| From the Richmond Dispatch |
| |
| January 5, 1865 |
| |
| The Sentinel of yesterday
makes certain suggestions with regard to the railroads south of us, to
which we invite the earnest attention of the authorities. It proposes
to put in the link between Columbia
and Augusta, which is only seventy-five miles. The railroad
now runs from Augusta
to Aiken's, almost in a direct line to Columbia. Taking Aiken's as a point of departure, Columbia and Augusta might
be joined by a railroad sixty miles
long. At Branchville, on the Wilmington
and Augusta
line, the road deflects to the coast. A line from Kingsville
to Augusta
would be much safer. These roads completed, from Columbia
there would be a choice of roads, either by Wilmington
or by Charlotte
and Danville, on the upper route. Higher up, Abbeville is in railroad
connection with Columbia, and Athens (which is opposite to it,
in Georgia,) is in connection with the Augusta and Atlanta railroad.
The Sentinel says these points are not more than sixty-five miles
apart. |
| There is no possibility of
exaggerating the importance of these connections. The only question is
with regard to the possibility of obtaining the material for the work.
The Sentinel gets over this difficulty. Large portions of the
railroads leading to Savannah
are now useless to us. If left as they are, they will become useful to
the enemy. It is surely good policy to dismantle them at once, and
make use of them in constructing roads for our own purposes. We hope
the attention of the authorities will be turned to this subject. |
|