The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1871-12-12
THE RAILROAD TO THE
NORTHWEST.
Reply to "W's" Article.


TOtho Editors Of the IntOlllgenCCr:
would not have troubled your readers
with further discussion OF the railroad
question, but for the article written by
Mr. stanton, and signed "W" in the In.
TELLIGENeER Of the 9Th. "There was SO
much Misrepresentation, and consequently
50 much misrepresentation in that com
munlcatlOn, that there seems to me to be
an imperative necessity for pointing out
and correcting some Of his Mistakes" Lot
1t be noted that IN nearly all OF his figures,
rs to population, &c,, he OverGstimatGd
his own and undereStimatGd the other
route. Since he started out to correct
mistakes 1t would have been better, even
asa policy, to have taken care to be cor.
rect himself
do not know certainly, but the dis.
lance at which he puts Mt Pleasant and
Smithfleld from the line Ot the llOpedale
road Is, i think, exaggerated. In any
event they arc several miles nearer this
than any other road, and will be, virtual.
ly, stations; each OF them being "lhe cen.
tre ola wealthy Quaker population doing
an active and ilourishing business,
one having 5G3 and tho other 5ld
inhabitants, and accessible respeC.
lively ut points on the rOad some
twelve and sixteen miles from here. We
next reach Hopedale, with u population
Of $50, or 1850 more than he estimates.
We then go to FairVIew,R village, am
told, of some 300 or 400 inhabitants,
where we cross the Panhandle some
twenty-five or thirty miles from Wheel
ing. OF the country from here TO there
the Governor says "Such line furnishes
very meagro facilities for local subscrip.
tons TO stock" Let lis sec. The town.
ships from here 10 the Panhandle, through
which the HopCdalG road runs, u distance
Of some twentysevcn miles, have pbpu.
htiOn Of 1474 TO say nothing Of Alt.
Pleasant township, near which II runs,
having population Of 1864; while the
townships from here to Freeport, thirty
eight miles, through which the Wheeling
creek rOAl runs, have n population Of
1875, making difference in tho matter
Of local trade, In favor Ut tho llOpodHlG
route, of $500 Inhabitants in less miles
by eleven.
This Is Did the Flushing route, which
town, by the census of 1850, had popu.
hliOn Of 325, while it now has POS,
having "llOurished' backwards ll0 In
twenty ycaIa We now, at II distance OF
some twenty-five miles from Wheeling,
have reached the first "tOwn, village,
or local centre Of trade" with
200 inhabitants. The next IL Free.
port, thirly.Gight miles from here,
which by the census Of 1850 had II
population Of 299, but which is ignored
entirely by the census Of 1870, The entire
township of Freeport has only ,0l5 inhab.
tants now, against I 900, twenty years ago,
from which we might infer that the town
Of FrecpOrt has moved 10 llOpedalG 10 get
the advantages of the excellent Normal
School there. We ArG told Of no other
towns on that route from here to Dcnni-
sOn-a distance of % miles.
II you go by the Athens route you have
that solitary "lOcal ccntrO Of trade" some
9j miles from here, with u population Of
3ji, (not 500 as stated by Mr.. 81 M in
crease of go persons In 90 years. AS lie
Seems to be handy with figures" Sub.
nit 10 him this problem :" II the. "busy
population Of New Athens gain 90 per.
sous in 20 years, what Is the exact gain Of
persons per year? This Is nearly US fair
rs the problem he puts. lie says the
mode OF arguing from tho ratio of increase
Of population Is deceptive and unsound."
freely submit that method to the judg.
mCnt OF any statistiCian, mathematician
or other intelligent person not interested
in making n special plea for client. II
we take lis other, the Harrisville route,
we have that town the first on the route
some 10 or 20 miles from here, with a
population Of 259 mot 800 as ClaimCd)
This town twenty years ago had a pop
ulaliOn Of 800 precisely, or forty.two
more than II now has. II 10, you sec,
growing small and, not beautifully, less.
Next we have Georgetown, which twenty
years ago had q population OF l53 mot
1901 AS the whole township has u less
population now than 1t had twenty years
ago, and as Georgetown has no place in
the census Of 1870, we might suppose
that its "llne water power" Oh that branch
OI Short Creek had washed It's inhabitants
further down the creek, where they may
be now doing well on, and subscribing
to, the uopedale route. But II George.
town, near the llead Of one branch, has
such fine water power" how much more
hugely immense must that power be on
the liopedale route, where that and all
the other branches Of Short Greek do
Conprepate TIE ddCt is that Harrison
county has now d population 2,234 less
than she had twenty yCars ago, and that
while tho townships IN that county, on
the Wheeling Creek route 10 Freeport
nave lost 1858 population in twenty years
the townshipsin tho same county on the
Ilopedale route hive gained 33s. 1t Is a
further fact worthy Of notice that While
Belmont county in twenty years has had
a gain in population of H. S7, the three
townships Ia that county mot including
pease) on the Wheeling Greek route have
Lost l9j. t
Another mistake Of Mr.. s. is in putting
The population Of Madison tho means
Massil0n) ut 10000, when the census o
1870, now before me, shows but ., 1856.
The HOpedale road crosses all the othel
roads mentioned in that article at les
distance from here, than does the Wheel
ing creek road, and whatever Is true o
the advantages Of these crossings by hi!
Ioad, is truer still of tho Hopcdale road
Whatever is true 81 the unsatisfactory eX
pertinent of contracting with railroad
companies, applies as well to his road III
Wheeling creek, of which he Is or was
proposed charter member, as 10 anyothe
road lie admits that the lIarrisvlll,
and CadiA route "shOws heavier grade
and longer tunnel than either Of tn
others" and now admit that in my las
article made q mistake In not adding II
my figuring on the Wheeling creek route
another tunnel Of 200 feet nj TippecnnOt
mentioncdby Mr. Blickensderfcr