The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1871-11-14
The wheeling and Lake Erie Rail-
road Project.
From the Sandusky Register.l

From the sandusky Register.l
For two days Messrs. F. G. Lock-
wood, Of Milan, and A. B. Paul, of
Hopedale, have been in our city, talking
with our citizens concerning the pro-
posed building Of a railroad from
Wheeling, West Virginia, to some
point on Lake Erie. The charter Of the
Wheeling and Lake Erie railroad COM
pany provides for the building Of
railroad from Wheeling, passing
through the counties of Belm ont, jeff
erson, Harrison. Tuscarawas, Carroll,
Stark, Wayne, Ashland, Medina,
Huron, Erie, Sandusky, Ottawa and
Lucas, to the city OF Toledo. The
proposed line will pass through Fair
view, on the Panhandle road, Zoa, on
the Tuscarawas branch of the Cleveland
and Pittsburgh road, Navarro, on the
Ohio canal, Wooster, on the Pittsburgh,
Fort Wayne and Chicago road, New
London, on the Cleveland and Colum-
bus, Norwalk, on the Lake Shore, and
Milan, making this city the terminus
of the road. The distance by this line
is short of one hundred and fifty miles.
BY it this city will be within eighty-fve
miles of rich coal fields, the southern
half being underlaid with vast beds of
coal of the best quality for manniactur-
ing purposes and for fuel. The advant-
ages Of such a road to this city are 80
manifest that no intelligent man needs
to be informed on that point. 1t is
enough that it would place US in close
connection with rich portion of the
State now in great part cut of from
connection with the lake, give us coal
at from two fifty to three dollars per
ton, and put us on par with Cleveland
and far ahead of Toledo as a manufac.
turing point. This city can afford to
give the right of way, reasonable dock
room, and from 500, 900 to 500, 900 to
aid in securing this thoroughfare. In.
deed, we cannot afford to let this oppor-
tunity pass ofreceiving cheaper coal and
more intimate connection with the live
towns and villages along the proposed
route. To say nothing of any further
advantage, is worth an outlay by the
city of fifty thousand dollars to place us
in railroad connection with the village
of Milan, the center of the richest por-
ton of our own country. We confess to
serious misgivings as 10 the result of the
present effort to arouse our capitalists,
and the question arises how many Of the
wealthy men ofthis city, men who own
the unimproved lands in and about our
corporate limits, men whose whole in
terest is dependent upon the continu-
ance of our prosperity will subscribe
their money to this enterprise. We
could mention dozen men OF our city
who ought in justice to themselves and
to the people, out Of whom they have
made their fortunes, to give their ten
thousand dollars each to this en-
terprise. For twenty years we have
been taking our ease and hold
ing fast to our means, while Toledo
on the west and Cleveland on The
east have built railroads, and advanced
thereby to wealth and population, num-
bering five and ten times our own. All
this they have done in spite OF natural
drawbacks and without tithe OF the
natural advantages possessed by this
city Let US wake up in time to take
fresh start before another census finds
us the twentieth instead OF the sixth
city OF Ohio. The future Of our city is
bright if we but make the effort made
by the people of rival cities. Give us
this Wheeling road, the completion OF
the Straitsville road, good system OF
waterworks and sewerage, and 1880 will
return Ssndusky with thirty to forty
thousand inhabitants.
If the amount asked for by the direc-
tors OF this company cannot be raised
among our men OF wealth, let US appeal
to the Legislature to grant us the power
to levy a tax of two hundred thousand
dollars to be subscribed to the stock OF
the road, as soon as certain guarantees
are forthcoming that the road shall he
built with this city as its lake terminus.
We do not fear a public debt upon
our city of million dollars. Ten years
OF prosperity will wipe it out and leave
us in far better shape than we are now.
Will our citizens move in this matter
and that quickly.