The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-01-28

uy eltner OF the two Houses of the Leg
lslature may select.
Speaker, that this proposition, taking
into consideration the central location
OF the place, the advantages it presents
and especially the advantages il will
present in the future, sincerely hope
without indulging in any further re.
maks, on this subject at present it will be
the pleasure of this House to lay aside
all personal considerations and take into
| consideration the interests of the entire
State as far as this important subject is
concerned.
SPEECH OF MR. SPENCER on BEHALF OF
PARKERsBURG.
| MIR. Spencer said:
Mr.. Chairman-I desire to place in
nomination the city of Parkersburg.
1t will be recoltected I told the mem
bers of the last House of Delegates
when this subject was then under con-
sideration, that the Council of the CITY
OF Parkersburg made to the State a
certain proposition. Failing as the
Legislature then did to make "A location,
1t now becomes my duty as well us
pleasure to renew those offers,
The conditions of them are simply
tthese: They propose to donate to the
State of West Virginia ground and
money to aid in the construction of the
buildings, If it be the pleasure of the
Legislature to locate the capital there.
They have selected at the outskirts of
the city beautiful plot containing ten
acres of ground, for which they have
executed their DEEDS of the State. They
propose to pay to the State S75, coo to aid
in the construction of the capital.
We do not make this offer to ssbuy the
capital'' as suggested by some gentle
man. we are not so egotistical as to
suppose that We have more money to
expend than any other portion of the
4 han i
to have the capitol located in their
midst, that they are willing to do this
much fairly and honestly TO obtain it.
If it be the pleasure of the Legislature
OF west Virginia to honor the people of
PaEkersburg with the capital, it would
| relieve the State so far as the expendi-
ture of money is concerned, for the cap
itol, for the next twenty-five years.
Seventy-tve Thousand dollars, if pro-
perly used, would construct a building
three or four times as large and commo-
dious as that now occupied for State
capital. This money could be used in
constructing one wing of the main capt.
tai; and if the building be properly de-
signed, when the State found itself re-
lieved from the other expenditures
which it is now obliged to make and
which it is anticipated it must make for
many years, it could go on and build
the whole building, and the whole
structure be as complete and perfect in
all its parts as if made at once. If
SIS, 600 would build one wing, if the
centre building took twice as much
the capitol would cost $500, 600, which
would erect very respectable capitol
building. Other things being equal, in
the situation in which the State now
finds itself-with high taxation, with
immense expenditures called for from
one quarter and anOther-SlSO 900 to put
the Hospital for the Insane in proper
condition. and to pay for the support OF
the patients at Williamsburg and
Staunton Va; $4,000 being called for
the penitentiary; various appropria-
tons being called for the Agricultural
College and for building up the waste
places OF the State, made so by the war;
to say nothing about meeting our Just
share of the public debt of Virginia, for
force itself on the attention of the peo-
ple-I think the offer made by the CITY
of Parkersburg is at least worthy of
consideration. In regard to the adjust
ment OF this debt with Virginia, know
it is generally said and hoped-and 1
hope among the rest-that in the adj
justment of thai matter the State will
have little or nothing to pay; but in
great matters like this we have been
woiully disappointed, and may be
again. If the result should be that we
have to assume "one-half or even one
have to put itself on the strictest econ
omy and husband its resources, if il did
not almost sink the State. Hence with
these considerations before us we put
our offer simply as 1t is, and would re-
specifically ask of this body a fair and
Just consideration. va
And when say, "other things being
equal" 1 mean, if Parkersburg is as
accessible as other parts of the State.
Accessibility, and not centra1fty, is the
question which should occupy the
minds of this body. A point may be
very central and yet ranges of noun
tain intervene, or unnavigable waters,
or a broken, rough and sterile country,
or a country destitute ofmeans of COM
munlcation or conveyance, may make
it inaccessible. The accessibility of a
point is determined by the lines of
travel that converge to or radiate from
it. In that particular, sir, we claim
that our city stands at least as fair as
any other portion OF the State. The
counties bordering on the Ohio river
send some seventeen delegates who can
reach Parkersburg by steamboat in one
day. The counties on the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad, together with those
on the Parkersburg branch, some six
teen in number can reach ParkerSburg
in one day-thirty-three delegates. The
counties which lie near or adjacent to
that road within four, five ,or six
hours ride of the road, with also six,
eight or ten delegates, can also reach
Parkersburg in one day-making, Mr..
Speaker, some forty-two delegates
only a majority of the delegates, but
absolutely two-thirdS, and very nearly
three fourths who could reach Parkers-
burg in one day. This is one consider
alton that we hope will weigh with the
members of this House.
We do not, however, Mr.. Chairman,
expect to perish at Parkersburg, if we
should not get the Capital. If ii be the
somewhere else, we expect to be salts
fed. He ra aa.l
Situated as our little city is, on the
Parkersburg branch, sixty-one miles
nearer-as Mr.. Garrett says in his last
address to the stockholders-sixty-
miles nearer than any other route from
Baltimore to Cincinnati; several more
miles nearer than any other route from
| Cincinnati to Washington, and will be
| one hundred and twenty miles nearer
| when the road from Point of Rocks to
| Washington is constructed, -situated
as that city rs at the junction of the
Little Kanawha and Ohio rivers-hav-
| ing the two great fertile valleys drained
| by those two rivers, as its commercial
base-with all these lines of trade and
| travel concentrating In it and pouring
| into it the wealth of so many different
regions, we do not hesitate TO say that
| our city will soon, if it does not already,
rival the first city in the State. We
expect to make The. Little Kanawha
river navigable for steamboats, 10 Brax-
| ton county. We expect to bring out
from that county the coal, the
lumber, the iron and the oil
and with these build up manufactures
land beautify our city. We would
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