The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-01-06
.BURKEv|LLE AND
. ITS BIC INTERESTS
Lumber Enterprises at
the Old Junction"
Are Immense.
SAWMILLS AND
WOOD FACTORIES
The Old Town Has Not Been
Treated Well by the Railway
People, But It's Live
Citizens Are Making
1t Hum, Never
thelcss.
Especial From Stan Correspondent

Especial From a STAFF Correspondent.l
BuRKEVILbE, VA, January 5.-For
many long years after the War Between
the States Burkevile was considered a
dead town, II 1t was ever thought of as
a town at all. But the truth ~ very few
people outside OF the corporate limits
thought of 1t as n town. This waa ilGs
to the fact that most OF the people of this
great and glorious country, outs.!e Of
Burkevile, who knew anything about Thea
place obtained their information UNDER
most unfavorable circumstances and con.
dtions. conditions which surrounded item
as weary Travellers trying to make con-
nections between belated trains OF tile
Norfolk and Western Railway, and worse
belated ones of the Southern Railway, or 4
vice versa.
For some reason unknown to the travel
Ing public, the two railways mentioned
have always had q kind of grtidge against
each other that forbade them from meet-
ing on anything like friendly terms at
Rurkevile. where their lines cross.
Certain 1t is that for thirty years past
their trains have never made close con-
nection at this point. and the result has
always been. and now Ia, that unfortu-
nate passengers who are obliged to go
from one road to the other by way OF
change OF cars at this point have to
walt here anywhere from one and Il
half to twelve hours, and as usual thing
they think, before the waiting spell il
over, that eternity with much of the
blackness of its dark side has dawned
upon them. All such unfortunate people
have obtained dark and gloomy idea
OF Burkeville. and that Is simply because
they have elected to spend these dreary
waiting hours between the tracks of the
Norfolk and Western and Southern Rail-
ways, and heaven Knows that is enough
n mi lon, lf pttrt Ia
vile.
The Other Side.
But the real people of Burkevlle, who
do not live between the tracks. are not
to blame for this state of affairs. only tiia
railway people. The townspeople have
gotten about as tired of the bad railway
| management and OF the poor service rem
dered by the incompetent men the rail-
ways have put in charge of things here
ms the suffering travellers have, and the
Burkevile Board of Trade has laid their
troubles before the State Corporation Com
| mission. and offered a prayer for re-
| lief.
| The railways have promised new pas
senger depot, which looks mighty pretty
| on the map, and now IL they will build
! it quickly. and then follow UP this work.
! by sending here some agents and tele-
graph operators who have energy and In.
telllgence enough to find out and con-
/ tinue to know something about the move.
ments of the trains on the day they
are running, and polteness and courtesy
enough to impart some of that desir-
| able but at Burkeville never obtainable,
| information to weary. belated travellers,
a serious problem will be solved, one that
ought to have been solved long ago by
the State Corporation Commission. The
members Of the commission have been
advised of the conditions here They
80 %I~ Lowe o$o,,
a union depot, greasy, tumbled down
| shanty, infested with yermin and filth,
and In which passengers. white, black and
mixed. have to crowd into one dirty
little room to await trains, In plain VIOLA
ton OF the Jim Grow law, and to wait
without any attention, or any information
as to how long they may have to wait,
from the sleepy and impolite employees ofl
either OF the companies.
Delightfully."- Situated.
Notwithstanding these Drawbacks. OF
| which the citizens OF Burkeville har0
justly complained. and in spite Of the
| ugly opinion the travelling public. who
| have seen only the disgraceful depot,
lthave formed OF Burkeville, the fact rc-
mains that the town and the farming
country surrounding 1t have within tina
! past ten years showed themselves right
1 into the stream OF twentieth-cen
\
a number of up-to-date enterprises that
are making many good blades of grass
grow In Southside Virginia spots whore,
| not a great while ago not even a spriB
i was to be found sprouting.
[ But before I speak of these, let me say
| a word about the wonderfully advan-
1 tageous geographical position Of Burke
/ vile. AR. J. p. Dahlborn. the active and
| efficient secretary of the Board of Trade,
/ OF this splendid situation. An inspection
/, of this map will show at a glance that
| naturally Burkeville sholtld be, and Is,
most healthy place. 1t is one of tho
| highest points in Southsido Virginia re-
! celving both the benefit of tho mountain
air and tho sea breeze, surrounded by
| hundreds of springs of the purest water.
| The water of many of these springs
| contains medicinal qualities for the curs
| of rheumatism and dyspepsia and In
shipped to many of the large cities, whers
1t is prescribed by the leading physicians.
/ The streams flow In all directions, carry
my any so-called impurities away, and
allowing none to return.
/ No swamps, no mosquitoes, and coiise-
quently no malaria; moderate tempera-
ture during the days and cool nights, In
addition to above make the sanitary con-
/ ditions as nearly perfect as it is possible
| for naturo to provide.
Up-to-Date Business.
| There nre within the corporate limits
OF the town eight genera! stores. ana
| while their trade territory is necessarily
| limited, they are manned by hastlers. who
| know how to push business, and although
hive Farmvlle Is on one side. vigorous
| Crewe and Blackstone on another. keys-
4 VILE Just to the SOUTH and big RicAmond, 4.
| Petersburg and ISnnhburg not far away
1 n,ka A,s NM hAtn