Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1876-02-24
CIeyelrnd, TuscaraWas Valley AZ
wheeling Railway.

On Saturday afternoon the Board OF
| Directors of the Cleveland, TuscaraWas
Valley u Wheeling Railway Company
held meeting a. their rooms in Case
building for the purpose of considering
| the respective merits Ofthe Flushing
and New Athens routes on the Wheel
ing extension, and of coming to def
mite decision in reference thereto. The
advocates of each of these lines had
made such an exhaustive statement OF
the arguments against and in favor of
| both that there was little left Tor the
Board to do other than carefully weigh
the merits of each and decide on that
which would be most favorable TO the
| interests of the company. Neverthe-
| less the meeting was long one and
an earnest one. There had been such
a very great desire on the part of the
advocates of these rival lines to secure
the railroad, and their efforts to that
end had been SO energetic and able, that
the gentlemen of the Board did them
but simple justice in only coming TO a
decision after the most thorough and
unprejudiced deliberatiOH. The gen.
tlemen representing New Athens and
Flushing had furnished large and ac-
curate maps of the proposed lines, and
with these before them the directors
went over with great care and in de-
tail the advantages uf each, and after
lengthy discussion came unanimously
to the conclusion that, although the
New Athens route WOnld be less eX-
pensive of construction the interests of
the company would, on the whole, be
best served by adopting the most south
erly or Flushing line. The mineral
wealth of the country through which
the road would pass by adopting either
route was so nearly the same that this
element was at once left quite out of
the discussion, and it became only a
question whether the greater number
OF business centerS which the road
would accommodate and the superior
position it would have with reference
to competing lines by choosing the
Flushing route, would offset the cheap
er construction and shorter distance of
that by New Athens. The settling of
this point favorably to Flushing Chiefly
Influenced the decision of the Board
There was, of course, at Flushing and
at New Athens the greatest anxiety to
learn the result, and Immediately af-
ter the close OF the meeting it was tele-
graphed to both of these towns The
10y of the one and the disappointment
of the other can only be understood by
those who have known with what
warmth this contest has been carried
On. The people of the unfortunate
route, however, may console.themselves
with the reflection that their want of
success was neither owing to lack of
zeal and able management on the part
of their representatives, nor to an I'M
fair consideration of their claims by
the Railway Company. The advo-
Gates chosen on both sides were men of
unusual energy and inllunce, and they
always found tho gentlemen of the
Board of Directors ready to meet them
half way in making Il practical, buSi-
ness estimate OF the of the advantages
of the respective routes. There has
probably not been in the history of
railroading in Ohio a, relatively, more
exciting struggle for the location of a
line of road than this one, and the
earnestness with which it has been
conducted only goes to show how
thoroughly the leading business men
of this part of Southeastern Ohio have
studied the present and future value of
the Tuscarawas Valley road.
-Cleretaad Herald, 14th.