The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1872-05-20
From the Sunday News.
The RaillO Dad and the Bridge.

weeks until the lst of June, the day on
which the vote on the railroad SUBJ
scription is to be taken, there has been
good deal of Town Talk upon the
subject during the past ten days. The
daily newspapers have had much to
say upon the subject and divers and
sundry correspondents of the daily
press have ventilated divers and sundry
views. As nearly as can now be stated,
the facts in relation to the matter are
these:
To supply the long felt and often
expressed desire for direct railroad
connection between this city and the
Northwest, a company has been char
tered under the laws Of Ohio to build a
railroad from q point below Martin s
Ferry to Sandusky and Toledo. A
sufficient amount of the capital stock
having been paid in, the company has
been regularly organized by the election
Of q President and Board Of Directors,
Mr.. Joel Wood, of Martins Ferry, be-
ing President, and Mr.. Joseph Bell, o.
] this city, a member Of the Board. Three
or four months ago the President and sew
eral Of the D rectors went to New York
| and there executed a. contract with
Messrs II. B. Wilson & Company, a
firm that has had much experience in
financial and railroad business, for the
construction and equipment of the road
The principal provisions ofthe contract
are that the contractors are to receive
$4,000 per mile in cash, $4,000 in
stock OF the road at par, and $4,000 in
first mortgage bonds, making in all
So 600 per mile As guarantee o.
their good faith and to secure the COM
pany against loss by the abandonment
of the work before 1t is completed, the
contractors are first to build twenty
miles Of the road at their own expense
before calling upon the company for
funds. After this is done the money
and the bonds are to be placed in the
hands of trustees appointed for that
purpose, and, at the close of each
month, one halfof the months expendi
ture Is to lie paid over to the contract
ors. By this means one-half the total
cost of the road will be kept in the
hands of the company until the whole
work is completed and the road equip
ped according to contract.
A survey Of the route as far as San
duskv, l6l miles, has been made. 1t
passes through an exceedingly fertile
lection OF country large portion OF
which is accommodated by no other
railroad, and develops some very i'm
portant beds of coal and iron ore.
The next thing to be done was to
raise by local subscription along the
route the $4,000 per mile which is to
be rullv made up before the work he
gins. Until recently the laws OF Ohio
did not authorize municipal subscrlp-
lions and it was expected that the
greater portion of the 'undS would have
to be raised from private capital. A
great many subscriptions of this kind
were made, and now, in accordance with
law recently passed, a number OF
towns and towrsh ps in Ohio San
dusky, Milan, No walk, and others;
have pledged sufficient sums to make
up the whole amount, less about $500
600 which the city of Wheeling Is
asked to subscribe.
Last winter the City Council obtained
the passage Of an act Of the Legislature
authorizing them, if approved by
three.fitths vote OF the people. TO sub
scribe 100000 to the Wheeling and
Lake Erie road, upon co di ion that 1t
would make rs terminus and loo ate its
depot and other buildings on the east
side Of the Ohio river. 10 enable the
road to comply with this condition
railroad bridge is necessary. The bridge
mas been for years the great want that
prevented the city from enjoying the
railroad facilities that are so important
to it, growth. Accordingly another and
Independent company Of our citizens
was formed tor the building of a br dge.
4 survey was made by Mr. Linton, the
engineer Of the Cleveland and Pitts
] hursh railroad, and the bridge was es-
timated to cost about 81, OOo,OOO.
The next question was how to raise
his money. The plan agreed upon is
this: If the CITY will take S3OO,O0O
stock in the bridge, the Directors of the
Wheeling and Lake Erie railroad VIII
ssue $1,000 per mile more of their own
bonds than hey had orr ginalIy contem,
plated, and devote the proceeds, about
S40O, 0OO.to the purchase OF bridge stock.
In this wav 100000 will have been Sc
cured, and the bridge company can then
easily borrow the remainder Of the
money necessary to complete the work.
In addition 10 the funds specified above
the Board OF Supervisors proposes, il
approved by the people OF Ohio county,
to take $4,000 stock in the bridge.
and it is also probable that the Cleve
land and Pittsburgh railroad will aid
in its construction.
The above is in brief history Of the
two enterprises now before the people.
| On the LIST of June vote is to be taken
to determine whether the two subscrlp-
tons, 100000 to the Wheeling and
Lake Erie road and 100000 to the
bridge, shall be made. The two prop
ositions are inseparable. 1t the railroad
subscription is ordered and the bridge
defeated. the former will be of no avail,
because the road must come to this side
of the river in order to receive our aid
If the bridge subscription is ordered
! and the railroad defeated nothing can