| Saltville, Va., 25th March, 1863 |
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| Hon. Joseph E. Brown, Governor of Georgia
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| Dear Sir,
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| Your favor of the 12th February last, in
reply to my application for increased compensation for manufacturing
salt for your State, was duly received. I beg leave respectfully to
reply to that part of your letter, in which you refer to the fact,
that previous to the burning of the bridges on the line of the E. T.
& Va. R. R. {East Tennessee & Virginia
RR}, on the 29th December, I had not delivered to your
agent as much salt per day as the contract required.
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| I will briefly state the circumstances
and allow you to arrive at your own conclusions. I commenced
building salt furnaces the last days in June. By the 20th of August
I had one furnace completed, and at once commenced making salt, at
the rate of about two hundred bushels per day {a
car holds 320 bushels}, for six days in the
week. By the 23d of October I had a sufficient number of kettles in
successful operation to make five hundred bushels of salt per day.
The balance of the month, and all the month of November, we
succeeded finely. The first days of December, our business was
mainly suspended. The great demand for salt by the Confederate
States, and the State of Virginia, was such, that nearly all the
available transportation on the Va. & Tenn. R. R. was
appropriated to the benefit of those interests, in hauling wood and
salt, they demanding the preference in every instance, over all
other States. Thus matters stood at that important season for making
salt for your State. Seeing no other remedy, I left the works and
called on your Excellency in person, at Milledgeville, for an engine
and cars to aid me in carrying on the business, equal to my own
wishes and your just expectations.
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| Your patriotic desire to accomplish
every thing possible, for the good of the people of Georgia,
prompted you without a moment's hesitation, to give me an order for
an engine and cars, but unfortunately, our common enemy burned two
bridges on the E. T. & Va. Road before I had time to receive the
train. Memoranda made at the time by my clerk, show that our
furnaces were idle for the want of wood hauled by the trains in the
month of December, sixteen days at one time, to say nothing of
previous stoppages at short intervals, from the same cause. Since
the first of January, the transportation for wood and salt has been
mainly for the Confederate States and the State of Virginia; of
course but a small amount of salt has been made by the agents of
other States. I have sent from this place to Bristol, since the
first of January, only 8 carloads of salt. The combined efforts of
your agent, Mr. Wikle, and myself have been unable to accomplish
more.
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| My principal difficulty at present is,
transportation. Our expenses are very heavy and must go on day and
night, whether we remain idle or make salt. Your agent will furnish
you with a statement of salt shipped, as well as salt now on hand
ready for shipment.
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| I hope I am, under the circumstances,
excusable for again calling your attention to the propriety of
allowing an increase in the compensation for making salt. I find, in
making a careful comparison of the relative value of the leading
articles of consumptio0n, that enter into the production of salt,
since the first of February, as set forth in my letter to you of
that date, vary from 25 to 60 per cent. of an increase in value,
over the value of the same articles, less than sixty days since. I
may, with propriety, refer to the fact that quite recently Charles
Scott & Co., have made a salt contract with a joint committee of
the Legislature of Virginia for 750,000 bushels of salt {requiring
about 2,350 carloads, 155 trains of 15 cars each} at $2.23 per
bushel, reserving privileges of an important character to those
making the salt. The Confederate States pay for their salt this year
$2.50 per bushel.
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| For further and fuller information in
regard to the facts set forth in my correspondence, and the salt
question generally, I respectfully refer you to Col. Bigham of the
House of Representatives of the Legislature of your State.
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| Yours most respectfully,
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| M. S. Temple
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