The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-12-02

.ne apple country of North Carolina
sscarcely knows what strawberries
from Chadbourn look like.
Plenty of Railroads, But
IT,. Hrth Carolina is right Well
1871 With railroads. The State |
~ f'1I e thousand miles and |
more 10 ding. But it is built TO |
carry things out Of the State rather
than IN the State, except for the |
minor lines. The Norfolk Southern
Is the principal exception. The South
ern has line in from East Tennes-
see. and a line going out by wav Of
Raielgh as far as Goldsboro But
| while you can cross the State from
north to south on not less than
twelve or fifteen through trains in
either direction daily, you can not
! cross the State from east to west on
one through train. for there is no
such thing, and no railroad running
from one end to the other
| II the Clinchfeld road coming in
| from the Northwest, and the Sea-
board. with it's branch going down
TO wilmington, get together as they
now seem inclined to do, this will be
a route from the two nearest points
on the east and west of the State,
but 1t will lack many miles OF being
a complete east and west connection
at that
Now this situation may be more
a matter of peculiar interest than it
is OF serious consequence, for traffic
usually follows the lines Of least re-
SistanCe and most profit. That the
railroads Of North Carolina lead
toward New York is to be taken as
evidence that there is where they
should lead. Other States are SINH
larly situated. The big railroads Of
Pennsylvania lead eastward. The
roads north and south in Pennsyl-
=
, | with the east and west roads. Every
thing leads toward New York.
In Virginia everything goes north
, east except the traffic for Norfolk
: which is Of secondary importance
+ and is a water station on the road tt
:. New York. But the main routes ar
, toward New York in spite Of th
port of Norfolk
|, Explanation Simple.
f The explanation is simple enough
. but it is a long ways from satisfying
: North Carolina has magnificen
r coast line, with ar inland shelter 70
\ unlimited water craft, inland water
: way for unlimited traffic that coult
r be moved by water at lower cost thar
f by rail, projected or completed in
s land water routes that reach to all thu
n eastern coast Of the United States
: yet the main travelled roads go north
r ward and the man who wants to g.
e east or west has to study the TIM
; tables and figure out connection
O from one short branch road to an
r other.
h The chances are that the Nortl
Carolina business man from tn
il sound country is better acquainted
q in New Yo1k than in the center 0
II west Of his own State, and that tn
# man from the mountains or tn
@ Piedmont is more at home in Baltl
Noxr pov
" or Wilmington.
q We have the Coast Line state o.
It the east, the Seaboard state in tn
IS center, and the Southern state O.
" the west. Beyond the mountains
the old state Of Frankland, whic
# later became the empire OF Eas
a Tennessee, the tributary dependenc
q of the East Tennessee, Virginia an
rs Georgia railroad, which was absorb
"a ed by the Southern. And the South
h ern that annexed East Tennessee
a the same system as the Southern
,e North Carolina, but to : all intent
II and purposes it is still differeI
Is railroad, for it goes toward New 7 or
by way Of Bristol, Virgi MIA, and ha
IN very little to do with things acros
20 the mountains in North Carolina.
,n Over in Tennessee the railroad
q run north and south, the Souther1
a the Cincinnati Southern and tn
louisville and NaSfVllle, nuHtlnS u
way out to New York. one system I
a. way Of Washington, one by way
n Louisville and one by way OF Cinclr
Id natl
to This thing will not change.
m italy all roads lead to Rome, ar
I'd from Rome is not a long journey
ne Naples or Genoa where steamship
~ sail for New York, to which point a
n. things gravitate OF every five shil
oa that sail to the United States fro
X all countries on ali oceans at lea
no two will sail for New York as again
I'd the other three for all the other por
es on the entire coast line OF the Coul
he try. SO it can be seen that the raj
he roads will go toward New YORK L
nd there are traffic Centers. There
cargoes of prominece arrive Ihe
70 is the distributing point and Il
ch gathering point for wares from
he over the country There the peop
ou meet and mix. There the business
yn done.
,w East and West Carolina.