Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1871-03-07
What We owe the A9ueduct Toll.
bridge COmpauv.

Late OF Friday night IL was noticed hat Ger.
tain parties interested in the aqueduct toll
bridge were hanging about the Senate Hobbies
and little later the obi ect OF their mission was
develop ed when Senator Sawyer, of North Car
Dina, moved to strike out the appropriation
that had passed the House, and aI-o the Senate
Committee Oh Appropriations. of so. 900 to re
build the wooden bridge at Little Falls In sup
PORT Of his motion, MIR. Sawyer made the as
tonishing statement that ''the bridge accom-
Inecates nobody bat two or three milk farmers;
the people of that place can get into the city of
Washington by the Long Bridge, and there is
no more reason for building il than there Is for
building up a bridge at Hdvre-de-Grace; nor
half so much" wheTeupOn ''the amendment
was agreed to- That Is 10 say the aPprOPris-
ticn was stricken ont.
Senator Sawyer would DO well hereafter to
get his information from more reliable or les
interested sources. The Chain Bridge, inste al
of accommodating "only two or three milk
farmers" has been the mode OF access for most
of the stock, and a large portion of the country
produce that reaches Washington.
The following figures give the travel over the
Chain Bridge for the year endir 6 July I, 1911
Horses and riders, 81, 1875; horses and wagons,
s. i00; cattle, p $50; hogs. 500; sheep, rs
When IL is remembered that by preventing the
repair of the Chain Bridge all this travel will
he diverted to the Aqueduct (toIl) Bridge, it
will be readily seen that the toll bridge COM
Iany had sufficient motive for misleading Sem
atoT Sawyer into the statement that the Chain
Bridge is used by only three or four milk
farmers. and that the travel across it could be
accommodated az the Long Bridget dozen
miles below.
They knew, though Senator SAWYER did not,
that the travel across the Chain Bridge could
~
circumtendibus o. the Long Bridge, but must
cross at the Aqueduct Bridge, and must pay the
enormOns tolls levied by that company. Does
Senator Sawyer know what those tolls areP We
will tell him, though all hereabouts who have
occasion to cross the bridge know to their cost
They are as follows:
Every two-horse wagon, 25 cents each way, or
80 cents the trip TO market. Eyerv fOur-hor
wagon, II the round trip. Cattle, cents each;
foot passengers, 2 cents each. Horse and rider
3 cents each way.
Every wagon load of vegetables that comes
TO Washington across the aqueduct bridge las
10 pGy a 20 tar IF ha.fa dollar Cattle, sheep
and hogs coming to our market are taxed in the
same proportion. Now, who pays this? Not
the farmer or the drover. The consumers in
Washington pay II; and il Is some satisfaction
10 feel that Senator Sawyer and other Senators
Who were humbugged by the tOiIbridge COM
{any will be blistered with the rest of Us. The
whole transaction simply serves to illus
trate the manner in which the inter
e>ts OF this community are injured by
the various turnpike and bridge monopo!ies
that are squatted on all the main lines of access
TO the city. Congress has now put Us in the
way OF throwing OF the turnpike incubus on
the Maryland side, and il is about time some
relief was obtained from the kindred nuLsances
south and west OF the city, especially when, as
in the case Of the To.l-Bridge Company. they
have the rapaoity TO undertake 70 cripple the
only free bridge across the Potomac from Har-
ItI's L cry to Washington.