| From the Wilmington Journal |
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| November 28, 1862 |
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| The Legislature and the Railroads |
| We see that gentlemen in the
Legislature propose to seize the Railroads of the State in the event
of their refusal to transport provisions purchased by the State for
the use of the poor, &c. This may be very well, but we think we
can assure that body that there will be no necessity for any such
step, for if the authorities will do their duty the managers of our
different Railroads will do theirs. |
| Since the commencement of the
war, no man or set of men among us have labored more untiringly for
the good of the State and Confederacy, than the Presidents and
employees of our Railroads, and we are satisfied that any change, even
in times of great military necessity by which the Roads would be
placed in new and inexperienced hands, would only make matters worse.
We have had the misfortune to see and feel something of the effects of
military seizures of Railroad transportation, and in the case we refer
to, neither private or public property was saved to any extent. The
best managers of these works, at any time, are the legitimate officers
whose business it is to know their capacity, and how to have the
greatest amounts of transportation done in the shortest possible time. |
| We should deeply regret to see
the management of our Roads taken by seizure, from such men as John D.
Whitford, Thos. Webb, Dr. Hawkins, Wm. Johnson, S. D. Wallace, and
Messrs. Fremont, Sumner, Dunn and others who know their duty and
perform it, and placed in the hands of inexperienced committees
appointed by State or any other authority. We all know, too, how the
lamented Ashe and Fisher were devoted to the cause of the Confederacy,
and how zealously they labored for the service as managers of the two
principal roads in the State. John D. Whitford, too, as President of
the A. & N. C. Railroad {Atlantic &
North Carolina RR} and as General Transportation Agent for the
Government at Goldsboro', has discharged his duty with a zeal and
fidelity that entitles him to the lasting gratitude of every man who
has the good of the State and country at heart. |
| We suppose no one in the
Assembly has any serious idea that such seizure will be necessary, but
the mention of the matter is calculated to create the impression with
some, that the managers of the Railroads require some such threat to
force them to perform a plain and palpable duty. |
| We are sure that if the
Legislature will do its duty in providing for the families of soldiers
and others requiring aid, and in providing means for the defence of
the State, the officers of our Railroads will do theirs. |
| Raleigh Daily Progress |
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