|
Proceedings |
| Augusta, Ga., December 15, 1862 |
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|
According to call from Col. W. M. Wadley, A. A. G., the
Convention met in Masonic Hall at 10 o'clock, A.M. |
| On motion of Mr. Pollard, R. R. Cuyler,
Esq., was appointed Chairman, and Alfred L. Tyler and Wm. L. Clark,
Secretaries. |
| The meeting being called to order, the
following Road were found to be represented: |
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Muscogee Railroad |
50 miles |
J. L. Mustian, President, W. L. Clark,
Superintendent |
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Macon & Western Railroad |
120 miles |
Isaac Scott, President, Alfred L. Tyler,
Superintendent |
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South-Western Railroad |
206 miles |
R. R. Cuyler, President, Virgil Powers
Superintendent |
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Orange & Alexandria Railroad |
167 miles |
R. L. Owen |
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Richmond & Petersburg Railroad |
25 miles |
Chas. Ellis, Presid't |
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Petersburg Railroad |
63 miles |
C. O. Sanford, Superintendent |
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Savannah, Albany & Gulf Railroad |
200 miles |
Hiram Roberts, President, G. J. Fulton,
Superintendent |
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Raleigh & Gaston Railroad |
97 miles |
W. J. Hawkins. President |
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Charlotte & South Carolina Railroad |
109 miles |
E. Hurlbut, Superintendent |
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Georgia Railroad and Branches |
233 miles |
John P. King, President, Geo. Yonge,
Superintendent |
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Atlantic, Tennessee & Ohio Railroad |
45 miles |
E. Hurlbut, Superintendent |
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South Side Railroad |
126 miles |
H. D. Bird, Superintendent |
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Richmond & Danville Railroad |
141 miles |
Chas. G. Talcott, Superintendent |
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Alabama & Florida {(of
Alabama)} Railroad |
112 miles |
C. T. Pollard, Presid't, S. G. Jones,
Superintendent |
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Alabama & Mississippi Railroad |
104 miles |
W. S. Knox, Sec'ry and Treasurer |
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Alabama & Tennessee Railroad |
135 miles |
Thomas A. Walker, President, Wm. Rothrock,
Supt. and Engineer |
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Alabama Shelby Coal Mine Branch |
4 miles |
William Rothrock, Superintendent |
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Atlanta & West Point Railroad |
87 miles |
John P. King, Pres., Geo. G. Hull,
Superintendent |
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Georgia Central Railroad and Branches |
282 miles |
R. R. Cuyler, President, Geo. W. Adams,
Superintendent |
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Savannah & Charleston Railroad |
104 miles |
B. D. Hasel, Pres. |
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East Tennessee & Georgia Railroad |
140 miles |
C. Wallace, Pres. |
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East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad |
130 miles |
J. R. Branner, President |
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Rogersville & Jefferson Railroad |
15 miles |
R. G. Payne, Presid't |
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Florida, Atlantic & Gulf Railroad |
60 miles |
S. L. Niblack, Pres. and Superintendent |
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Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad |
76 miles |
Chas. Ellis |
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Virginia Central Railroad |
205 miles |
Chas. Ellis |
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Virginia & Tennessee Railroad |
215 miles |
R. L. Owen, President |
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Vicksburg, Shreveport & Texas Railroad |
75 miles |
J. N. Horne |
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Brunswick & Florida Railroad |
60 miles |
Chas. L. Schlatter, Pres |
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Western & Atlantic Railroad |
138 miles |
John S. Rowland, Superintendent -- by letter |
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Montgomery & West Point Railroad |
117 miles |
Chas. T. Pollard, President, D. H. Cram,
Superintendent |
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Wilmington & Manchester Railroad |
171 miles |
Thos. D. Walker, President |
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Wilmington & Weldon Railroad |
180 miles |
S. D. Wallace, Pres. S. L. Fremont,
Superintendent |
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Mobile & Girard Railroad |
57 miles |
B. E. Wells, Eng. & Supt. |
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Mobile & Ohio Railroad |
580 miles |
L. J. Fleming, Supt. |
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Nashville & Chattanooga and Branches |
144 miles |
V. K. Stephenson, President |
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Nashville & Western Railroad |
75 miles |
V. K. Stephenson, President |
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N. C. Central Railroad |
223 miles |
T. J. Sumner, Supt -- by letter |
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Southern Railroad |
140 miles |
M. Emanuel, V. Pres -- by letter |
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North Eastern Railroad |
102 miles |
S. S. Solomons, Supt. |
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Cheraw & Darlington Railroad |
40 miles |
S. S. Solomons, Supt. |
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Total mileage 5181 |
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The Chair read General Order No 98. |
| Adjutant and Inspector General's Office |
| Richmond, December 9th, 1862 |
| General Orders No. 98 |
| |
| Col. Wm. M. Wadley, Assistant Adjutant
General, is hereby specially assigned to take supervision and
control of the transportation for the Government on all the Rail
Roads in the Confederate States. |
| He is empowered to make contracts for
transportation with said Rail Roads, or any of them, and such
regulations and arrangements with them as may be requisite or proper
to secure efficiency, harmony and cooperation on the part of said
Rail Roads or any proper number of them in carrying on the
transportation of the Government. |
| He will take direction of all agents or
employees engaged by the Government in connection with Rail Road
transportation, and will retain, engage or dismiss such as may be
requisite, and take charge of and employ all engineers, machinery,
tools or other property of the Government owned or used for Rail
Road transportation; and may exchange sell or loan such machinery
with or to any Rail Road Company to facilitate the work of
transportation and may generally assist and cooperate with the Rail
Roads in effecting the work of transportation. |
| The better to accomplish such ends, he
may require cooperation and assistance to such an extent as can be
reasonably granted by the Quarter Master and Commissary Bureaus, and
may apply for details from the army of such artisans, mechanics and
workmen, as may be necessary to facilitate the due accomplishment of
his duties. |
| He will report through the Adjutant and
Inspector General to the Secretary of War |
| By order, |
| S. Cooper, Adjutant and Insp. General. |
| |
| On motion of Mr. Pollard, a committee of
eight, including the chairman, were appointed to take into
consideration the matters represented by Mr. Wadley, and to report
at 3 p. m. |
| The Chair appointed Messrs Pollard,
King, Owen, Ellis, C. Wallace, Stephenson and Fleming. |
| On motion of Mr. Fremont, a committee of
five were appointed to arrange rates of transportation for men and
things. |
| The Chair appointed Messrs. Fremont,
Adams, Yong, Scott and Horne. |
| On motion of Mr. Sanford, a committee of
eight were appointed to consult with Mr. Offutt of the Post Office
Department, and arrange schedule for the Southern route. |
| The Chair appointed Messrs. Sanford,
Ellis, Fremont, Walker, Yonge, Hull, Cram and Jones. |
| The meeting then adjourned until 3 p.
m., at which time it met and was called to order by the Chairman,
when it was found the committee were not ready to report, and was
further adjourned until 10 o'clock, a. m., tomorrow. |
|
Tuesday, A. M. |
| The Convention met at 10 a. m., and was
called to order by the Chairman. The minutes of yesterday were read
and confirmed. |
| The Committee to whom was referred the
rates of transportation to be paid by the Government of persons and
things, submitted the following |
|
Report |
| In view of the greatly enhanced value of
every article entering into the consumption of Rail Road Companies,
and as Rail Road Companies have been forced to increase their
charges for the transportation of freight and passengers in their
general business, your committee can see no reason or justice for
retaining the present rates for carrying for the Government. We
therefore submit the following tariff of charges |
|
For Troops |
| To be two and a half (2 1/2) cents per
man per mile on main or thoroughfare lines; and on side and local
lines, three and a half (3 1/2) cents per mile. All Soldiers on
furlough to be charged at the foregoing rates. |
| Commissioned Officers or Government
Agents, traveling with or without requisitions, shall be charged
full fare. |
| (Roads to be classed by Col. Wadley,
Chief of Government transportation.) |
|
On Things |
| 1st Class -- Percussion Caps, Powder,
and fixed ammunition, sixty (60) cents per 100 lbs., per 100 miles. |
| 2d Class -- All articles not enumerated
in the first, third, fourth and fifth classes that are transported,
shall be thirty (30) cents per 100 lbs., per 100 miles. |
| 3d Class -- Live Stock thirty ($30)
dollars per car load, per 100 miles -- for less than a car load,
local rates to be charged. |
| 4th Class -- Hay, Fodder, Shucks, Bran,
Straw, empty Wagons Ambulances and other Government Carriages,
twenty ($20) dollars per car load, per 100 miles. |
| 5th Class -- Wood, Coal, Lumber, Stone
and Bricks to be carried by special contract with the Government, or
at local rates of each road. |
| For all distances less than fifty miles
to be paid as fifty miles and for fifty miles and less than one
hundred miles, to be paid as 100 miles. |
| Extra or special trains ordered by
proper authority, to be paid for at the rate of one dollar per mile
for the locomotive and one car, and for every additional car 10
cents per mile for freight and 15 cents per mile for passenger cars. |
| When an officer having proper authority,
orders a train to be held in readiness for the transportation of
troops, the proper charge shall be for the Locomotive $25 per day,
and three ($3) dollars per day for each car, including the services
of Conductor, Engineer, train-hand and fire-man while so held, and
no charge to be for less than one day. |
| When trains of one road pass over
another, carrying troops or freight of any kind -- the road owning
the train shall secure as full compensation for such train, one
eighth (1/8) of its earnings, to be paid by the Road owning the
track passed over. |
| For the transportation of the bodies of
Soldiers killed in battle or that die in service, each Road shall
adopt its own rules and rates of charge. |
| The Government should in all cases state
by what train, passenger or freight, the transportation is to be
performed, and when it is by passenger trains, fifty per centum
additional to the foregoing rates shall be charged. |
| |
| It is the decided and unanimous opinion
of the committee, that all Government trains should be discontinued
at once, and the Machinery be turned over to the roads most in need
of it, to be determined by Col. Wm. M. Wadley, Chief of Government
transportation. |
| The committee recommend that the rates
fixed in this report be not applied to Roads west of the Mississippi
River. |
| The committee submit the following
resolutions and recommend their adoption: |
| 1st. Resolved, That the foregoing
rates of transportation of men and things, and the rules of charge
set forth in this Report, be and the same are hereby adopted, to
take effect on the first day of January next. |
| 2d. Resolved, That this
Convention are of opinion, that the amount due each Rail Road
Company for transportation of men and things, should be settled
monthly by the Quarter Master nearest the principal office of the
Company, within fifteen days after the close of the month. |
| 3d. Resolved, That Col. Wadley be
earnestly requested to have all the cars seized and removed from the
various Roads by Government Officers, returned at the earliest
practicable moment to the Roads to whom they belong. |
| |
| After discussion, the Report was taken
up by sections and adopted. |
| Mr. Niblack offered the following
Resolution, which was adopted: |
| Resolved, That the Roads from the
State of Florida, are excepted from the Report of the committee on
transportation, a adopted by the Convention. |
| |
| On motion of Mr. Stephenson -- |
| Resolved, That the Nashville &
Chattanooga Rail Road, be excepted from the report of the committee
just passed. |
| |
| Mr. Pollard offered the following
amendment: |
| Resolved, That such Rail Roads as
have been in the possession of the enemy, or partially destroyed, be
excepted from the report of the committee regulating the rates of
transportation. (Adopted) |
| |
| The Committee on Schedules not being
ready to report, on motion was relieved. |
| |
| The Committee to take into consideration
the matters represented by Mr. Wadley, reported the following: |
| The committee to whom was referred a
Resolution to confer with Col. W. M. Wadley, Chief of Government
Transportation, and to present for the consideration of the
Convention, such matters as will enable the Rail Road companies to
meet the views of the Government, and respectfully report, that they
have been unable to agree. They submit to the convention the
following plan proposed by Col. Wadley, upon which he believes he
can carry out satisfactorily the duties which devolve on him as
Chief of Government Transportation. |
| C. T. Pollard, Chairman |
| Augusta, Ga., December 15th, 1862 |
| To the Presidents and Superintendents |
|
Of Rail Roads in the Confederate States: |
| Gentlemen, |
| I have asked a conference with you for
the purpose of taking into consideration the difficulties that now
exist in Government transportation, and as far as practicable to
remedy any defect that may be found in the present plan upon which
it is transacted -- safety and despatch are the ends desired. To
accomplish those ends, it is necessary to arrange Schedules, so as
to enable your trains to connect with as little delay as possible;
and to have a mutual understanding and agreement, for the delivery
and receipt of freights between connecting Roads. In this connection
I desire to avoid sending messengers with freight. |
| I do not know the nature or extent of
the difficulties that have been experienced and therefore cannot
suggest any remedy, but I presume the want of Rolling Stock by some
Roads, while that of others have been scattered over distant lines,
leaving the owners without sufficient to transact its business, are
among them. |
| As a partial remedy to the Roads in want
of Rolling Stock, I propose to part with all that is owned by
Government; and I desire the Roads having a superabundance to
supply, as far as practicable, those that are deficient. I do not
suppose that there is enough to supply all, yet a fair distribution
will very much relieve the wants of the country; and I trust that
those more fortunate than their neighbors will promptly come to
their relief in this time of need. To prevent Cars from being
scattered, I think that an agreement should be entered into in
reference to interchange between Roads, and when once determined
upon let it be rigidly enforced. In providing for transhipment it
may be desirable that exception should be made for heavy ordnance. I
requested the Quarter Master General to have his Bureau represented
at your meeting, in order to meet any question that might arise in
reference to evidence of transportation or of auditing your
accounts, and to represent this department, allow me to introduce to
you Maj. Wood and Capt. Smith {probably Capt.
Carrington} of the Quarter Master's Department. |
| If there are other matters in reference
to Government Transportation, upon which it is desirable to have
understanding, or if there is anything I an do, as the Agent of the
Government to facilitate your operations, I shall be very willing to
cooperate with you. |
| With this brief statement of my object
in calling you together, I trust that you will unite in trying to
accomplish the desired object. With your cordial cooperation I am
sure that all difficulties will vanish, and without that cooperation
I am equally certain that my appointment will prove of no avail. |
| In conclusion let me beg that you will
take sufficient time to mature whatever we may undertake to do. I
desire all possible dispatch, but from my past experience in
meetings of this character, I am satisfied there has been too much
haste in bringing them to a close. |
| I am, Gentlemen, |
| Very Respectfully your ob't serv't, |
| Wm. M. Wadley, A. A. G. |
| |
| Mr. Pollard offered the following: |
| Resolved, That the Rail Road
Companies represented in this Convention, concur in the plan
suggested by Col. Wadley, Chief of Government Transportation and
adopt it. |
| |
| Mr. Stephenson offered the following
amendment, which on motion was adopted: |
| The Convention of Rail Road Officers now
holding, take this means of acknowledging their approval of the
appointment of Mr. Wadley by the Government to take the direction of
Government transportation. The Rail Roads cheerfully pledge to the
Government their assistance and cooperation with Mr. Wadley, in
carrying out the wishes of the Government, and in perfecting the
connections of Roads and quick transfer of freights and passengers
from road to road. |
| |
| Mr. Owen offered the following
Resolution which was adopted: |
| Resolved, That in view of the
existing necessity of some Agent for the Government upon each line
of Rail Road, the respective Superintendents be requested to offer
their services to Col. Wadley, A. A. G., and assist him in carrying
out his views and make such reports to him as may be deemed
necessary. |
| |
| Mr. Fleming offered the following
Resolution which was adopted: |
| Resolved, That a committee of
five be appointed by the Chairman to confer with the Post Master
General, and to petition Congress for an increase of compensation
for the transportation of Mail, and for the passage of a law for the
more equitable adjustment of fines and forfeitures for failure to
perform the service. |
| |
| The Chair appointed Messrs. Fleming,
Sanford, Stephenson, Ellis and Owen. |
| |
| On motion of Mr. Adams, |
| Resolved, That the Secretaries
have a sufficient number of copies of the proceedings of the
Convention printed, and send ten copies to each road represented, by
Express, with bill of proportionate expense of printing. Adopted. |
| |
| No further business offering, the
Convention adjourned sine die. |
| R. R. Cuyler, Chairman |
| Alfred L. Tyler, Wm. L. Clark, Secretaries |
|