PROSPECTUS OF MATTAMUSKEET RAILWAY COMPANY PROSPECTUS °lr" cv^ XTa OF MATTAMUSKEET RAILWAY COMPANY OFFICERS. S. S. MANN, President Swan Quarter, N. C. C. W. DAVIS, Vice-President Engelhard, N. C. GEO. I. WATSON, Secretary and Treasurer Wysocking, N. C. DIRECTORS. H. C. CARTER Fairfield, N. C. T. H. B. GIBBS Fairfield, N. C. C. E. MANN Middleton, N. C. GEO. L. SWINDELL Belhaven, N. C. STATE PROXY. SAMUEL A. WINDLEY Lake Landing, N. C. RALEIGH, N. C. Presses of Edwards & Broughton Printing Co. 1909 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hil http://www.archive.org/details/prospectusofmattOOmatt PKOSPECTUS OF Mattamuskeet Railway Company HISTORY. This company was chartered by the General Assembly of North Carolina on the 6th day of March, 1907, and was for- mally organized at Swan Quarter, 1ST. C, on the 12th day of May, 1907, by the election of a Board of Directors composed of G. Brinn, H. O. Carter, Geo. J. Studdert, Geo. T. Leach, A. S. Gibbs, Geo. I. Watson, C. W. Davis, J. B. Baum, J. W. Oden, T. H. Jennett and C. E. Mann, and commenced busi- ness with a stock subscription list amounting to eleven thou- sand and four hundred dollars. H. C. Carter, of Fairfield, 1ST. C, was elected president, Geo. I. Watson, vice-president, and C. W. Davis, secretary and treasurer. Application was at once made to the Board of Directors of the State Prison for convicts, with which to grade the road, and the first work was begun on the 14th day of Aug., 1907. The work of grading has been carried on con- tinuously since that date until there has now been graded be- tween Fairfield, !N". C, on the north side of Mattamuskeet Lake, around the east and south sides of said lake, through the towns of Engelhard, Middleton, Wysocking, Juniper Bay, Swan Quarter, Rose Bay, Scranton and Leechville, N. C, toward the proposed terminus at Belhaven, ]ST. C, 51 1-2 miles of a splendid roadbed. This includes 2 9-10 miles spur track. Of the sixty and one-half miles between the towns of Fairfield and Belhaven, which is the terminus of the Norfolk and Southern Railroad on Pungo River, there remains now only 12 1-2 miles of main line roadbed to be constructed. 4 Prospectus Maitamuskeet Railway Co. The present officers of the corporation, elected May 12, 1908, are S. S. Mann, president, Swan Quarter, N. C. ; C. W. Davis, vice-president, Engelhard, 1ST. C. ; Geo. I. Watson, secretary and treasurer, Wysocking, N. C. ; H. C. Carter, Fairfield, N. C. ; C. E. Mann, Middleton, ET. C. ; G. L. Swin- dell, Belhaven, N. c. ; T. H. B. Gibbs, Fairfield, N. C, directors; Samuel A. Windley, State proxy, Lake Landing, N. C. There has been issued .... certificates of stock, represent- ing shares of which 380 shares of stock have been issued to the State of North Carolina, the State now owning a considerable majority of the aggregate of stock now paid in. Said shares are in denominations of $100.00 each. The original charter of the company is contained in chap- ter . . . ., Laws 1907, and to this reference is made for infor- mation as to the authority for working convicts and the terms upon which the State provides them, and is compensated for them. PLANS, PURPOSES AND HOPES. The present plan of the management of the company is to complete the construction of its roadbed into the town of Bel- haven, N. C, and, if sufficient capital can be secured for that purpose, the construction of its roadbed over the most direct practicable route to Washington, N. C. Under favorable conditions the work of grading roadbed can be completed to Belhaven, N. C, by May 1, 1909. The original object sought in securing the charter for this company was to furnish outlet for the magnificent agricul- tural resources of the county of Hyde, and the eastern part of Beaufort County ; also to furnish quick and prompt trans- portation for the multitudinous products of Pamlico Sound and its tributaries as well as to aid in the development of Eastern North Carolina as a great trucking section. At the time of its organization the importance of this Prospectus Mattamuskeet Railway Co. 5 project to the State of North Carolina as an investment, and as a developer of the State's own resources, had not, perhaps, occurred to its promoters. It will be shown under the division entitled "Ilesources," what this project means to the State of North Carolina in various ways. * * * * * * *■ It is the hope of the management and stockholders to be able to finance and equip this road in its entirety within twenty-four months. It would be, from the standpoint of an investment to those whom we hope to induce to take stock with us, from this time forward, much better to secure a paid-in capital stock of $350,000.00 than to issue bonds on which interest would have to be paid, thus diverting for the pay- ment of interest the profits of the road that should go as divi- dends into the pockets of the stockholders. It is the decided opinion of the management of this road and those who have most carefully studied the possibilities, from the standpoint of the best interest of the State of North Carolina and that of the private stockholders and of the sec- tion to be most benefited and developed, that the General As- sembly of 1909 should not hesitate to amend the charter of the company, so it may be allowed to issue bonds to the amount of $350,000.00, if necessary, securing same with a first mortgage on all the resources of the road and all the equipment purchased for its operation, making the State in the last instance a guarantor of the payment of its bonds, the first of which should be made payable at the end of a period of ten years from date of issuing, and to be paid at the rate of $25,000.00 per year until the full issue has been retired. These bonds should be made attractive as a popular invest- ment and should be in denominations as small as $50.00 each. With the State as the guarantor of these bonds, there would be no difficulty in disposing of the same to citizens of North Carolina at a premium. The discretion as to the amount of 6 Prospectus Mattamuskeet Hallway Co. bonds needed to be sold at any particular stage of the work, should be left with the Council of State, and the sale of bonds controlled by the treasury department of the State. The State of North Carolina having- a direct pecuniary interest in this railroad (it will be a stockholder to the amount of at least $50,000.00 at completion of construction of road- bed) such an issue of bonds would not be repugnant to the provisions of section 4 of article 5 of the Constitution of North Carolina. The direct benefits accruing to the State from the comple- tion of this work and the development of the State's interest in Eastern North Carolina, will, we believe, appear to the satisfaction of the members of the General Assembly under the division entitled, "How the State of North Carolina will be benefited by the Completion and Successful Operation of the Mattamuskeet Railway Company." WILL IT PAY? The importance of Hyde County as railroad territory has been overlooked to a great extent because of fact that nearly three-fourths of the county line is a water line. The county is a peninsula, seven-eights of its territory being embraced by the waters of Alligator River, Pamlico Sound, Pungo River and its tributary creeks. Its water facilities put the shipping points of Fairfield, Engelhard, Wysocking, Juniper Bay, Swan Quarter, Rose Bay, Germanton, Sladesville, Makelyville and Scranton almost equidistant from the mar- kets of Elizabeth City, New Bern, Washington and Belhaven and have caused its products to be carried noiselessly in sail vessels and distributed, almost impartially, among the mar- kets named and furnish the reason why the mangnitude of its resources has never been exploited in the interest of any rail- road scheme. When attention is called to the fact that the large and com- modious steamer "Alma" carries the greater per cent of the Prospectus Mattanmskeet Railway Co. 7 products of the rich township of Fairfield to Elizabeth City, making one trip a week throughout the year, and in good crop seasons two trips a week during the business season, often towing other loaded transports, and that the Fuerstein line of gas boats, running tri-weekly from Engelhard to Elizabeth City the year round, together with six sail vessels with an average net tonnage of twenty-five tons each, dis- tribute the products emanating from Engelhard and Middle- ton among the towns of Elizabeth City, New Bern and Wash- ington ; that two, and during business seasons, four vessels of equal tonnage, divide the trade from Wysocking, N. C, be- tween the towns of New Bern and Washington ; that two sail vessels averaging the same tonnage, run regularly from Juni- per Bay to Washington and New Bern ; that three sail vessels averaging twenty tons each carry the products of Swan Quarter Township from Swan Quarter and Oyster Creek to Washington, N. C. ; that two vessels with an average tonnage of fifteen tons each, run regularly from Rose Bay, jNT. C. ; that four vessels, averaging twenty tons each, carry the produce of Currituck Township from Grermanton, Sladesville and Scranton, N. C. ; that two steam vessels, the "Blanche" and the '"Hatteras," touch daily at Makelyville, N. C, and that one vessel of twenty-tons carrying capacity makes weekly trip from Leechville, N. C, to Washington, and that all the above-mentioned sail vessels will average one trip a week for the season beginning September 1, and ending April 1, the figures and estimates which follow will not be surprising. Besides the vessels of heavier tonnage above mentioned, there are innumerable smaller vessels and gas boats that touch irregularly at many, if not all, of the points above named, carrying passengers and miscellaneous cargoes of lighter freight, the amount of which can not he easily cal- culated, but which in the aggregate, is enormous. Attention is again called to the fact that the people of Hyde 8 Prospectus Mattamuskeet Railway Co. County and eastern Beaufort County buy their groceries, dry goods and general supplies from about seventy merchants, whose stores are distributed over the whole of the territory to be traversed by the Mattamuskeet Railway Company. So much for the area of agriculturial products and mer- cantile traffic as a resource for the railroad. Now let us take any good map of North Carolina and draw a line from Stumpy Point in Dare County across the northern end of Pamlico Sound to New Inlet, also another line from Pamlico Point in Pamlico County across the south end of the Sound to the light-house at the north end of Core Sound and on to Ports- mouth Island, and you have a territory with an area of about 1,200 square miles, that is richer in possibilities of paying traffic for a railroad than any other inland water area on the Atlantic Coast, except Chesapeake Bay. When you realize that every square mile of the Sound bot- tom of this area belongs to the State of North Carolina, it can be seen what the Mattamuskeet Railway Company means as a State investment, but the importance of this project to the State at large, will be treated in another division. Before figuring on possibilities of profit, the following- quotation from an address delivered by Mr. J. O. Wright, Chief Drainage Engineer of the U. S. Agricultural Depart- ment, at a Farmers' Institute at Swan Quarter, N. C, on the 30th day of September, 1908, will be interesting and in- structive. Mr. Wright said : "The last census shows that Hyde County contains 1,061 cultivated farms. The average size of these farms is 87 acres. The value of the land alone is $1,084,230. The im- provements are worth $342,700 ; the live stock $130,125, and the farm products not fed to stock $235,525. "The area of the county is 247,680 acres. If it were all drained and cultivated as it can be and it produced corn at 40 bushels to the acre it would yield 9,907,200 bushels. If Prospectus Mattamuskeet Railway Co. 9 this were loaded in box cars at 400 bushels per car, it would require 24,768 cars to haul the product away. Allowing- 23 cars to a train and running three trains a day, it would re- quire one year's time to remove the crop. Selling this corn at 60 cents a bushel, it would bring a revenue to the county of $5,944,320." In the following figures and estimates we propose to be even more conservative than Mr. Wright and base our calcu- lation for profitable business for a railroad on the actual area of cultivated lands with a fair average yield. 1,061 farms averaging 87 acres to the farm, gives the area of im- proved and cultivated land as 92,307 acres. A fair average yield for this land in corn is 25 bushels to the acre and we have a possible yield of 2,307,675 bushels. Allowing one- third of this amount to remain on the farm for maintenance and we have remaining a surplus for shipment 1,538,450 bushels. It costs the farmers of Hyde County from five to seven cents per bushel to get their grain to market ; four cents per bushel from points where there is no lightering to do with smaller boats, five to seven cents a bushel where the grain has to be carried in small boats to the larger ones and there is canal toll to pay. Certainly if they could get their grain marketed cheaper, say at four cents a bushel, and one-half the hauling saved, then a railroad would get the business. At four cents a bushel in seasons of fair production it would cost the farmers of Hyde County $61,538.00 to market a surplus of a fair corn crop. We would be even more conservative than this and say that to successfully compete with the sail vessels and secure the business of carrying these crops, the railroad would have to make a rate of three cents per bushel. At three cents per bushel to market 1,538,450 bushels of corn would bring to the railroad a revenue of $46,153.50. When we consider that it takes 22 vessels with an average tonnage capacity of 10 Prospectus Mattamuskeet Railway Co. 25 tons, 3 steamers, one making weekly and semi-weekly trips, and two making daily trips (one gas boat line making tri-weekly trips and, perhaps, 100 vessels ranging from 10 tons down to move the farm products of Hyde County, no one will dispute the proposition that $45,000 for moving the agri- cultural products of Hyde County, is rather below than above the actual figures. For proof that the estimate of 1,538,450 bushels is not a bumper crop for Hyde County, we have the following statis- tics gathered at expense of considerable labor and some pains as to accuracy. The 22 sail vessels which trade the year round from Hyde County ports, have an average carrying capacity of 1,000 bushels of corn each, or 22,000 bushels for a single trip. These vessels make an average of one trip a week for seven months in the year, which, if all their freights were corn, would make a total during the business seasons of 600,1G0 bushels. For the remaining five months *of the year these vessels will average two trips a month, and during the com- paratively idle season, if all their freights were corn, the total would amount to 200,020 bushels, making a grand total of 836,000 bushels carried in sail vessels, whose trips average less than one a week for the year round. When we add to these figures the amount of farm products carried by the steamer "Alma" making one trip a week the year round and two trips a week during the business season, the business sea- son being from September 1st to April 1st, in good years, the amount carried by the Fuerstein Gas Boat Line making tri- weekly trips, and the freight of the steamers "Blanche" and "Hatteras," with the gas boat line from Leechville, 1ST. C, to which is to be added products carried by the smaller classes of vessels, the statistics of which it is impossible to gather ; the estimates, which we have based, for convenience, on a corn crop alone, will not, we believe, appear extravagant, even to the most critical. When we direct attention to the well-known fact that of Prospectus Mattamuskeet Railway Co. 11 recent years the pea crop which is sowed in the corn, at its last plowing, and the soja beans that are planted between the hills, thousands of bushels of which are shipped from Hyde County in the most unfavorable seasons, we believe the meas- ure of the above estimates is more than made good. Again, when it is considered that well diversified and bal- anced crops furnish to transportation companies ( freights that are much more remunerative than corn, and that the people of this county are rapidly learning the value of diver- sification, and when it is remembered too that the largest yields of corn are frequently made from crops following Irish potatoes and winter oats, and that often three crops of readily salable garden products are gathered in one year from the same area, we believe that no one will quarrel with the figures above offered for the consideration of investors in the capital stock of our company. A careful estimate of the passenger traffic emanating from Hyde County, which would necessarily be given to our railroad company has caused us to determine on $7,000 as the amount which we could certainly expect to receive out of our first year's business, though we have reason to believe that the revenues from passenger traffic will easily exceed that amount. The proofs we will offer as a basis for this estimate are these: The steamer "Alma", running from Fairfield to Elizabeth City and requiring a day and night, or twenty-four hours for the trip and at the rate of $1.50 single fare, carried to and from Fairfield, N. C, from October 1, 1905, to Sep- tember 30, 1906, 430 passengers ; from October 1, 1906, to September 30, 1907, 436 passengers; from October 1, 1907, to September 30, 1908, 496 passengers. The Fuerstein line from Engelhard to Elizabeth City, with a single fare of $1.50 carried from and to Engelhard, N. C, from October 1, 1907, to September 30, 1908, 500 passengers. The steamer "Calu- met" * * * during the year 1901, with a single fare passenger rate of $1.50 from Swan Quarter, ~E. C, to Wash- 12 Prospectus Mattamuskeet Railway Co. ington, N. C, is said to have carried 2,200 passengers. The gas boat "Nydia," during the four months of the year 11)05, with a single fare rate of $1.50, carried 1,300 passengers. The steamer "Hatteras" from Makelyville, ]Sf. C, to Wash- ing-ton, ]S T . C, during the year 11)07, with a single fare rate of $1.00 carried 3,300 passengers. From these figures it can be easily estimated that the reve- nue from passenger traffic for a railroad would not fall far below $10,000, after a few years of development, and that our estimate of $7,000 for the first year is very reasonable. The people of Hyde County are said to travel more in proportion to their population than those of any county in the State. Some time during the late months of the Jamestown Expo- sition, it was learned from an examination of the register in the North Carolina Building, that more people from Hyde County had registered to that date than from any other county in the State of North Carolina. A careful and conservative estimate of the amount of mer- chantable timber along the route of the Mattamuskeet Rail- way Company, gives us in round numbers about 200,000,000 feet. With this much of merchantable timber to start with and taking into consideration the reproductive capacity of timber lands of Hyde County, with the added fact that every sawmill in the county of any magnitude, has been dismantled, we believe the Mattamuskeet Railway Company can safely count on hauling 25,000,000 feet of timber per year, which at the rate of fifty cents per M, would bring a revenue of $12,500. The sail, steam and gas boat lines trading from the differ- ent points of Hyde County bring, on their return trips, goods in bulk for the merchants, fertilizers, farming implements, dressed lumber, coal, and farm supplies to such an exrent that, we are reliably informed, gives the carriers back freight variously estimated at from one-half to three-fourths the value of the outsroins freight. Prospectus M attain tiskeet Railway Co. 13 We have classified this as follows : Back freights on merchandise to sixty or more merchants and traders, $10,000. Back freights on farm supplies, $5,000. When we remember that the carriers get one-third the railroad freights on all goods shipped from the north of Norfolk and Suffolk, and one-half the railroad freights on -ill goods shipped from Norfolk and points south of these cities, we believe we are within bounds in making this estimate. The master of one sail vessel preserved for one season, from first of September to April first, statistics of supplies purchased by him for his farmer customers and the amount for the period named was more than $15,000. The estimate of revenue to be derived from freights on poultry, eggs, dressed beef and pork has been put at $5,000. When it is considered that the poultry and egg trade of Hyde County brings more revenue to the County of Hyde than its cotton crop, we believe this to be a very conservative estimate. The following quotation from the News and Observer, of January 21, 1909, is pertinent in this connection. "Caj^t. Edward L. Silverhorn, of the schooner Annie Ed- wards, which has a regular run between this port and points in Hyde County, arrived at the Eobinson dock this morning from Engelhard loaded with cotton, poultry, eggs and other produce. Particularly noticeable in the -cargo was the great number of eggs and upon inquiry the captain told your cor- respondent that he had over a thousand dozen on board. He further stated that this was no .unusual occurrence with him, as he frequently brought up larger lots than this and that the raising of chickens and selling of eggs had become one of the most profitable and largest industries with the industrious people of Hyde County. "The lot of eggs was sold in the local market and brought 29 cents, which is high. "The eggs were owned by a number of individuals, one man alone receiving; over one hundred dollars on his lot.'' 14 Prospectus M attamuskeet Railway Co. The oyster and fish trade will have to be developed, but the railroad can certainly count on a revenue of $2,500 from each of these items. COST OF OPERATION. The estimate of cost of operation of a freight train offered before the legislative committee, having for consideration the bill regulating passenger and freight rates for the railroads of North Carolina, in the Legislature of 1907, put the cost of operating and maintainance of freight trains at $1.00 per mile. We believe that the cost of operating a mixed passen- ger and freight train over the fifty-one miles of railroad in Hyde County, would be greatly less than the ordinary cost of maintenance of a freight train on any of the other rail- roads of the State for reasons, that, we believe, will appeal to every practical man, who has had opportunity for personal observation of conditions. But taking one dollar per mile as a fair estimate it may be said that the total cost of main- tenance would be charged against a single daily train and that one dollar per mile will not pay all maintenance and operating expenses. In order to be within reason, we have, in the following summary, added to the estimate of $1.00 per mile, the expense of management, which we have included under the heads of salary of president and general manager, secretary and treasurer, stenographer and office supplies and civil engineer. Table or Estimated Expenses and Revenue. Muitamuskeet Railway Company. To operating and maintenance expenses 51 miles railroad, one daily mixed passenger and freight train one year at $1.00 per mile $31,824.00 Salary President and General Manager 2,000.00 Salary of Secretary and Treasurer 1,000.00 Salary of Stenographer and office supplies 1,000.00 Prospectus Mattamuskeet Railway Co. 15 Civil Engineer 1,200.00 Interest on equipment bonds for $350,000 21,000.00 Annual sinking fund for payment of bonds .... 10,000.00 REVENUE. Freight on agricultural products. .,. .$45,000.00 Mail service 60^ miles at $42.75 per mile 2,586.00 Passenger revenue 7,000.00 Lumber freight 12,500.00 Incoming freight on merchandise. . . . 10,000.00 Incoming freight on farmers supplies 5,000.00 Freight on poultry, eggs, dressed beef and pork 5,000.00 Freight on oysters 2,500.00 Freight on fish 2,500.00 Other freights 3,000.00 Estimated annual net profit 27,062.00 Total $95,086.00 $95,086.00 It will be noted that the above estimates and figures apply only to that part of the line of railroad located in Hyde County, and as to that portion of the line from the county line at Leechville, 1ST. C, to Belhaven, 1ST. C, a dis- tance of about seven miles, no estimates as to resources can be gathered with any real definiteness, and frankness compels us to say that its proximity to Belhaven and the short haul does not give us much hope that this portion of the line will be self-sustaining for the first two or three years of operation. We have estimated that the cost of operation for this portion of the line will be about $4,168 per annum. The area of improved and developed territory, as well as that capable of being made agriculturally profitable, is about four miles wide, extending about two miles on either side of the road. About one-third of this area has been cleared and developed and h 10 Prospectus Mattamuskeet liailway Co. a tine trucking section, and also produces abundant staple crops. There is much timber on the unimproved portion that will necessarily be hauled over our line, and we may reasonably expect that this portion of the line will pay at least one-half of the expenses of operation from the begin- ning. Deducting the excess of operating expenses over the revenue for this portion of the road, from the estimated net profit in the above table of resources and expenses, and we can still reasonably expect an annual net profit of $22,392. Nothing has been said in the foregoing argument about the possibilities of a profitable business that would be brought to the railroad from that portion of Tyrrell County lying along the west bank of the Alligator River, which will be brought up the river to the road at its terminus at Fairfield, for the reason that this territory is at present served by the steamer "Alma," but when it is considered that the products of this ideal trucking section will naturally seek the transportation that offers the greatest expedition and that much passenger revenue can be reasonably counted on from this territory, be- cause of the cheaper rates and quicker transportation, it will be seen that a profitable business from this territory is only a question of time. There is very little doubt that the most profitable enter- prise in all the territory to be affected by this project is the Fairfield and Elizabeth City Transportation Company, served by the steamer "Alma" between Fairfield, N. C, and Elizabeth City, BT. C. In the foregoing estimates no particular emphasis has been given to the possibilities for traffic from the line of banks represented by a portion of Portsmouth Island and the islands of Ocracoke and Hatteras up as far as New Inlet. At pres- ent this territory is served by sail vessels and gas boats, which the fishing companies find it necessary to utilize in. securing the abundant variety of sea and sound products in this terri- tory. All the sound or western shore of these islands is Prospectus Mattamuskeet Railway Co. 17 splendid in possibilities for oyster culture, the trade in which product is already extensive. All the eastern or ocean shore of these islands is fine fishing territory. With transporta- tion facilities the menhaden and porpoise factories would be revived and the production of oil, porpoise leather and ferti- lizers would add greatly to the revenue of our road, which will be the only one offering facilities calculated to revive the leather, oil and fertilizer industries that promised much at one time. In all this territory the United States government spends many thousands of dollars annually for the support of its life- saving and light-house service. Profitable mercantile busi- ness is carried on at a dozen or more points, and it will only be necessary to instance the fact that the town of Ocracoke alone gives profitable employment to two large sail vessels, which are required to carry the mercantile products. The town of Ocracoke is served also by a daily line of gas boats, which carry the mails from Morehead City and, incidentally, do a large business in the lighter freights peculiar to this territory. It has been impossible to gather statistics as to the amouut of business emanating from the towns of Portsmouth, Hat- teras, Frisco, Bnxton, Avon, Salvo and Eodanthe, but the following table of distances from these points and the island of Ocracoke to Washington, Norfolk and Belhaven will show how this territory will be served by The Mattamuskeet Pail- way Company and how this Company will offer facilities so much superior to those offered by any other transportation line that there can be no question of its being able to com- mand and hold this territory. 18 Prospectus Mattamuskeet Railway Co. From— To— Via— 3 It C) OS S >, .2-° o a a Q O e Miles. Miles. Miles. Washington . . . Beaufort ... 44 74 118 Vandcniere 40 33 73 .. .. 70 28 70 » Swan Quarter.. 55 83 .< Norfolk ... _. Vandemere .. Swan Quarter _ 40 28 169 148 209 " 176 ■i Washington ... . 144 48 144 Ocracoke Beaufort 74 122 Vandemere _ 42 33 75 .. <■ 71 28 71 " Swan Quarter 55 83 .. Norfolk Vandemere . . . Swan Quarter 42 28 169 148 211 » 176 .. Water. 141 63 141 Beaufort . . 74 137 Vandemere . .. 60 33 93 „ >■ Water . 83 37 83 « Swan Quarter ._ 55 92 .. Norfolk Vandemere. Swan Quarter _. .. 60 37 169 148 229 « 185 ., Washington ._ 123 71 123 74 145 Vandemere .. 62 33 95 ., : Water 88 39 88 « Swan Quarter 55 94 .< Norfolk _ . Vandemere . Swan Quarter . _ . 62 39 169 148 231 « 187 ii Washington 117 70 95 34 117 Vandemere . 33 103 95 ,, 78 112 l( Norfolk __ __ _. Vandemere 70 34 169 171 239 ,, 205 „ •' Water 130 130 Prospectus Mattamuskcet Railway Co. 19 From— To— Via— 8| Hi 3 Q o: 3 CM Total Distance. Washington Norfolk _ __. Vandemere . . Water Miles. 71 95 32 71 32 123 78 100 31 78 31 109 79 102 32 79 32 103 Miles. c3 Miles. 104 95 ,, 78 169 171 110 „ Vandemere _ 240 ,, Washington Norfolk.. . 203 ,. Water 123 Salvo -- _ _ Vandemere . . Water 33 111 100 ,, Engelhard . 78 169 171 109 u Vandemere .. 247 „ Washington _ Norfolk 202 „ Water 109 Rodanthe Vandemere .. . . Water _ _ 33 112 102 " Engelhard Vandemere Engelhard 78 169 171 110 248 " 203 103 It may be argued that it will take some time for a railroad to succeed in controlling the transportation of agricultural products, because of fact, that steamboats have never been able to successfully compete with the sail vessels for this traffic. It may be said, without fear of successful contradiction, that the sail boats can not maintain themselves and carry grain for less than three cents per bushel from any port in Hyde County to any market that is easily accessible to that class of vessels, except from the ports of Currituck Township to Belhaven, N. C. In nearly every instance the grain crops and all other agricultural products have to be hauled many miles to reach a shipping point, and the last mile is usually 20 Prospectus Mattamnskeet Bailway Co. over low, swampy roads that add greatly, in wear and tear to vehicles and strain on team, to the expense of transportation. After they have reached water, owing to lack of wharfage facilities, most of this grain has to be lightered in smaller boats before loading on the larger vessels. This cost of lightering is usually one cent per bushel on grain and a pro- portionate rate on other products. The Mattamuskeet railway, from its terminus at Fairfield to the county line at Leechville, traverses the best farming section of the county actually touching farms, many of which it splits in half. In no part of the county is any of the agricultural territory more than four miles from the rail- road, except a very small portion of Currituck Township. The truth of this statement is manifest from an examination of the accompanying map. No sane farmer is going to pay tribute to one method of transportation where the expense and time will increase the transportation tariff on his produce as much as one-third or one-fourth, as well as add to his inconvenience by loss of time due to increased haul, as well as additional expenses for maintenance of team and vehicles. Again a sail vessel is an expensivve proposition to keep in a state of repair and sea- worthiness for transportation, and often this class of vessel is allowed to decay and are rapidly put out of commission. The building of the railroad will undoubtedly retire, with- in very short time, all the oldest and least seaworthy of these vessels ; the others will find profitable business, as long as they last, in bringing produce to the railroad from other territory, to wit, the islands of Ocracoke, Portsmouth, Hat- teras and points on Pamlico and Neuse rivers, that are not closer to a railroad than to Belhaven and Swan Quarter. An- other resource for occupation for these vessels is the oyster industry, in which, even now, most of them are engaged ; especially during seasons where there have been failures of crops. It is no uncommon sight during the oyster season to Prospectus Mattamuskeet Railway Co. 21 see from 40 to 60 of these vessels in Swan Quarter Bay for harbor and rest on Sunday, nearly as many more find harbor at Far Creek. While it is by no means certain, or to be desired, that the railroad will drive this class of vessels out of business, it is obvious, from a study of conditions, that they could not suc- cessfully compete with the railroad for transportation of agricultural products. OTHER RESOURCES AND PROSPECTS. Reserving any estimates on possibilities of developments of fish and oyster trade for another chapter, attention is called to the value of Hyde County territory to a railroad company as a trucking area. Hyde County and the lower part of Tyrell can, owing to the higher temperatures, caused by sur- rounding waters, market potatoes, peas, kale, lettuce, beans, cucumbers and nearly every other garden product from five to ten days earlier than any other territory in North Carolina of the same latitude. Its soil is specially adapted to the pro- duction of these products and the only reason it has not been developed as a trucking territory has been lack of quick and certain transportation. The yield per acre can be- made as great as any other territory, it having already been demon- strted that as many potatoes per acre can be raised as any- where in the State; that from four to five thousand quarts of strawberries per acre can be harvested in any favorable sea- son. Asparagus grows wild in Currituck Township and can be raised in the greatest profusion. The black land sur- rounding Mattamuskeet Lake will produce as fine celery as any in the world. The abundance of wild blackberries, blue- berries, dewberries, etc., attest the value of this soil for small fruits. The Lake Ridge with a subsoil of fine white sand is especially adapted to peach-growing, the Mattamuskeet apple and the scuppernong grape, indigenous to Hyde County soil, are already justly celebrated. Pecans are being planted and 22 Prospectus Mattamuskeet Railway Co. thousands of small trees will within a year or two, reach the bearing stage. One man in Hyde County has for several seasons sold from thirty-five to forty dollars worth of nuts from one tree, the selling price being one dollar and twenty- five cents per peck. There are valuable cranberry bogs that will be utilized and made very profitable within a few years. The gum timber in Hyde County has hardly been touched. Trapping for furs has been found profitable along the shores of Pamlico Sound and its tributaries and the number of val- uable pelts shipped annually from Hyde County would fur- nish surprising figures. Mattamuskeet Lake, the largest body of fresh water in an}' coast line State from Maine to Florida, is famous for its beauty and the number of desirable residence sites around its border, and, with some attention to landscape gardening, can be made one of the finest winter resorts in the South. The game birds that resort in abundance to its shores add to its attractiveness as a winter resort. Ocracoke Island, the most picturesque summer resort on the Atlantic coast, can be reached by a sail of only twenty-five miles from Swan Quarter, Juniper Bay, Wysocking, or En- gelhard, and the railroad will put it twenty-five miles nearer than it has ever been to those seeking a summer resort. A folder illustrating the natural beauties and conveniences of Mattamuskeet Railway Territory, will be issued within a short time. HOW THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA WILL BE BENEFITED BY THE COMPLETION AND SUC- CESSFUL OPERATION OF THE MATTAMUS- KEET RAILWAY COMPANY. The State of North Carolina has not been niggardly in providing for the improvement and development of its natu- ral resources or in assisting in the development of those sec- tions of the State, that labor under disadvantages due to lack of transportation facilities, proper drainage, etc. Prospectus Mattamusheet Railway Co. 23 The report of the Corporation Commission for the year 1907 assesses the value of the Norfolk and Southern Railroad in Beaufort County, a distance of 43.41 miles, at $12,030.27 per mile, or a total of $522,494.48. A similar assessment on the G0^- miles of the Mattamuskeet Railway Company would put into the State treasury about $1,800, and when in addition to this, the State treasury gets the benefit of the in- crease of taxes due to increased value of all kinds of property because of the development that will naturally result from the operation of this road, the additional revenue of over $3,600 annually to the State treasury will more than pay the interest on the amount already invested by the State in this project. The above figures would seem sufficiently interesting to guarantee the continued support by the State of this institu- tion until its completion. It is a current saying in railroad circles "that when the grading of a railroad through desirable territory has been completed and the rights-of-way secured without the creation of any large indebtedness, the project's troubles are over,"' and that the necessary capital for the equipment and opera- tion will be forthcoming. It is the desire of the management of this road and the citi- zens directly interested in it, that it be kept separate and in- dependent of any other railroad system, certainly until such time as the road can be completed into the town of Washing- ton, E". C, and be in position to make an advantageous sale, lease or traffic arrangement. In order to be able to do this it is very desirable that the State should continue to hold a ma- jority of the capital stock of the road and have the controlling voice in the policy and management of the same. If the State stops with the capital stock it has already invested in this project, the capital necessary to equip and begin opera- tion of same will have to be found elsewhere and the value of the State's interest, when it ceases to own a majority of the capital stock, will depend, of course, on the honesty of man- 24 Prospectus Mattamuskeet Railway Co. agement and an absolute freedom from graft, financial jug- gling and stock watering. It is within the power of the General Assembly to so preserve the State's interest in this road as to make it one of the most valuable of the. State's assets. To do this the State would have to become the guar- antor of equipment bonds to an amount not less than $350,000 and not more than $500,000. These bonds with the State's guarantee, can be easily sold at a premium, and we believe, the entire amount would be subscribed for many times in the State of North Carolina. A sale of these bonds would render unnecessary the sub- scription to capital stock of any amount of excess of $100,000. If the road, after paying all expenses, interest and pro- viding for a sinking fund, will pay an annual profit of $20,000, as we believe we have demonstrated it will do, then certainly the State will never be called on to make good one cent in payment of bonds, and on its $50,000 of stock would ultimately receive dividends that would make it the best pay- ing investment and the most valuable asset owned by the State. We have purposely omitted in this argument to mention the many advantages that will be afforded to the State as well as to the Mattamuskeet Railway Company by the completion of the inland waterway now in process of construction by thfl national government. The route selected for this waterway must either cross the line of the Mattamuskeet Railway or pass in view of its terminal point on the Pamlico Sound, anil the facilities afforded by it for the shipping of cotton and other bulky products from the interior of the State to northern and southern points by barges must be evident upon the most casual consideration of the matter, and will doubtless afWd considerable revenue to the Mattamuskeet Railway Company. The subject, however, will be treated more at length ?t) a sub- sequent article. The territory to be served by the railroad mail service is Prospectus Mattamushcct Railway Co. 25 now served by a star route service thirty-one miles from Bel- haven to Swan Quarter, costing the government about $1,200 ; a route from Swan Quarter to Engelhard, a distance of twenty-four miles, costing about $800, and a route from Swan Quarter to Fairfield, a distance of eighteen miles, cost- ing about $500. From the best estimates Ave have been able to get the railroad could expect to receive for this service ap- proximately $2,586.37. There can be no possible doubt that a railroad mail service will displace the star routes. The question will naturally occur to every member of the Legislature : "What is there in this project to justify the State in pledging its credit to such an extent ?" JNTot only will a rich and extensive section of the State be developed and add materially to the resources of the State, but a careful study of the accompanying map and the follow- ing extracts from expert and official sources showing the pos- sibilities of the development of the State's resources to fol- low the completion of this enterprise, will demonstrate the wisdom of the desired action on part of the General Assembly. It has been shown that the completion of this road will bring into easy touch with ready markets the products of twelve hundred square miles of sound bottom, every acre of which is State property. The magnitude and value of the State's resources have never been fully understood and certainly have never received the care and protection that the importance of this asset of the State deserves. The following extract from "Economic Paper No. 10" on Oyster Culture in North Carolina, by Robert E. Coker, is- sued by the North Carolina Geological Survey, will be perti- nent: "In the preceding pages the fundamental legislative condi- tions that seem necessary for the building up of the oyster planting industry, which at the present time is practically 26 Prospectus Mattamuslceet Railway Go. undeveloped, have been indicated and briefly discussed. The cultivation of the oyster offers employment and profits to in- dividuals who will undertake planting; it will be not only a source of direct revenue to the State, but indirectly, through the resulting increase of taxable properties, should cause a large revenue. During the past year, 1904, there has been more oyster planting than during any recent year, and this is to be attributed in considerable measure to the results of the investigations that have been carried on by the North Caro- lina Geological Survey in conjunction with the United States Bureau of Fisheries. There are other persons interested in the cultivation of the oyster, who would plant if they could be assured of an incontestable title to the bottoms that they leased from the State. At no time in the history of the State has there been such a good opportunity as at the present time for the building up of a remunerative industry in the culti- vation of the oyster; and with proper legislation, this indus- try should, within the next few years, become a profitable business throughout many districts along the coast of North Carolina." The following extract from report of Hon. B. C. Beckwith, Chairman of State Board of Internal Improvements, is wor- thy of careful consideration : MATTAMUSKEET RAILWAY COMPANY. "The State holds stock in this company of the par value of thirty-three thousand dollars, at this time, issued to the State, under an act of the General Assembly, chapter . . . . , Laws of 1907, in payment of labor of convicts, averaging about sev- enty in number, employed on this work from August 14, 1907. The work of grading this road goes steadily on. Be- ginning at Fairfield, in the county of Hyde, on the north side of Mattamuskeet Lake, around the east and south sides of said lake, through the towns of Englehard, Middleton, Wy- socking, Juniper Bay, Swan Quarter, Rose Bay, Scranton Prospectus Mattamuskeet Railway Co. 21 and Lynchville, about forty-five miles of roadbed have been graded towards the proposed terminus at Belhav< n, in the county of Beaufort, a town of some three thousand, five hun- dred inhabitants. As surveyed and graded, the road passes through one of the most, if not the most fertile farming sec- tions of this country, and as it will when completed, put Hyde County in touch with the world at Belhaven, and, over the Norfolk and Southern Railroad, in close physical touch with the great markets of the country ; and as the road, when completed, would furnish an easy and speedy outlet for the rich agricultural resources of Hyde County and the Eastern portion of the county of Beaufort ; also quick and prompt transportation for the great and various products of Pamlico Sound and its tributaries, and will aid greatly in developing the vast trucking interests of Eastern Xorth Carolina, we are of the opinion that the interest of the State in said road demands that the General Assembly should so amend the charter of said railroad company as to more perfectly safe- guard the interest of the State in the same ; and, when this shall have been done, should extend to said company such financial aid, on part of the State, as will insure the com- pletion of said road to Belhaven or to Washington, Xorth Carolina, and equipment of the same. "Our opinion is, that the interest of the State in this road, and the general good to be promoted by development of the vast resources of the section traversed by and adjacent to this road will justify such aid as the General Assembly may see fit to render." Microfilmed SOLINET/ASERL PROJECT