Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1868-01-16
From the Wilmington Republican.
The Cincinnati, Wilmington g.
GAINESVILLE Railroad.

an auspicious moment for the region
through which the road runs. High
hopes were entertained that we too
should have a great through trunk
line over which the commerce OF
the last and West should pass for
all time. These hopes have not been
realized. Why?
The difficulty lies at the beginning,
The blunder was committed of com
mencing at Morrowtown instead OF
at Cincinnati. Here in a nutshell
is the failure of the Cincinnati, Will
mington q GAINESVILLE Railroad
Why so fatal policy was Inaugural
ted we will not now stop to discuss,
We are only dealing with facts as
they are. The province of. this ar
ticle is simply to allude to some of
the salient points in the history of
the Road from its beginning to the
present time.
The first management under its
original corporate officers, from
August, 1858, until March, 1857,
when it passed into the hands Of q
Receiver, was signal failure, view
ing it from a financial standpoint.
During the period of 3 7-12 years,
the books Of the Company show
the gross transportation and Incl
dental receipts to have been $472,-
$50 o. For the same period, the
operating transportation and Incl
dental expenses, were $492,50S 81 !;
showing an actual loss Of Sl9,6lS
II; or, in other words, the Road
under the first corporate manage
ment did not yield sufficient revenue
to pay its ordinary running expen-
ses by about $4,000. TO this de-
felt should be added the estimated
depreciation of the entire property
when it passed into the hands of
the Receiver, March 4th, 1857 This
estimate, as made at that time, was
1926, ,098 Is, making the total def
cheney and depreciation when its
control passed from the hands of
the original corporate officers to be
$245,716 95.
Whether this bad showing result
ed from mismanagement or from
fortuitous circumstances which the
old organization could not control,
we do not pretend to say. We on
ly deal with the facts in the case.
In July, 1856, Mr.. E. Gest first
became connected with the Road as
President and Superintendent. The
records Of the Company show the
Line to have been at that time in a
very critical condition; The road
bed in bad repair the rolling stock,
such as engines, cars, &c., rapidly
depreciating in efficiency; the cred
it Of the Road almost wholly de-
stroyed; employees engaged in
strikes for back pay; supply men
refusing to furnish supplies; trains
being levied on and stopped for wa
ges of shop,hands and others; an
actual deficiency in the Treasury
for operating expenses Of $4,000.
In fact, the condition of the Road
could not have been much worse,
without a total suspension of trains
and business along its entire line.
Mr. Gest, at once, with that prac-
tical eye, which is so marked a char
acteristic Of his in Railroad affairs,
saw that the resources of the Road
would not bridge the chasm. His
private funds and credit were adj
vanced to meet the then emergency,
and he continued to draw upon his
own resources until he had at one
time advanced the Company, Of his
own moneys and personal liabilities,
about $4,000 to lift it out Of its
embarrassment, so that its trains
might be kept moving, its credit re-
established with employees and sup |
ply men, and thus enable the citizens
along its line to move their produce
and merchandise to market, and IA
cilitate the travel and commerce Of
the people for whose benefit it was
constructed, For this aid and as
sistance at this very critical period
of the Roads history, Mr., Gest, in
our Judgment, has never received
that credit which is justly his due.
The general confusion into which
the affairs of the road had drifted |
prior to July 1856; the entire lack
of confidence in the ability of any
one to retrieve its condition; the
fact of its non-completion to the
city; the seizure by its creditors of
its fuel and other Indispensable sup
plies for daily use; and the insur-
mountable difficulty of handling a
property valued at seven million
dollars so as to restore its lost
credit, resulted in an amicable suit
by which it was transferred into the
hands of a Receiver, March 4th,
1857. Mr.. Gest was appointed to
that tiduciary office.
This measure was, no doubt, q
source of ofmortifcation to the stock
holders and people along the line.
1t was an indication that the prop
crty had commenced to pass from
their hands. But it was the least
of the evils that threatened the
Road, and therefore was acquiesced
in.
Right here we will stop to say
that the paramount interest to the
people living ON the line of the
Road, and dependent on it was, is