Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1911-04-19
FOR BLUE RIDGE COMPLETION.
Some Facts and Arguments from
Past and Present Conditions.
(Anderson Mail, Sth.)

III Is nOped tnat every one who
chances to begin the reading Of this
article will read it through. 1t will
%acquaint him with facts concerning
the Blue Ridge railway route neces-
sary to be completed, and some of
the problems to he solved by those
Of us who have entered up this diff
cult task, 1t will show the absolute
necessity for the cooperation of
every individual. and will show that
the undertaking can be accomplish
ed, and what 1t will mean to Ander-
son when it is completed.
Only sixty-five or seventy miles
are necessary to complete the Blue
Ridge into the city OF Kno willie.
The route has been completed from
Bolton to Walhalla, and from Knox
vile to, practically, the North Caro-
lima line. There is a gap to be fin
ished from Walhalla to Clayton, a
distance Of twenty-six miles. From
Clayton the road Is built to Franklin.
From Franklin there Is a gap of
about thirty miles to be built to
Bushnell or to Sylvia. From this
point the road Is built to the Tonnes
see line. Just across in Tennessee
are W small gaps along the Little
Tennessee river valley, a distance,
probably, of six or eight miles, and
the Blue Ridge railway will be COM
plete.
The fact tina the completion of the
Blue Ridge Dad has been delayed
many years should not operate to
discourage u people. The Southern
Railway Company has never aban-
doned the work only as conditions
arose that could not, at the time, be
overcome. AS opportunity presented
the Southern continued to build this
road. Even as late as the year 1908
the Southern completed twenty-five
and a half miles of this road, as
shown in the reports OF the Southern
Of date June 80, 1909. More Of this
roa would have been built by the
Southern years ago., but distractions
were encountered. One man in the
Little Tennessee river valley bought
options on water rights on that river
and checked the buying of rights-of-
way by the Southern by threats. to
build a dam that would food the
roadbed desired by the Southern. 1t
was a game of %'hold-up," and the
Southern was compelled to abandon
building until this trouble was re-
moved. 1t was removed just before
the recent money panic, but the
Southern was hit by the panic as
hard as any other enterprise in the
South. Stocks declined in value, the
oouthSiH was iuPOlFSu Ill tHe moT-
ger suits in .his State, and it Is only
now that money shows signs Of loos-
ening up, or becoming available.
Besides, conditions have changed
within ne last few years. Great
strides have been made by Compel
ing lines. The Norfolk C Western,
controlled by h great Pennsylvania
system, running parallel with the
Southern, and on to the West from
Charlotte, has lines reaching out into
the richest Goa and grain fields Of
nv middle West. and is carrying mill
ions Of tons Of coal and grain to
&oetoTE, Va, and into the Southern
co"ntry wing north Of this section.
Tht5 system is far outstripping the
Southern Dad. Its opportunities for
business are greater, 1t Is doing the
business, and as an evidence, the
Norfolk G Western stock is quoted
at 1926 against 64M for the South
ern, preferred.
These facts show ~conclusively thai
The Southern must build more road
in order to maintain her existence.
The Southern does a great business
in the South. Seventy per cent of
the Southern's business is done in
the South, as per the S%outhern's own
reports; but when we come to exam
me into the tonnage hauled, we find
the coal, coke and charcoal from
32.49 per cen of the tonnage; grain
and grain products and hay, 4.97 per
cent-a fact that shows the necessi-
ty of better facilities to reach the
coal and grain fields in order to COM
pete with the Norfolk &c Western
system. And there is no way under
the sun for the Southern to get the
desired facilities except by the COM
pletion Of the Blue Ridge road. Lest
you should think that our great cot
ton crop II its products can sus-
tain the Southern, the Southern's re-
port of June 80, 1909, shows that the
tonnage hauled by the Southern, Of
cotton and all it's products, amounted
to only 40 per cent of the entire
business for the year.
Now, there Is another aspect to
this matter: Just as it is true that
the Southern railway must build
more o "A in order to sustain its en-
istencc, u the same extent, and more
so, Is it true that Anderson must see
that the Blue Ridge is completed if
Anderson continues to grow. The
Southern railway and the counties Of
Anderson and Oconcc have reached
Il crisis. The road and the country
are intcrdcpcndcnt. Striving to-
gether, and in perfect harmony. they
can make one another Independently
rich. The Southern railway officials
appear to be anxious to begin the
work. They cannot get ready until
our people are ready. Help must be
extended to the Southern by our pco-
pie in the way of contract pledges to
TEN with its stock selling below par
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