| From the North Carolina Whig |
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| January 29, 1861 |
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| Mud, Wood, Wagons and Railroads |
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The experience of the present winter is likely to teach
our people a lesson that wisdom would inspire them to profit by
in the future, if they will hearken to her councils. If the present
softening process in the weather should continue to exercise its
mollifying influence for a few weeks longer, our firewood will not
only be very muddy and ugly to handle, and difficult to kindle when we
get it, if we can get it at all, but it will also be exceedingly
scarce and immoderately dear.
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Our Railroad companies can alone supply the remedy, if
they will. Their present prices for transportation of firewood are so
high that our farmers cannot afford to furnish wood to the town by the
trains, even at the enormous rates that our citizens are compelled to
give for it. We are told that a great abundance of firewood in every
direction from the town, at distances too far to justify hauling by
the ordinary wagon, is permitted to waste and rot, because no
accommodating arrangements can be made with our Railroad companies for
its transportation to market. It would seem to us, from the great
number of railroads running around and about us, that some of them
will be glad to get a turn of wood occasionally to carry before long,
at moderate rates too. They may forestall this ungenerous prediction,
if they will at once agree to carry wood at, say, 30 or 4o0 cents per
cord for all distances less than 20 miles, and 10 cents more for
twenty or more miles. They might also make an arrangement with our
town authorities to have wood agents at the several Railroad depots to
sell the wood and collect the proceeds for the benefit of the
consignors, making the latter pay so much by way of tariff or customs.
These are mere hints, which may be taken for what they are worth. We
cannot think that such a liberal spirit of accommodation on the part
of our Railroad companies, if carried out as above suggested, would
materially enhance the price of the wood they consume; nor do we think
that this consideration would deter them from entering into such
accommodations. On the contrary, we believe that all parties would be
benefited. The farmer would recognize greater profits, the consumer
would get his wood cheaper, and the Railroad companies receive
additional employment by the arrangement above indicated.
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{The newspaper was published in Charlotte, N.
C.}
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