| From the Augusta Constitutionalist |
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| December 22, 1864 |
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| The Georgia Railroad |
| We state upon authority, that
this road will, without interruption, be completed through to Social
Circle by the 15th of January. From that point to Atlanta, a distance
of fifty miles, 50 per cent. of the iron, with all the material of
every other description have been destroyed, or rendered unfit for
use; and the company are utterly powerless to prosecute the work and
complete it in anything like a reasonable time, without the necessary
assistance from the Government, and we regret to learn that the
Government has not as yet entered upon it with as full appreciation of
its great importance as it should. |
| At a recent meeting of the
various railroad companies of the South, they made a proposition for
the Government to appoint a suitable engineer to whom they would turn
over that portion of all the roads destroyed by the enemy, and under
whose superintendence they should be repaired; this proposition was
accepted, and the Secretary of War commissioned an engineer for the
purpose, but failed to clothe him with sufficient power, and to place
at his command the necessary resources for an expeditious prosecution
of the work. |
| This Engineer should be
invested with authority to secure the services of a sufficient number
of hands, and to obtain the material necessary for repairing of the
road at the earliest possible day. Every hour the matter is delayed,
it is putting off the completion of one of the most important roads in
the South that much farther, and we urge them to see to it at once. |
| The material and resources are
at their command and they should not hesitate to use them; the iron is
scattered over the road and rolling mills are in Columbia, S. C., and
re-rolling is all it requires; material for cross-ties and other
requisites of the road are in the country on the route, and surely
those owning timber convenient would not hesitate at such a time as
this, to grant the road the right of its use. |
| We earnestly hope the
authorities will not delay in this matter, but immediately come
forward and render every assistance in their power, as it is the only
means by which the road can be completed in the present state of the
country, while it is impossible for the company to obtain the
requisite forces. |
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