| From the Raleigh Standard |
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| October 15, 1862 |
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| The N. C. Railroad |
| We learn that the gross income of this
Road is now about $150,000 per month. The importance of this Road at
this time to our people, and to the Confederate cause, cannot be
overstated. We are glad to record the fact that it is prospering under
its President, Mr. Webb, who is eminently a business man, and Mr.
Sumner, its energetic Superintendent. |
| There are complaints, however, as to the
running of the Road, which result mainly from the fact that its sills
and timbers are, to some extent, giving way. These must be supplied by
the ensuing winter, or the Road will not be able to dispatch the heavy
business it will have on hand. We learn that the slave labor along the
line is not adequate to the work of supplying the sills and timbers,
and that the Road will be obliged to rely for these indispensable
articles on white labor. But many of those who have contracted to
furnish sills are conscripts. Surely they will
{be} detailed for this important
work. Such conscripts as these can be greatly more useful to the
government in this capacity than they would be in the ranks, for the
Road is transporting troops and munitions of war at half price,
and any cessation of its operations would result in serious injury to
the Confederate cause. We are gratified to learn that Maj. Mallett
fully appreciates these facts, and that his action in this respect
will be prudent and liberal. |
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