
rock in the last mentioned counties is
supposed to be very much larger than
that contained in Maury county de-
posits, though it is very difficult to mine.
1t is found, however, that the best acid
phosphate is made by mixing the hard
blue rock of the lower counties with the
Maury county rock, and, therefore, the
simultaneous development of both fields
will be advantageous in all respecls.
The region through which the line
will pass is already mining 100000 tons
of phosphate year, and can easily in
crease that amount to a million tons. If
the new road could get one-sixth of this
amount to haul, the freights would pay
the interest on the stocks and bonds
that would be required to build it. 1t
would furnish the element of competi-
ton in freight rates which is the only
drawback to the phosphate mining of
this region. The road would cross the
Tennessee river at point entirely be
low all obstructiOns to navigation, and
would thus give to the phosphate miners
an open water way to the Gulf and the
great interior channels of navigation, the
year round.
At Milan it would intersect with the
Illinois Central railroad. which is a
competitor of the Louisville & Nashville
system. Indeed, it is rumored that the
Illinois Central is back Of this move
ment, it is so manifestly to its interests
to get into the phosphate fields. now
mOnOpOiZed by the Louisville & Nash
vile system. Even in the present stage
of the phosphate development the Louis
Vile & Nashville road is said to make {
million and half dollars a year il
freight charges from the Mt. Pleasan
fields. The outlet to the river and to the
Illinois Central railroad would max,
freight much cheaper and give the phos
phate miners larger profits, thus stimu
lating production.
OF course, if the railroad is built t
Mt. Pleasant it will be extended t,
Columbia, which is only twelve mio
away The people of this city could anC
would subscribe the necessary amour
for that purpose. They could do S,
without being particularly burdeneC
thereby, as the line between the tive
places could be bonded fornearly enongl
to pay for the work on it without othe
. assistance. 1t would be the natura
scheme to extend this road from Colum
bia to Huntsville, Ala, where connan
ton would be made with the Southen
railroad, the other great system 0f ill.,
E South. The Whole line Of ills roal
/ would run through a splendid o1uuJr
, one unsurpassed in both agricultural
and mineral wealth.