Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1902-07-25
GREAT TRUNK LINE.
President Smith Discusses Future
of the 6. w.

An interview gwen TO a weekly
Record man of Harrisonbprg, last
week, by the President of the Z.
w. railroad, Dewitt Smith, Esq. OF
New York city. shows that if the
present plans of the company DO
not miscarry the road has very
bright future.
In part the President said:
President Smith says the recent
operation of the Chesapeake Wes-
tern Railway and it's present BUSH
ness are highly satisfactory to the
management, and that even if its
extension were abandoned at this
juncthre and the present road were
to be operated henceforth to the
fullest advantage, it would be eara-
BILE of doing proportionately
large and continually increasing
business and f becoming marve-
Loosely potent factor for good iii
the splendid, but limited section
through which it passed, but that
he is candidly and emphatically of
the opinion that its extension AS a
great trunk line from the Ohio
River to the Atlantic Coast is but
matter Of a few years, too, at
that. He is fully advised in these
matters and knows whereof he
speaks.
The traffic, both passenger and
freight, has grown very rapidly,
and yet it Is even now, fguratively
speaking, only in its infancy, tor,
owing to the heretofore imperfect
ed plars of the company, or, more
accurately speaking, to its unex-
pected plans, the local management
has been handicapped and has not
been at liberty to make certain
contracts, the making of which
would have greatly increased the
business and general usefulness Of
the road. These embarrassments
have now been removed by the ma
turing of the most thoroughly con-
sidered plans and by the consuma-
ton of al thing hoped for, and the
more complete liberty which the
local management will consequent
" enjoy in the future sill conse-
quently enjoy in the future will
result in greatly enlarged volume
of business.
Mr.. Smith is not only sanguine
of the ultimate construction Of the
road from the coal fields west of US
to tidewater, and that, too, at ali
early date, but he seems absolutely
confident Of it. And, by the way,
he says the Chesapeake Western ter
minals on the Atlantic coast are as
fine as are to be found anywhere on
the coast. He regards the propo-
sition Of a through road from the
West Virginia and Ohio coal fields,
by way of this place, to the ocean
as railroad proposition that is in
itself an enormously good, and for
the full realization of this PROPOSE
ton he and the syndicate, which he
heads, have been silently but untir-
ingly working until now they see
their way clear to believe the road
will be built without delay.
The two questions first, of the
possibility, from an engineering
standpoint, of the construction of
a rapid transit easy grade road from
terminus to terminus, and second,
OF The approximate cost Of such a
road must be settled, when the de-
STABILITY of line is recognized, be-
fore its practicablty can be deter
mined. The present management,
under Mr.. Smith, has taken every
step necessary to the solution of
these questions and the construc-
ton of the proposed through line
is pronounced to be entirely prac-
tical in every particular; not only
that, but the syndicate behind the
movement has worked silently but
successfully until it is now in pos
session of all the necessary adjunc's
Of snch a road.
Engineering corps have carefully
covered every foot Of difficult terri
tory until now when their work is
coupled together, link by link. it
demonstrates that the road can be
built tho entire distance Of almo t
200 milps from tie 0hin riynr To