| Annual Report of the Georgia RR |
| as of April 1, 1866, |
| President's Report |
| |
| Office Georgia Rail Road
Company |
| Augusta, Ga., May 15, 1866 |
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| To the Stockholders of the Georgia Rail Road Company: |
| It is scarcely necessary to
remind the stockholders that they have not met in convention since
May, 1864. Of the causes of this omission it is unnecessary to speak;
suffice it to say, that from the unsettled and disorganized state of
the country at the appointed time, it was found impossible to collect
a quorum, and the directors for the preceding year have held over, as
provided for in the charter and by-laws. A very brief report was
prepared for the convention that should have been held in May, 1865,
and but little need be said in reference to it. Besides the heavy
damage by loss and destruction of property, the business of the year
showed a loss of $389,177.06. For this state of things, the
stockholders had already been prepared by the report of 1864, in which
it was said, "From the ruined condition of the road and rolling
stock, occasioned by hard usage in government service, and want of
material for repairs, both road and rolling stock have become unsafe,
and the loss and damage account is very heavy. The truth is, the road
is running at a heavy loss. It has made no real profit for the last
two years, and is making nothing now. The more business it does, the
more money it loses, and the greatest favor that could be conferred on
it would be the privilege of quitting business until the close of the
war. We say real profit, for it would require much more than all
reported profits to place the road and outfit in the same condition
they were in on the first of January, 1861." This was the opinion
of the board in 1864,. And in the report prepared for the convention
that was expected to meet in May, 1865, it was truly stated by the
board, that "this anticipation in last year's report has been
more than verified by the violence to which we have been subjected --
the continued depreciation and derangement of the currency, and the
heavy service done for government, for most of which we have received
no compensation." |
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*****
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In the latter part of 1864, all the improvements at
Atlanta, and the road, depots, and bridges from Atlanta to the Oconee
river, were destroyed -- partly by the federal and partly by the
confederate forces. It was not thought to the interest of the company
to repair the road until the cessation of hostilities. The confederate
authorities, however, deemed the road of importance to the army and to
the public, and hastened to repair the same, and put the line in
running order to Atlanta. The work was, however, very hastily and
imperfectly done, and served but little in restoring the road to its
former condition. *****
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| But little respect is paid to
private property in time of war, and, like other roads ours has been
the prey of military violence. Besides the heavy damage before
noticed, we lost about three hundred cars -- mostly impressed and
carried off and lost or destroyed on other roads. Some of our iron was
also carried off, and claims are made for iron said to have been taken
from several other roads and placed upon ours without the order of the
officers and against their wishes. ***** |
| ***** |
| To which may be added -- |
| 300 cars lost or destroyed, at an average of
$500 each |
150,000.00 |
| Buildings at Atlanta |
50,000.00 |
| Depots on the line destroyed |
20,000.00 |
| Eighty miles of road torn up, including
destruction of bridges, average damage per mile, $3,500 |
280,000.00 |
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*****
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Respectfully submitted in behalf of the directors, by
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John P. King
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President
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