| From the Richmond Dispatch |
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| December 7, 1861 |
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| The extension of the Danville railroad |
| The blockade deprives us of the facilities
of water transportation, and throws the Government and trate entirely
upon the railroads to conduct the transportation between the capital
and the South and Southwestern parts of the Confederacy. They have
been unable to meet the demands upon them; whilst the treachery in
East Tennessee has very much interrupted the operations of that road
upon which we have had mainly to rely. As the extension of the
Danville Railroad to Greensborough, N. C., would increase the railroad
capacity and the accommodation for the transportation between the
principal points in the Confederacy, and as it would, moreover, afford
a direct, rapid, and safe route between those points in case of a
repetition of the East Tennessee troubles, it is of the highest
importance that it should be made at an early day. President Davis
very properly brought the expediency and necessity of this measure to
the notice of Congress in his recent message. His suggestion was a
wise one; and we hope that Congress will give it their prompt
attention. |
| The people upon the line of the route are
anxious for the completion of the last link of this important national
line. They are a thrifty and intelligent people. They produce largely
of the necessaries of life, and it is important to the Government that
they should have the best facilities possible to market; but, valuable
as the road will be for affording new accommodations to them, its
completion is chiefly important because it will open a complete and
direct route from Virginia to the South. This route, too, apart from
its mere recommendation as an additional line of transportation, from
North to South of the Confederacy, has the advantage of traversing the
district between the tide-water and Piedmont. It is not liable to the
casualties peculiar to mountain and tide-water routes. Taking the year
round, it is the safest and the most agreeable of all the routes. |
| There are forty-five miles of road to build
to complete this important connection. Yet for this distance the route
is one of the best imaginable for the purpose of constructing a road.
Everything needed, save the rail, is
found in abundance, and it is said that for thirty-five of the
forty-five miles there is not a stream large enough to require a
bridge. Therefore the road may be soon put in a condition to receive
the rails, and they can be had very easily. Railroad iron, of very
excellent kind, can be reached in spite of the blockade, and at
cheaper rates than it can be obtained from either English or Yankee
rolling mills. The road is needed. It will be a great national
benefit; and the sooner it is made the better. |
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