The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1872-01-31

road-Reply to A. B.-SOme Inter
estinE Developments.
Editors Of the Register.l
cannot see why a quarrel with the
Wheeling and Lake Erie road is &c
necessary to the birth Of the bantlipg
| from here to Dennison, and there was
nothing in my article of Monday to
provoke the ambitious effort at q
quarrel of A. B., in the REGISTER Of
Tuesday. Why may not each road
stand or fall upon its own merits9 Is
the death Of either necessary to the life
of the other? So the gentleman seems
to think, and seems willing at the
sacrifice of that which he knows to be
truth, to kill the Wheeling and Lake
Erie road, and thus hasten the birth oil
the Wheeling and Tuscarawas Valley
offspring. or switch Of the Lake Shore
and Tuscarawas Valley road. But
since he has again invited and provoked
a comparison, he can have it, and it fur
nishes an occasion for telling the people
of Wheeling a few things about this
Lake Shore scheme which they perhaps
never knew, but which they ought to
know before investing their money. In
answer to all his arguments against the
Wheeling and Lake Erie road, let your
readers remember and reflect that A. B.
Gf l guess the man right was, until
less than three months ago, a warm and
Jealous advocate Of that road, tunnels,
triangles, parallelograms, talking dis
lance, no prorate and all-that he re-
garded it as OF Unreasonable benefit to
our city, as opening up a desirable
country and furnishing to our city a
most direct outlet to Sandusky, Toledo
and the Northwest and let them
remember that he has ever since
professsd to be it's friend, and abandoned
| it only for the ostensible reason that not
enough money could be had along the
line to assure the building.
Denying his reckless estimates as to
length and cost OF tunnel, ask what
does it matter to Wheeling if his esti-
mates be true, if with her $500, 900,
money enough can be procured else
where to build the road2
He is ignorant himself, or assumes
your readers are ignorant, when he
pronounces the Valley railway from
Cleveland to Bowsrstown "a myth"
and it does seem to me like the boldest
impudence to assume so much for his
own road, which has not yet one dollar
subscribed, and talk about another
being "a myth" which in the town OF
Akron alone, on the first day its books
were opened, January 18th, received a
subscription of over Sal 900, and which
has for one of its projectors an earnest
worker, James Farmer, of Cleveland,
one OF the shrewdest and foremost rail,
road men of Ohio.
AS to my misrepresentation OF dis
tances, why does he not tell his readers
wherein I have erred and tell them
what the truth is, if he knows himself.
l affirm that my distances are approx
mately correct and cannot be changed
as politicians do, by affirming that as
false, which they know to be true.
Now as to his road: Bllckensderfer
survey shows 6600 feet Of tunnels and
eighteen bridges on Wheeling creek. II
has always been conceded most diff
cult route for road. five take Dickens
der,er's estimates, it is safe to conclude
that the building and equipment from
here to Dennison will cost 100000 pei
mile, or $3,120,000. 1t is proposed to
incur this large Indebtedness on q
capital stock OF from five to seven hun
bred thousand dollars, Of which the
citizens and city Of Wheeling are ex
pected to furnish 100000. This is the
financial plan of his road. 1t will be q
sorry day to our citizens and city and
eyerv other stakeholder when they
subscribe to a road with so small q
ca pital and go large debt.
Bv the laws of Ohio, subscribers to
railroads are liable for double the
amount of their subscription-for every
dollar subscribed they are held liable
for two dollars to pay debts-and
regard this whole thing as but a scheme
OF a very small ring OF the Lake Shore
and Tuscarawas Valley railroad to take
from our citizens and city millions o.
dollars for the half million which they
ask them to subscribe.
But, say these gentlemen Of the Lake
Shore and Tuscarawas Valley road, we
will guarantee your bonds. Suppose
they do, and have them to pay, and one
of their ring holds the bonds, dom
everybody know that the maker of the
bonds is liable to his gusrantor, and
that the stockholders will be assessed to
pay them2 And thus Streator, Cham
berlaiu & Co. will get our million dollar:
and thus mpoverish US, control the road
and enrich themselves by building up 6
city at the mouth of Black river, or
their lands, and developing their Chip
pewa coal mines north of Massilon.
What is the character Of this Lake
Shore and Tuscarawas Valley road, il
which some of our very worthy citizens
have 90 much confidence aud abou
which some others make 30 much fuss.
Ifeel it to be my duty to say that
believe it to be the most stupendous
cheat and fraud that ever appealed te
the credulity and confidence of oul
people, l am advised by gentlemen
living along the line Of the road that II
has subscribed capital stock OF LEST
than 100000, and that its construc
ton is contracted to one Of Its number
for $34,4l3 per mile, making a con
s.ruction debt of three million one hun
dred and si.rty:fus thousand nine hundred
,,inrt,t-sir dollars for its ninety.tHo mile!