The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1906-01-24
THE wATCHMAN AND sOUTHRON JANUARY a. 1905.

! farther out to build new yards tor
making up trains, which yard will be
used by both companies.
The Atlantic Coast Line and North
western companies pay out in Sumter
annually, fully, if not more than $780,
600 for labor and other employees, and
at least $50 men are employed with
headquarters here. The Northwestern
has started small repair shop and
the Atlantic Coast Line will sooner or
later send a few machinists to work
in conjunction with the Northwestern
machinists and the Atlantic Coast
Line machinists and car inspectors al
ready located here. AS the demands
grow for more machinists these will
be supplied.
Sumter is considered by the Atlantic
Coast Line Company as Coast Line
town and Captain Thomas Wilson,
president of the Northwestern, being
a believer in the future progress Of
Sumter, is a worker for the town and
| the Atlantic Coast Line has always
been the chief factor in the building
up of Sumter, commercially and in
dustrially.
Railroad officials are snrewr- -susi-
mess men. and they Go not invest hun
! a.olc oe +bo,,cop5c of do1fo,c
in dead town or city, nor do
railroad companies operate their roads
against towns in which they invest
large sums OF money. When you hear
city or town bowling that the town
is dead because the railroads are
operating against that town in favor
| of some other place. if you will inves-
tigate you will find that this town
| which places all of its misfortune TO
the railroads is itself to blame for not
being progressive. Railroad officers are
as much interested in building up
towns in their territory as any one
else, because as rule the railroads
have more money, invested than any
other corporation or person in an av-
erage town Of from one to fifty tflous-
and or seventy-five thousand popula-
ton. Owing to the scarcity Of labor
/ and material the Northwestern rail-
way and the Atlantic Coast Line Com
pany have been delayed in conplet-
ing the big Improvements started at
Sumter. Division Superintendent c..
L. Porter has requested the Atlantic
Coast Line officials to have placed at
fSupter, a special locomotive, baggage
car and number of coaches, with q
complete extra crew Of men to be used
as an emergency train to help han
| die the business out of Sumter. When
one considers that the total freight
business at Sumter reaches over $780,
1000 and the passenger business over
| 100000 annually, it is not surprising
that the railroads are obliged to spread
out for increased trackage. The rail-
road business a. Sumter has been out-
growing the facilities for handling
the business so rapidly for years that
the Atlantic Coast Line and the North
| western have had considerable con
gestion of freight and other troubles
recently, but it cannot be completely
remedied until labor and material
can be secured to enlarge and improve
their freight yards as planned and for
which hundreds OF acres Of ground
have been purchased at big figures
| during taei past two years. a spirit OF
friendship for Sumter has always been
manifested by the Atlantic Coast Line
and President Thomas Wilson, Of the
Northwestern railway, which has been
other citizens of SUMTER and fostered
by the Sumter Chamber Of Commerce.
the city council and the Sumter news
papers.
The Southern railway does a good
business at Sumter and mas increased
its freight and passenger facilities as
the increased business has warranted
but the schedules out Of Sumter to
some points, while decidedly favorable
to Sumter in the way that the trains
are run in SO far as bringing to Sumz
ter is concerned. are not as conven-
lent for some travellers as they would
like them, but the Chamber of Com
merce is only concerned in arranging
such schedules as VIII bring the great
est number OF people, and cotton to
Sumter The Atlantic Coast Line
schedules to and from Sumter daily,
from all points of the compass, draw
hundreds of thousands OF dollars in
trade 20 our wholesale and retail mer-
chants and manufacturers