Year: 1873

We make the following extract
from the admirable speech Of the
great Railroad man, Col. Hudnutt,
Chief Engineer Of the Laurens Il
AsheviIlc Rail Road, delivered at
Laurens, on the 10th Of Juno:


EFFECTS OF RAILROADS.
! Not alone is the effect Of Rail
roads TO bring about an exchange
Of the productions OF the earth,
which range so widely in its differ
ent parts-so that the very de-
signs Of providence seem to have
been to lead nations to commercial
intcrcoursc-but Railroads have
rendered habitablc large arrears
Of the globe which, without this
lever Of commerce, would have
been uninhabitable. For instance,
suppose wheat worth in market
$50 per ton, and corn s25 dollars
per ton. Suppose the cost Of wag-
on transportation to be 20 cents
per ton per mile, while the cost
per rail is about one tenth, or ?
cents per ton per mile. Place the
farmer 100 miles from market, and
upon o common road, his wheat
would be worth per ton only $50,
| and his corn $500. Build him i
| Railroad and sec the effect upon
his market. His wheat is now
worth sis per ton and his corn
s23.


Again, place him $50 miles from
market, upon q wagon Road, and
his wheat is worth about S2n, and
! corn is absolutely worthless; and
at the distance Of 250 miles his
wheat is also worthlcss-in other
words will only jnst pay transport
tation to market. Give him
Railroad and at once his wheat be.
comes worth s45 per ton and his
corn $50.


would dwell longer upon this
interesting problem but tor lack
Of time; however, enough has been
said to show you that in this day
no State can afford to he without
Railroads within her borders,
even though she never receive
one dollar profits direct upon earn
ings, for she is adding enormously
to her own wealth while increas-
ing the wealth Of her people. 1t
is thus that Railroads increase con-
sumption and stimulate produc-
ton.


Place a man out on the frontiers
Of Arkansas-where his corn IS
only raised for home consumption,
or if upon the prairie -mayhap it
is used for fuel. Look in upon his
unchincked and stick -chimncycd
log cabin. You find that with his
long rifle and fishing rod, ne has
adopted half the habits and nearly
all the civilization of the Modoc
Indian. His children are shock
headed and shocless, and if clad
at allit is in homcspun, the product
Of an energetic mother. | speak
now with no disrcspect to the
homcspun, for | rather like it
but l am going to illustrate its et-
feet upon commerce or trade. Such
q family has absolutely no wants
beyond few pounds Of sugar and
coffee bought from = store mayhap
80 miles away.


A few years pass, and along
comes the Engineer with his iron
rails and his Locomotive. Let our
Arkansas traveller visit, after a
Few years residence near our Rail
road, this scmi-barbarian Modoc-
you will find him dwelling in anew
home, surrounded by a clean and
tidy group Of children, all smartly
dressed.


lie now receives a handsome
profit upon his own and his sons
labor, and suddenly his wants OK
pand with his new ideas and his
new neighbors, and he finds now
that tho wants Of himself have
multiplied a hundred fold.


1t is thus that the same engine
which takes from his very door,
almost his products-his corn, his
bacon and his cotton-rcturns to
him and his household 4 hundred
articles which be never cared for
before, from his absolute inability
to purchase; while his sons and
his daughters are sent to the
neighboring village, and receive
that mental training in schools
which shall make them useful
members OF society.


It is thus the transforming IN
huence of Railroads works out the
great problem of sociology in the
amclioration Of our race. | said q
short while ago that no State can
now afford to be without Railroads.
| might have added that the time
must soon come when no County,