| President's Office |
| Alabama and Florida Railroad Company of Alabama |
| Montgomery, Ala. |
| April 8th, 1863 |
| |
| Care W. Preston Johnston |
| |
| Dear Sir, |
| In answer to your note of enquiry whether
the Rail Roads terminating in Montgomery could connect their tracks. I
have to state that in November 1861, I addressed the Quarter
Master General in Richmond regarding the importance of making the
connection and offered to do so if our estimate of $51,000 would be
made by the Govt. I could then have made the connection at a cost of $100,000
now it could not be made for less than $150000. |
| If my proposition had been accepted, it
would have saved to the Govt not less than one hundred thousand
dollars, up to the present time. |
| If required now to make the connection, I
will at once commence the work and use every effort to complete it,
within the shortest possible time. The grading however is very heavy,
and the route of the Road is such that only an ??? force could work to
advantage. |
| The only terms on which I would now agree
to make the connection are that the Govt should furnish me the Iron
Spikes & Plates at the same prices I could have purchased when I
offered to do the work and advance the Company Fifty thousand Dollars
and only with this advance & the cost of the Iron &c to allow
the company such sums as the entire work may now cost over and above
what it would have cost in January 1862. |
| When I proposed to do the work, this ???
of costs to be estimation by Col. W W Wadley, or any other agents of
the Govt. and the Business of the advanced cost of Iron &c to be
paid back to the Govt in one year after the completion of the
connection. |
| As the Govt is now the only party to be
benefited by the proposed work, for ??? the whole of the freight drawn
from the depot of our Road to the others, is for the Govt. the
proportion is a reasonable one, and ???, the only one that would do
justice to our stockholders. |
| I am very resply |
| Yr. ob s |
| Charles T. Pollard |
| Prst |
|