The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1871-12-12
THE RAILROAD TO THE NOBTH-
WEST.
Reply to Gov. stanton's "W." Arti-
Gle.


Gle.
Editors OF the Register.
l would not have troubled your
readers with further discussion OF the
railroad question, but for the article
written by Mr.. Stanton and signed
wv" in the Intelligencer Of the Sth'
There was 80 much misapprehension,
and consequently so much misrepre-
sentation in that communication, that
there seems to me to be an imperative
necessity for pointing out and correcting
come OF his mistakes"
Let it be noted that in nearly all Of
his figures, as to population, &c, he
overestimated his own, and under.
estimated the other route. Since he
started out to correct mistakes, it would
have been better, even as policy, to
have taken care to be correct himself.
do not know certainly, but the dis
tance at which he put. MI. Pleasant
and Smitbield from the line of the
Hopedale road, is, think, exaggerated.
In any event they are several miles
nearer this than any other
road, and will be virtually stations,
each OF them being "the centre
Of a worthy Quaker population doing
an active and fourisbing business" one
having 563 and the other SIS inhab
itanta, and accessible at points on
the road some l2 aud l6 miles from
here. We next reach Hopedale, with a
population Of $50, or l59 more than he
estimates. We then 60 to Fairview, a
village. am told, Of some 300 or 4OC
inhabitants. We now cross the Pan
handle some 25 or 80 miles from
Wheeling. OF the country from here
to there the Governor says: such a
line furnishes very meagre facilities fol
local subscriptions to stock. Let US
ace. The townships from here to the
Panhandle through which the Hope
dale read runs, q distance Of some q
miles, have q population of l4.14i
while the townships from here to Free
port 3S miles, through which the
Wheeling creek road runs, have a pop
ulation OF 1875. making a difference
| in the matter OF local trade in favor o
the Hopedale route Of 1869 inhahit
ants in less miles by ii. This is via
the Flushing route, which town by the
census Of 1850 had population OF 325
while it now has 2O6. having -four
ished' backwards ll9 in twenty years,
We now. at distance OF some 25 miles
from Wheeling. have reached the frs
"town, village or local centre Of trade,
with 206 inhabitants. The next ii
Freeport, 3S miles from here. which by
the census Of 1850 had a population o
29S, but which is ignored entirely BY
the census OF 1870. The entir'
township OF Freeport has opl.
l0l5 inhabitants now, against l22C
twenty years ago, from which
We might infer that the whole town o
Freeport has moved to Hopedale TO &c
the advantages OF the excellent Norma
School there. We are told OF no othel
towns on that route from here to Den
nisou, . distance OF So miles. Ii yo'
70 by the Athens route, you have tha
solitary local centre of trade, some 2
miles from here, with population o
asa persons (not 500 as stated By Mr.. s.
an increase Of q persons in twent.
years. As my friend seems to be .
handy with figures" nov submit +
him this problem" II the busy popu
lati9n" Of New Atheps gain % persons i
tWenty years, What is the exact gain pc
! year Of persous3 This IL nearly 40 fai