The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1874-11-19
LETTER FROM PARKERsBURG.
A General Dissertation on Matters
Connected With the Place.

PARKERsBURo, Nov. IL, 1874.
Editors OF the Register:
Parkersburg is peculiar place. 1t is
made up Of rings, relations and connec-
tions. Everybody is akin to somebody
else. There is the jackson family, that
has the Court House and office; the
Cook family that does the voting; the
Neal family that owns the Real Estate;
the Boreman Ring, that got the United
States Postal or Custom House Building
located in the mud, adjacent to where
all the family own land; and last but
not least, the Camden family,
that run the oil business. Here is a rea-
son why there is no chance for real estate
improvement in this city. The land is
all inherited. 1t cannot be purchased,
even at fabulous sums; hence the old
residenters have the house erecting busi-
ness in their own hands, and the outsider
who wishes to purchase property, bare
lands, and pay the figures charged for it,
then build, would be utterly unable
to compete with the ancient heirs,
who only pay taxes, erect cheap tenc-
ments, and can afford to rent at rates
that would drive to the wall any pur-
chaser desiring to erect new and COM
modious structures at cheap rates.
THE CUSTOM HOUSE.
Architect Mulett is expected every day,
in fact anxiously looked for. The wall
on one side has been out of plumb for
three months, some seven inches, and
every effort was made to push it up.
If the elections had gone Repub-
lican the wall would have been
voted plumb; but when the glorious news
came the Republican contractors and
bondsmen took fright and thought best to
confess judgment, acknowledge the corn
and call on Architect Mullett to decide
the question. 1t was II genuine ground
swell of Democratic success. The wall
will undoubtedly have to come down,
and again be erected according to con-
tract, not put up any by Republican
workmen to be reviewed and passed upon
by Republican inspectors. 1t is the SEN
sation of the week. The workmen have
al quit, and stagnation rules at the GUS
tom house building.
SHORT HORSE SOON CURRIED.
Gov. Stevenson in very vague edito-
rial replete with generalitics but destitute
of those stubborn fellows facts, in this
weeks issue of the State Journal. declares
the statement of ours in late letter to
be overdrawn, and counsels the shiverin@
poor of the city that there is plenty OF
work for the willing hands of them that
will work. A few facts; Near the levee
is S. T. Horns carriage factory, which the
Parkersburg directory states employs %
hands. To-day Mr.. Horn has no one at
work. In the spring he employed
thirty hands. to our own personal knowi-
edge. The O'Bricn brothers employed
in the spring about 30 hands, II year ago
80, to-day not any. Parkersburg has tw"
Touring mills, one only running, the
other is for sale, and has been virtually
idle all summer. Out OF the oil refnerlcS
reported only two are to-day running,
and oil refined can be purchased for So.oo
per barrel or IL cents per gallon. w hat
| i'm, become of all the employees about
these rcfnerics and manufactures? Gov.
Stevenson says there is plenty work If
they are only willing to do it. What
kind of work, we should like to know.
ANOTHER NUT To CRACK.
The citizens of Parkersburg do not
want manufacturers, do not encourage
them. and are the very first to press to
the wall those engaging in them. Only
a few wears since General jackson drove
of the rolling mills, and threatened law
suits with two sons Judges and third
prosecuting attorney if they were
| located here. They were given
Land elsewhere and did not stop.
see how they will suffer. And
here is another flea we would insert in
the Governors ear. Did it ever occur to
the Governor that city has no right t"
| issue bonds to individuals or copartners
to carry on any branch of business. Inc
bopds that the city of ParkersburS mas
nIedred her credit to pay and which the
| OBrien brothers negotiated, are worth
lust about as much as the paper they are
written on if there Is n
tax paying property holder IN th'
city with wit enough to get an injunction
n restrain the laying of an assessmen,
for their payment. Though the legisia'
ture did authorize the city of ParkerS-
burc to issue bonds for the encourage
ment of business enterprises, by that same
act il was also essential that the question
sbopld have been submitted to vote oi
The ,eople in each case that bonds were
so issued, which in the U BrIen case was
not done. Not long since nameiess
citizen of this burg went i"
Wheeling with $4,000 of Parkersourg
bonds. He could not realize Srooo Oh
them as collateral.
| THE STOCK YARDS.
This week the stock yards are to be
onened at Belpre, o., being the recepta-
Gle for all western cattle, and ultimately
The sale wards for Texas, Ohio and other
,rastern stock. Tc save transportation
Ger the bridge the limited yards IN
partersburs will be used for short
,;me as a receptacle for West Nirgn"
cattle, but as they are now too sSruoo!
for the Parkersburg butchers TO ouf, II
will hardly pay the trouble, ana 'he!
lii be soon moved. Nor was this re-
movsl Of the stock yards over the river
90 agreeable to Parkersburgers Us they
~rs,end To be sure, the lowing OF the
herds was grating to the refined ears
ns ~ our refined citizens, and
the sting of the tieas near . She
hnr mems. drove of inactivity. let
.he I animals had to eat, and the pens
brought in the neighborhood ot ',o SooUvo
20 ths place. They we're moved because
one of the old worthies wouIa nSs SCI, Il
% land at any figures short of what a
Midas or Cresus could pay, SO tney
mant elsewhere. All this shows 'he
"ehs n.-h.~ahnro we presume.