French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1916-1919, 1918-08-01
Railroad Through
Hickory Nut Gap
Is Again Agitated

HenderSOnville is always interest
ed in railroad rumors and the revival
of talk about a road through the H1c-
kory Nut Gap, and especially at this
time when the government is doing
things on a big scale, the following
from the Charlotte Observer carries
with it a little mor than ordinary In
terest:
"CoI. S. A. Jones, who has sue
ceeded in enlisting the help of the
Government in the completion of a
short line railroad from the mineral
section of Jackson county to trunk
line cOnnections-the Government,
out of the revolving fund of $50, 000,-.
OC0 supplying the rails necessary to
equip the line-is nov in Washington
ION the job" in the interests of the
long proposed extension of the Sea-
board Air Line from Rutherfordton
to AsheVille, through Hickory Nut
Gap. Railroad politics has all these
years baked the contamination of
this project favored so finely by ma
lure and by geographical and COM
mercial reasons but the val has
changed the railroad situation so
vastly that hope is newly risen, and
some railroad projects long dormant,
notably among them this connecting
link between the coal fields and the
commercial West with the seabOard
of North Carolina, stand a fine chance
of being brought into active develop
ment by a Government that is appre-
ciative Of opportunity. We believe
there is an excellent possibility Of the
early serious attention to the Ruther-
fordton-Asheville gap by Director Nc
Adoo. Once that authority begins TO
study the situation, it is quite likely
we may look for expeditions results.
Mr.. McAdoo ought to be brought in
to possession Of some of the his
tory Of the proposed route, and he
ought to know that individual effort
has long been Centered on the fulfill
ment of the project. One Of the per-
sistent advocates of the Hickory Nut
Gap line is DR.. Lucius B. Morse,
president and general manager of the
Chimney Rock Company, an organ1-
zatiOn which has already accomplish
ed great things in the development OF
that region of State. Doctor Morse
could tell Mr.. McAdoo that from a to-
geographic standpoint the Hickory
Nut Gap unQuestiOnably is the most
natural mode of entry from the east
for railway construction. 1t seems
indeed a rather strange fate that 1t
should not long since have been Occu-
pied. The Western North Carolina
road, was at first headed for this val
ley. 1t is an incomparably better
gap than the One at Round Knob, con-
sUruction cost would be lower, easier
grades could be obtained and the to-
tai elevation to be attained would be
lower. The highest point Of the gap
to the southwest of Bat Cave Greedy
Patch) is 2,210 feet above sea level
approximately the height of Pack
Square in AsheViIle! It is the lowest
gap in the Blue Ridge.
1t would seem as though such a
ruling point" of distinct engineering
value would long since have been
taken advantage of by railroads. The
difficulty is, that, in the past, all too
commonly, physical conditions have IN
no wise determined railway cOnstruc-
ton, nor indeed have local needs got
ten the hearing of the monied powers.
1t is an undeniable fact that there are
vast areas, in the aggregate, in the
United States that are without proper
transportation facilities. For many
a practically every railroad has
held to the policy of not building new
lines, but rather intensifying the a
pacity of existing lines, increasing
terminal facilities, etc. This has led
very naturally to Intensive lines OF
material development, at the very
great expense Of the remOter sections.
Now, these remote sections are just
rich agriculturally and possess just
as many other natural advantages
as do the places that, by the accident
of fate, have secured high class trans
n~ortation facilities; but without a
way out no country can possibly at
tain it's rightful development. rake
North Carolina as an example: e
are vast sections of our State, MIL
lions of acres, that are rendered more
or less useless, OF are enjoying, at
most, only a meager prosperity,
h a would be changed over night II
thew had railway transportation. AS
valuable as the automobile is, 1t can
supplant the highly perfected
and equally highly efficient transpor-
tation by rail. In past decades, IL a
section of country secured
railroads at all, they were inevitably
built by local capital, had a struggle
to exist, for varying lengths OF time
usually going into bankruptcy-tnen
being bought in for little or nothing
bv the large systems and rehaDlllta-
ted. Now this is all wrong. There
be some way by which deserV-
ing sections of country can secure
TRANSPORTATION without undergoing
the old swindling process.
This is one of the great Dement'S
which, particularly a State like North
Carolina, could reasonably expect
from a permanent ownership of the
railroads by the Federal Government.
They could afford to develop sections
of country needing railroads, without
being compelled to look for the imme-
date dividend. In the earlier days
particularly in the West) railroads
did expend vast sums of money in the
DEVELOPMENT of unoccupied sections
of the country, but this tendency has
.u o;-oo onoCod The missed. for |