Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1909-07-02
FINE STROKE
Or STRATEGY
Short Haul and Superiority
of Pocahontas Coal AS
sures Big Business.


Florence, s. c., correspondent.
which is OF great interest III Blue
held aQd the Pocahontas coalfields.
II is In part as follows:
The linking OF the iirts OF the
Norfolk & Western and the Attain
tic Coast Line railroads 20 form an
al" line between the por. OF Char
lesion AMI Cincinnati Is one OF the
finest strokes OF business st strategy
made In recent years. BY building a
liak or 80 miles length between
Winston Salem and Wadesboro, and
strengthening out and improving an
ether link of 65 miles between Wad-
esboro and Florence, Is secured sn
air line between the great Pocahon-
tas coal fields of West Virginia on
the Norfolk e. Western Railway ami
dhe port OF Charleston, r. a distance
or only some $50 miles. Pocahon-
tas ald New River coal is the stan
dard steam coal OF the world. The
shortness OF this haul and the recog-
mzed quality OF the coal IT once
give to Charleston and this new air
line the assurance of the develop
ment of an enormous business.
Readers OF the Manufacturers
Recort are sentirely familiar with
the colossal scheme rof railroad e
velopment which has bee1 ecing for
ward in the erection OF tho Carolina,
Clinchfieldl & Ohio RailrosG..f This
line, already completed from Dante.
Va. the center OF the Clinchfield
coal region, to Bostic, station on
the Western North Carolina branch
or the Seaboard Air Line, is push
dng It's Construction now towari
Spartanburg, s. c., whence IT win
traverse South Carolina 10 tidewater
at Charleston. a distance from Dante
% approximately $50 miles. That
Charleston is to be port of its tide
water terminus is probably beyond
question. But the CarOli1a, Clinch-
feld e. Ohio road. magnifcently plan
ned and built for more thsn half it's
actual length and considerably oyer
that proportion of it's cost, will nee
essarily consume several years yet
before 1t can enter Charleston la
fhe meantime, by a bold end clever
stroke OF policy the Norfolk and
Western and the Atlantic Coast Line
companies have accomplished, with a
little repairing and 100 miles OF new
roadway, what 10 has already cost
the ClinchhelI company, ever $4O.-
. 600 900, aad must cost IT,, IN many
millions more to complete. Ii has
. put the South Atlantic coast OF the
United States I'm direct communica.
tion with the sources o. fuel and
with the rich States OF the Middle
West. The coal from the Pocahon.
tas fields. now reoognizeJ as the
STANDARD OF excellence I'm steaming
coal for all maritime uses, IS al
ready developed to a production of
15,00O,000 tons annually. ard 'ts re-
sources are yet only scratched. The
prospects OF the depelopment OF
great coaling station at Charleston
for the supply OF the coastwIse ex-
ports and buakering business is man
hest not only by the race Of these
great coal-carrying roads e. get to
her wharyes, but by ga ace at the
sta tlatics, which show whnt this de-
maad, consists Of The foreign
port trades IA coaI from the Atlantic
porte OF PBIadelphia, Baltimore.
Newpoft News and Norfolk for the
year 1908 aggregated 2,6zV.S27 tons
practically the whole OF this being
shipped in steam and sailing vessels
10 the WeSt Htdles. Mesiao ana Paa-
ANA. Cuba alone takes OYER 1,OOO.-
900 tons. LPadalna Approximately
100000. The coal delivered by Bal
timore, NcwBort News and Norfolk
- foreign aud coastwlsa ships for
bunkerage amounted in 1908 10
100000 tons. This does not an.
clude the enormous coa3twise coa
business which those ports coniuct
IN bsrges and lighters With Now
York. New ED gland and Canada. u
is thus apparent that IN deliyeripg
coal direct 20 Charleston AZ an IN.
crease In the hanling distance by
ran OF o1ly 100 miles over NorfoIt
- . ~ - 49,