Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1873-09-27
Railroad Matters.

Boss CASTLE has just finished up the station
buildings at Fowler and Kinsman and trans
lerred his energies and working force to Cole
burg for putting up another there.
The Canada Southern Railroad Company
have been obliged to cancel all their contracts
and discharge many of their employees, being
crippled by the complications in tue affairs of
Daniel Drew, who is heavy stakeholder.
Work has been begun on the east side of
the creek and Contractor M'Kenzie has put
several teams and shovelers to work in re-
moving portion of the fill on the creek front
along by the station house, preparatory to
ile-driving and excavations. Chief VIII.
LIAMs was ON the grounds on Wednesday last,
in company with assistant HEPBURN. AS the
pile-d driver is on the ground awaiting orders,
the music Of its cldcnccs will no doubt soon
be heard. When the work on both sides of
the creek shall be in full blast with their pile
drivers, and the three several drcdges employ
ed as they are in deepening and widening the
creek aud increasing the commercial facilities
OF the harb0r, together with the several steam
cranes in operation, taking out the curgocs of
the frequently arriving ore vessels, there will
b. busy state of things about that poiut.
We are glad to see that the work of gravel
ing the Harbor avenue has been begun, and IL
liberal coating from the Fisk 81 lman & Co.'S
pit on the corner at the ridge crossing, is being
put upon one OF the worst parts of the road
near the culver., little this side OF the new
railraod bridge. With no more browning up
of the road, u large amount OF ballasting will
bc found necessary To put it in the proper
shape for throwing off the water, and giving
even tolerably dry track. That part of the
road between the village and the L, 5. sta-
ton has been served with fair coating OF
gravel, but attention seems very important du-
ring its settling, TO even it up and prevent the
formation of pitch holes. We are also glad c
see that Dea. Hubert has taken hold of the
work on the township portion, near the har-
Dor, and the culverls of the decliviy, thai
had become almost dangerous to cross, have
been mended up, and that low, wet stretch
along in front of Hubbard & Co.'s store, has
been rounded up and overlaid with lake sand
and gravel. The travelling public will be duly
grateful tor these Improvements. The road tc
the harbor, on the east side, has had scarcel,
anything done To ii yet and no one that has
been oyer it of late, has failed to see the neces
sity for considerable lnkering. Most of til,
work that has been done by The township su
pervisors has been done since the advent o
September, again raising the question of th
policy of working our highways in the tall
just at The time when we have reason to ex
pect the fall rains Our county commissioners
or some other competent authority-if tht
people do not rise and demand twill see The
necessity Of instiluiing reform In this matter
A more waseful and slp-shod system, thar
the one now in practice could hardly be de
vsed. The road-tax, as now generally ex
pended, nigh. nearly ms well be left unmo
Tested in the peoples pockets. II the money
was all collected in cash and the work con
tracled out to such persons as were not en-
crossed in other business, and the labor of thu
season begun in the early part of summer and
not only done Up and left 10 take care of itself
hut such supervision and care over the roads
secured, as will keep them in order, and leav,
them in the best possible condition IN the iall
the system would be freed from many OF III
Objectionable features.