Wilmington daily commercial., 1874-07-02
FIRST EDITION.


A NEW POLICY THOUGHT To BE DEVELOP ING, WITH
| COMPETITIVE LINE BETWEEN WILMINGTON AND
| PHILADELPHIA Az ITS OBJECT.
The policy of the Reading Railroad Co., in its
purchase of tho old tracks of the Philadelphia,
Wilmington Il Baltimore Railroad, between
GrGy's Ferry and point short distance beyond
Chester, has not sufficiently developed, as yet,
to be understood by the public. Mr.. Gowan has
kept his own counAela in the matter, aud the real
object of the purchase III still locked within the
breasts of himself and his confidential advisers.
There are those, however,, who profess TO
believe that notwithstanding the seeming cor
diality and intimacy existing between the Pres-
dents of the p. W. IL B. and the Reading Com
panies ii is the intention of Mr.. Franklin Gowan
ut no very distant day, TO put in operation
II competitive line with Mr. Hinckley be-
tween this city and Philadelphia. Re-
| ceut developments have strengthened this be-
lief and when we consider what has lately been
done, all apparently in the interests of the
lieading Company, the supposition aboyealluded
TO docs not seem 80 very improbable, nOtwlt-
standing tile conditions upon which the pur-
| chase of the old tracks waa made 1t is under
| stood, and very generally believed, that the
Reading II. r. Co. is the owner OF the Chester
Il Delaware River II. r., short line which runs
southwardly along the Delaware shore from
| Chester and connects with the r. w. u B. II. II
near Thurlow. Although short, a large amount
of freight is transported over the road, and du-
ring the past week, as many az 1862 passengers
were conveyed between the two terminii.
On Tuesday evening last, the Hon. Judge
Broomall resigned the Presidency of the Ches-
ter Il Delaware Il. II. at special meeting OF the
directors, aud William Ward, Esq, was elected
| TO the vacancy. There is nothing very sugges-
tive in this, but at this same meeting the Direc-
tors adopted resolution instrncting the officers
of the company to construct a "branch and feed
err" which shall connect with the Philadelphia,
| Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad mt or near
| the Delaware State line, and passing through or
near the village Of Marcus HooE.
| We are further credibly informed that very
recently the surveyors OF the Reading r. II. Co,
have been surveying route southwardly from
Marcns Hook to this city, the line passing North
of the 7. w. Il b. tracks and entering the city
in Brandywne village, crossing the Brundywine
somewhere in the neighborhood of the Will
mington u Brandywine Cemetery. Our inform
ant represents to ua that he was in conversation
with the surveyors. who stated to him that their
objective point was New Castle, and they were
seeking to ascertain the practicabiity of q route
on the north side of the city.
| An additional Significance attaches to these
movements IL the fact that the Reading II. H.
Co. IL now, and has been for some time past
running to this city from Philadelphia spe-
| cial Car attached to the r. W. X B. trains 80 az
to make some kind of an opposition to the W. Il
w. H. II. Co. THIS would seem to denote q de-
sire in tho lieading Co. to extend its trade to
this city aud since it ~ 30 unrelenting ini is
war upon the w. II II. and Berks County roads
1t may be that this supposed new route is in
tended to afford better means OF warfare than it
now possesses with the aid of the p. w. u Is.
Co. II the Reading Co. can maintain the stand
which it has lately tax IN in establishment of
rates of tariff, it can, with its own line from
Philadelphia, create n monopoly III the coal
trade OF both the Lchigh and Schuylkill regions.