The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1872-05-10
From Yesterdays Intellfgencer.l
Railroad Inquiries Answered.

from eSteIudy slhVSiAASohSSi'I
Railroad Inquiries Answered.
To the Editors Of the Intelligencer.l
see by your Issue of the 9th inst,
that a Railroad Man" wants to know
something about railroads, and asks
"some of the knowing ones to answer
some queries Although not a know
ing one, will attempt to answer some
OF them, for one need not be very know
ing to do that.
In the first place, as to guarantees te
Wheeling: She has representatives II
Council who may be depended on fol
some degree of care in making the sub
scriptions which may be authorized on
the first day Of June. Some may pre-
fer that all guarantees and conditions
should be expressed in the ordinance
directing the election, but moments
rhection will show that such a course
would be as injudicious as it is unusual
If subscription should be authorized
under such an ordinance the Council
would be unable to make any, even the
smallest, change in the conditions with
out again submitting the matter to q
popular election. Yet changes might
bv force of circumstances become de-
sirable. The legislative act author
izing this election and subscription
places the discretion as to guarantees
in the Council. 1t authorizes the
Council to subscribe on such terms as
they may deem advisable" and submits
to the people the bare question
whether they will authorize the sub
scri ption.
In the next place, by the terms OF the
subscription books, none OF the local
subscriptions to the Wheeling and Lake
Erie Railroad Company are collect
able until stock to the amount Of 500
00O per mile is provided for. Until
then not a cent OF it can be
touched, even for the daily expenses OF
those who are working for the road.
The Wheeling subscription stands
like all others in this respect. When
that $4,000 is provided for, the con-
struction of the road is assured. This
contract itself guards the stockholders.
1t provides that not dollar Of the To-
cal subscriptions shall be called for
from the trustees until twenty miles of
the road are graded and tied and the
bridges and masonry are thereof CONS
pleted, and thereafter only 80 per cent
Of the engineers estimates of the cost
shall be called until the line is com
pleted. No part of the cash, stock or
bonds goes directly to the contractors
1t all goes TO trustees, who pay 1t out
upon engineers estimates as the work
progresses.
Wheeling, therefore, has as guaran-
tees that the balance of the cost OF the
road will be raised before her money Is
paid; first, the good sense OF her Coun-
Gil; second the construction contract;
third the terms of subscri ption books.
The estimated and agreed cost OF the
road and equipment is $50, 900 per mile,
to be paid $4,000 local subscriptions
in cash, $4,000 in stock in no wise
preferable and 1000 in bonds.
The officers of the railroad are pre-
pared to satisfy Council that subscrip'
ton of 100000 from Wheeling will
enable them to complete the $4,000 a
mile by the time Wheelings sub
scription is available and before its
payment is asked. Whichever end OF
the road her Council may choose and
it is likely they will choose this end.
Next queries of the Railroad Man
are evidently inspired by desire to
injure the road, rather than to learn
how TO "vote inteligently." And they
seem to betray the intention of all the
other queries Here they are:
Where will the road enter Wheel
ing, where will the depot be, by what
route, from the eastern end of the bridge
will the depot be reached, and why is
the road not obligated by the bill to
erect the shops in Wheeling?'
OF course nobody can answer these
questions with any certainty now.
The present question is whether Wheel
ing will get the road at all. After that
is settled in the affirmative come the
queries above quoted. To be sure
these things have been somewhat con-
sidered and, any one really anxious
to vote intelligently would have long
since found out in public meetings and
the newspapers. When a "Railroad
Man" or any other man ostentatiously
airs his ignorance Of things that are
known to every one and things that
cannot be known to any one, he means
to make make wise insinuations against
something which Re fears to attack
directly.
The Legislature says that the road
shall come to the east side of the east
channel of the Ohio river. The Coun-
Gil took care in granting depot grounds
to the Pittsburgh, Wheeling, and Ken
lucky railroad, to provide that they
might be used by other railroads. The
Wheeling and Lake Erie contemplate.
availing itself of that provision. Now
il some Railroad Man" will say where
the eastern end of the bridge will be, a
route will be found from it to the depot
Until he does say so the best guess we
can make is that according to Mr..
Linton's survey, the bridge will bring
the railroad to West street, whence by
a descending grade it would strike the
Pittsburgh, Wheeling, and Kentucky
track about the Suspension bridge.
The act Incorporating the Bridge
Company requires the bridge to be con
structed from some point in the city oil
Wheeling, authorizes the company to
locate and branch over any street or
alley OF the city, as may be seen in the
MtelKgsncer OF March 6.
As | intimated before, all these things
are matters of negotiation which cannot
in the nature of things, be carried on
| by means of q series of popular cleo