The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-07-22
PROSPECT PLtASES
RICHMOND CAPITALISTS
Men Who Investigated Urbanna Rail.
road Project Think Well of Pro-
posed Road
AXE PRELIMINARY
STEPS
Line From West Point Can He Built
For 100000 and Much Business Is
In Sight to Support Line When
Built.

Richmond boasts of selling goods In
| every State in the Union, OF disposing
OF her manufactured products
/ throughout the world, and of drawing
to her banking institutions the bust
ness of several States. While all of
these things are true and very credit
able, it Is also true that a competing
! city has come right up under Rich
mond's nose and Is buying and selling
and trading to her large profit with
,people who live in within an hours
ride by rail if there was railroad)
/ of her bounds
Has Continued Long.
! 1t is a condition which has been
| going on for ages, so long so that
we have grown accustomed to the
| present state of things and are almost
! satisfied.
How long is Richmond going to
| force Essex. Middlesex. King and
| Queen, Gloucester and the Northern
| Neck Counties to trade with Baiti-
| more? This is the question that OIL
yer j. Sands, president of the Amer
! lean National Bank; CONGRESSMAN A
j. Montague r. II. Bruce, L. o. Mil
! Ter. Charles /. Ruffln. Jr., and other
| Richmond men working with men
| from the above named counties, are
going to answer and to answer prompt
| ly.
1t Is their opinion that Baltimore.s
I Fas stf0pfsT 9f' this' valuable business Il
almost thing of the past and that
soon Richmond will be in position
| to do business with people who are
truly next door neighbors.
| These men are not making any
rash promises. but, after going over
the field carefully. after viewing the
wonderfully rich trucking section right
at their doors, and after Tearing some
| thing of the oyster production of this
part of the Rappahannock River they
! have decided that IL such a thing is
| within the range of possibilities that a
! railroad connecting Richmond with
! Urbanna shall be built in the near
! future.
They realize the difficulties before
them. the principal one. Of course. be-
ling the matter Of financing the prop
osition. Stock must be sold and
bonds disposed of before trains can
be operated
Can Build Road for $780, 900.
Estimates prepared by competent
engineers show that the road can be
built from West Point. which il con-
nected with Richmond by the South
ern Railway, to Urbanna, for $780,
e0o. 1t has also been estimated that
the annual cost of operation would
be about $1,000 while the gross re-
ceipts from freight. express. mail and
passenger ira nsportation should be
$4,000 This estimate leaves 500
900 as the net earnings OF the road.
which, If divided equally between ex-
pense for upkeep and for dividends
| would enable the road to pay annual
dividends of 10 per cent.
Business men of Middlesex have
promised 70 raise s25,000. and 1t is
expected that King and Queen, Glou-
cester and King William will raise
enough to make a total of 500 900.
1t will be the business of the Rich
mond Chamber OF Commerce. the Re-
tail Merchants Association and SINH
lar organizations that a railroad con-
Meeting Richmond with, JTrbanna shall
be built In the near future.
Pleased With Prospect.
The Richmond business men came
TO urbanna by way OF West Point
Monday afternoon and stayed until
Tuesday morning They came in
automobiles and motored through the
surrounding country for several miles.
getting a fine impression OF the pros
perity of this section. They decided
that Richmond and urhanra should
be connected, and at a mass meeting
in the Crbanna High School they. as
we'll as several local business men.
promised their support to get the
road built
1t was suggested at the meeting
THAT preliminary committee OF ten
men. two from each of the counties
LOT Middlesex. King and Queen. and
lGioucester, two from West Point and