Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1906-11-09

project of q railroad that shall bring
Cairo closer to New York In the mat
ter of railroad mileageY
Perfectly sure. That railroad Is i'm
Deratively needed. 1t will develop q
very rich agricultural region which has
been practically shut off from the
world. There is traffic enough for the
road already within sight to make 1t
pay. When it is built 1t will compel
cheapening of freight rates, to the ad-
vantage of the whole country"
You are right, of course" answered
Duncan refectively. 81 have gone over
that subject very conscientiOusly. l
am convinced that the road can carry
the debt that must be incurred In build
ing it ami that it will pay its way.
If | had any serious Coubt OF that |
should have nothing to do with the
thing"
"As 1t is" responded Hallam, you've
got the heavy end of the log to carry,
so far as work Is concerned. When
are you going to begin your cam
paign?"
almost Immediately. I've got ev-
erything in the bank into satisfactory
shane now, and three days hence
shall begin a speaking tour in the In
terror counties. I'll make it even more
q talking tour than speaking one,
for while public speech, If 1t Is per-
suasive enough. may influence many,
1t Is the quieter talking to individuals
and small groups that does most to
win votes. I've already secured the
co-operation of all the country editors,
but they need stirring up. OF course
you and Stafford and Tandy will take
care of Cairo and Alexander county"
This proposed railroad was one clear
ly destined to be Of the utmost conse-
quence to Cairo and to the region
through which the line must run. The
method by which it was planned to Sc
cure its construction was the one then
In general use throughout the west 1t
may be simply explained. Everybody
concerned was asked to subscribe to
what might properly have been called
an inducement fund. The subscrip-
tions were meant to be gifts made to
secure the benefit Of the railroads con-
struction. More important than these
personal subscriptions and vastly
greater In amount were the subscrip-
tons Of counties, cities and towns.
Under the law as it then existed eacn
county, city or town, if its people SO
voted, could "lend it's credit to an en-
terprise of this kind by issuing its own
\ bonds. When sufficient sum was
raised in this way an effort was made.
usually In New York, to secure the
forming of Il construction company.
The whole volume Of the subscriptions
was offered as an inducement to such
a construction company to undertake
the building of the road. Usually the
construction company was to have in
addition q considerable share OF the
stock of the road when completed.
The city, county and town subscrip-
tons of course depended upon the re-
suits of special elections held for that
sole purpose:
In this case the personal subscrip-
tons had been satisfactory, and there
was no doubt that the two terminal
cities and the counties in which they
Law would vote the bonds asked Of
them, but there was grave doubt as to
the results in the rural counties. In
each Of which special election was to
be held q month or two later. 1t was
Guilford Duncan's task to remove that
doubt, to persuade the voters to favor
the proposed subscriptions and Incl
dentally to secure rights Of way. sta.
ton sites. etc., by gift from the land
owners.
During the next two months he toll
ed ceasalessly ut this task, going to
Cairo only once a week to keep In
touch with his bank and to pass the
Sundays with Barbara.
Tandy also worked in the county
towns, where he had good deal OF in
fiuence He had been made president
of the proposed railroad and was sup
posed to be very earnestly interested
in it. He was so-in his own wey and
with purposes of his own.
Duncan's campaign was tirelesS
pne, and it proved successful. When
the elections occurred every county
and every town voted in favor Of the
proposed subscription, but some of
them did so by majorities so narrow
rs to show clearly how great the need
Of Duncans work had been.
"Worse STILL" he said to Hallam a
few weeks later, 1.-The smallness Of the
majorities in two or three counties Is
threat to us and a warning. The
county authorities are putting all sorts
of absurd provisions into their sub
scriptions, and they will give us trou-
BILE if our construction company fails
In the smallest particular to meet these
requirements"
"Just what are the conditions%
"Oh. every sort Of thing. In every
county it is provided that we shall
somewhere break ground for construc-
tion before the last Of January, less
than two months hence, or forfeit the
subscription. That gives us too little
time for organization, but we can meet
that requirement by sending gang
of men at our own expense to do
DAYS work somewhere on the line. In
two of the counties there Is a pecui-
iarly absurd provision. There are r.
val villages there, one in each county,
and the authorities have stipulated
that "a track shall be laid across the
county line and car shall pass over
said track from one county TO the
other before the 10Th of March. Curl
ousIv enough. | learn that Tandy him