The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1911-07-08

the Z. ar nediately begin
the const short line Of
road to con-. ... 'nchheld with
the main Ii .. and q. at
Elkhorn, w. ereby unite
the Clinchhel .... =. and O.'s
through line /. -lncinnati and Chi
cago. The present southern terminus
of the Clinchfield Is at Spartanburg
and all the traffic of this road to the
southward and to the sea is turned
over to the Southern and the Char
lesion and Western Carolina. the lat
ter an Atlantic Coast Line property.
The Seaboard. to obtain any benefit
from the lease of the Clinchfield must
be in a position to divert the through
business originating on the Clinch-
field from competing roads and car
ry IL over its own tracks to the ports.
At present the greater part of the
freight tonnage of the Clinchfield is
made up of coal from the mines Of
the Clinchfield corporation, and for
many years TO come the coal busi-
ness Of this road will be an import
ant item. Although the development
of the Clinchfield mines is scarcely
begun an immense business is being
done and the Charleston and West
ern Carolina and the Southern Rail-
way are hadling a very large traffic
out of Spartanburg. The bulk Of the
coal business, however, is said to be
handled by the G. and w. c. for de-
The Seaboad can secure none Of this
business at present, for the reason
that 1t has no road to Charleston and
its route to Savannah from the juno
ton point with the Clinchfield is so
long and circuitous that the traffic
cannot be handled with the necessary
dispatch or at a profit. Hence 1t is
essential that the Seaboard secure
entry to Charleston over it's own
tracks and that 1t have a more direct
route to Savannah. This 1t can OBJ
tain most quickly and economically
by building a road from Monroe, y.
c., to Jefferson, S. C.-bridging the
gap Of twenty-five or thirty miles that
exists in its road from Monroe to Nc
Bee-and from McBee to Charleston
the most direct and desirable route
is via Bishopville to Sumter and
thence to Charleston, crossing the
Santee river at Ferguson, on the steel
bridge that was built several years
ago. From the present junction Of
the Seaboard with the Clinchfield the
former has a direct route to Mon
roe, via Charlotte. and from Mon
roe by Jefferson, McBee. BishonvilIA.
Sumter and Ferguson to rlestu.
the route would closely { ixm.t-
an air line. ana would. ,dllon
open up entirely new terri e. tt.
Seaboard that would furn lars.
and profitable business from the day
the road was put in operation. The
road from Monroe to McBee would
al,o furnish a more direct route to
savannah, via the main line which
passes through Camden and Colum-
bia. and thence in an air line to Sa-
vannah.
These are. briefly stated, the rea-
sons why IL seems certain that the
seaboard will build the proposed new
road Immediately. 1t must not be
however. that 1t Is inevi-
table that the road must follow the
route via Bishopville and Sumter, as
outlined above. This route is the
shortest and the one most to be pre-
ferred, since 1t will pass through a
rich farming country and the towns
of Bishopville and Sumter, and will
give the new road a larger business
than either of the alternative routes
that the Seaboard may adopt. IL it
should be decided not to build by
way of Bishopville and Sumter,
slightly longer ruote, that is said to
be under consideration. is from Harts-
Vile, via Lamar to Timmonsville and
thence to Charleston. The Seaboard
now has a road in operation to Harts-
vile and the rights of way from that
place to Timmonsville and all the
terminal facilities that are needed
have been guaranteed, If this route
is selected. From Timmonsville a
short road of eight or nine miles will