The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1872-05-22
Concerning. the Construction Con-
tract OF the W. & L. e. Railway

"eSttFTN AAAtNt ~ AOsS'
Concerning. the Construction Con-
tract Of the W. & L. e. Railway
Company.
Among the features Of the proposition
pending in this city to vote 100000 to
the organization styled the Wheeling s.
Lake Erie Railroad Company worthy Of
specific mention, Is the peculiar method
adopted in the matter Of a contract, I'm.
less the building of railroads is an excep.
ton to all ordinary business methods, the
cart has been placed before the horse.
The first thing done after an organization
had been effected, was the making OF a
contract with New York financlers, be.
fore either party had surveyed or recon.
noltered the contemplated route, at a
definite price per mile for tho building
and equipment Of the road. This was
done, too, when but q few thousand dol
lars-barely enough to authorize an Or
gani1l tlon-had been subscribed. Now
see the effect Of such acourse. II theroad
Is built there are two parties who will be
affected by this contract; one the con-
tractor, the other the company. The
company will be composed Of those
who subscribe the 100000 stock
required to DO raised along the line and
who will be responsible to the credi-
tors of the company for double that
sum, under the OHIO law. Yet this
contract has been made by those repre-
senting not perhaps $4,000 of all that
stock-certainly not 100000 Of 1t. The
other $1,OQO,OOO Is asked to come into the
company, TO become subject to. the con.
ditions and obligations Of q contract made
for them in advance by this 100000,
with no power to alter or revise it in the
slightest particular. This is certainly
very different from the methods business
men apply to their private affairs. The
company, its friends confess, is yet mere
skeleton. The actual, bona fide sub.
scriptions up to this time are very incon.
siderable-so small that the officers Of the
company are unwilling to publish state
ment of them. Some persons have prom
ised subscriptions by Sandusky, Milan,
Norwalk and few Aher towns. These
may be voted and may not-a two.thirds
vote being required in each case.
Now, why should the contract for
building this road be let out before any Of
the capital was raised to build itP Why
should a contract be fastened on com.
pany before the company was made up?
Why should $4,000, $4,000, or 100000
make contract to bind twenty times
that much capital without consulting it?
Yet this has been done, and the people
who have the nineteen hundred thousand
dollars are invited to put it into the con-
troll of those who, having but twentieth
as much, have in advance made all tho
agreements and conditions under which
the whole is to be expended.
Yet even this is not the worst feature OF
the proposition. Our people are not
even allowed to see this contract to
which they are invited to become party.
We are told that at the proper time it will
be submitted to the city solicitor. Posi-
bly, there are some who would not be
content to see it through that medium.
Butifthey~ere, that may be too late. The
vote of the citizen may depend on the
character Of the contract, and he may
prefer to know for himself what it is be.
fore he votes whether or not he will
assume its obligations. There does not
seem to be avalid reason why the voters
of the city should not have the document
before them in all its details before cleo.
ton, SO that there may be opportunity to
scan and criticise 1t. In the matter Of
the negotiations and contract between
this county and the Pittsburgh, Cincin.
natl & st, Louis Railway Company
for the completion and equipment of
the Pittsburgh, Wheeling s. Kentucky
railroad, there was no concealment. And
so particular were our people about the
conditions that Colonel ScoTT's first
proposition was rejected because it was
feared that under 1t the road might be
"gobbled up" Here is contract under
which, so far as its provisions arc made
known, the contractor will have half the
stock and all the first mortgage bonds
when the work is done. He needs only
to buy few dollars Of the local stock 10
give him entire control, and could take
the whole road by a foreclosure II the
interest was not promptly paid on the
bonds. Yet oil the other conditions O,
the contract are unknown. 1t may be n
very innocent document, and then again
1t may not. We know, however, that 1t
requires the payment Of a'specifc sum
per mile. We do not know whether that
may or may not amount to q hall mil.
lion or million more than the
road could be built for, there
being no survey or engineers
Misunderstanding in short but guess
work. Then It proposed To saddle the
road with $4,000 mile more mortgage
to raise money to help the bridge, and
$1,000 annie more to make themachinery.
run smooth. Being invited to come into
an arrangement where there are so MANY
chances against US that the subscription Of
this CITY might be lost from failure 10 nav,