The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-10-06
FAIRFAX HARRISON AND JOSEPH
RTHES STATE
These Two Railroad Presidents Potent Factors in Caro-
lima Development-Impressing Every Force For
Country in Which Their Lines Lie
(BION Fl. BUTLIR3
(BION Fl.

TO the country as IL mas become IN all
Of it's existence.
We will understand the absolute
necessity of transportation facilities.
The constant need is for greater abili-
ty on the part of the railroads to
move the products of the country. If
a double track road can move twice
as much as a single track road, it is
apparent hat building & double track
is the same as building a new rail-
road. Probably it is better. for it
gives a better organized service at less
cost Building a new load means
building all the new stations, hiring
all the new force, doubling all the
items of cost, and serving in a crude
form. Double tracking means getting
away from crude methods. taking ad-
vantage of bigger units of operation,
and attaining a greater efficiency.
Double-tracking from Atlants to
Washington is an expression. 1t means
the outlay of a lot Of millions Of dol
lars. AS we talked about the rail-
rOad Mr.. Harrison old me that be
fore the financial sky clonded he had
twenty million dollars for improve
ments. Twenty millions ook like a
| big hatful Of money, but here is a
man whose concern earns something
like that amount every our months.
Over a million dollars d week we are
paying Mr.. HarrisOn's read to haul
things for us, and mighty GLAD that he
is equipped to haul what that amount
is earning represents.
Buying on a Low Market.
Borrowing twenty millions mad it
possible for him to have easy money
in h treasury, and he is using it
now to buy new cars VIXEN cars are
cheaper thar they will be later on,
and to buy new engines when engines
n 70 ohno nnr thoo than mill = Io lofo-
on, and to keep shops running at a
time when it is good for the country
that shops may rum. He secured the
big sum of money in time to keep
work moving on the double track job
at a time when it is good to have
work going on.
Part Of the road between Charlotte
and Greensboro is already double
track. On the rest Of the line tc
Washington the dirt will fly for a
year or two. On the Atlanta END
things will be busy in the next -four
or five years. Plans are worked out
for much work on the lines that &c
west into Tennessee from Greensboro
and Salisbury and Charlotte.
While other sections are complain.
, ing of business dullness the TERRITORY
r of the main line of the Southern viii
: be full of the life that follows new
construction. Shops that sell car.
will be running on the orders from
the Southern. Locomotive works viii
Instead of stopping activity the lin
Of the Southern will be increasing it
/ Of the Southern will be increasing it
: and will be turning out money ever,
f pay day. So much for the immediate
e results.
Beyond that is a vastly greater in
%f1uence. Since Columbus first set foo
m ! on fho shores Of tho IfnifoI StnfnC b
e transportation facilities of the ne1
q world have been inadequate. At tn
present time the railroads of tn
s United States employ an army of
n million and three-quarters of mer
k and pay that army a hundre
million dollars q month for mOVin
e the traffic. The enormous traffic tina
e is carried on the railroads of the Unit
IF ed States, taking the average for
n year, amounts to nearly a hundred an
le fifty thousand passengers for ever
,r mile Of road, and a million tons {
n, freight for every mile OF road. Prot
ably 40 living man except h peopl
who have to keep track of railroa
business have any idea Of the vastne:
a of the railroad work in the countr,
he If you stake off a mile of railroad. an
,r stand people up side by side so e
4, bows touch, you will hssve about thil
lie ty row of people there in the mile
o. you lncluuc lnc nuIIlDeE carried Z
m the average mile Of rainroad in tt
~ year. And if the people had wit
or them the freight carried by the roat
h, every fellow Woul ave close
ne seven tons. That is what the raj
as roads are doing.
The Biggest Industrial vent.
/ presume the double tracking
to the Southern railroad is the most in
m portant event that is outlined for II
a South. o talk about war. but 70
at get wal and just for d Minute thir
lie would happen if the railroads
lie this country were to stop business.
a the blixza I'd of 1888 in New York al
ay Pennsylvania traffic was interrupt
,le for about a week. and in that tin
Id famine almost got some Of the tow
in The railroads of this country must d
,r- liver about five million tons of freig
AS every day or the business Of the cou
iii try will be hopelessly tangled up.
gle Fairfax Harrison is playing I