The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-02-04
Tho CITY OF Cumberland and the
baltimore d Ohio kOnd.

The CITY OF Cumberland and the
Baltimore IL Ohio Road.
Mr.. r. T. semmes, City Attorney o.
Cumberland, Nd, has a communication
in Saturdays Nsv, in which he gives no
tics that in case the B. & o. railroad
authorities take any steps towards dis
mantling their Rolling Mill at that place
as is talked Of, he will proceed at once &c
recover the property to the ownership o.
tho city, inasmuch as she purchased and
gave the road thirty acres OF GROUND
wherein 10 build said mill, on condition
that it should revert to her in case The
mill should at any time be abandoned
The City Attorney also gives notice in
his article that he considers the non-use
Of tho property for an unreasonable
length OF time. "merely because rails can
be bought elsewhere at cheaper rate
than they can be manufactured at Cum
berland," will "work reversiOn OF the
property to the city" He makes the fol-
lowing reference to efforts on the par
of the people of Cumberland to induce
the company to run the mill;
Some time last spring committee o.
the city council called on Mr.. keysei
and requested 10 know whether the In
terests OF the road would permit the run
ming OF the mill for few days in each
month SO as 10 supply food to large
number OF persons who were out OF en-
ployment, In consequence OF the suspen
sion Of operations at tho mill some
months before, representing TO him that
il somethipg.were not done, the burden
OF their support would fall on the clti'
2ens, who already had enough Of thai
kind Of thing 10 do. To this Mr.. keysei
lao the writer la informed) replied that
tho road would gladly assist il it could
but owing to tho troubles throughout The
country and the cheap rate at which
steel rails could be purchased, It was moi
consistent with the interests Of the road
TO put the mill in operation, that to do
no WOuIu enIulL COuetuSlH"'S ~
the company; that in his opinion the
mill would never again be used az roll
ling mill, for the manufacture OF iron
rails: that estimates had been made as e
the costs Of changing ii into a steel,mlll
and that it would cost such large
amount Of money that it would not JUS
,ify the road in making the change no'G Al
aiI events. And that it was against hit
views OF expediency that the mill had
ever been placed at Cumberland. some
time after this the mill was advertised
for rent and il atill so offered, the road
having refused one offer on The ground
that the rent was not high enough.
It seems from Attorney semmes' COM
munication that the same old difficulty
in regard to taxation exists between the
city OF Cumberland and the Company
that exists almost everywhere else be
tween the Company and the various
towns and counties along it's line. And
itseems also that the same tactics OF in
timida:iou, in the shape OF threat tc
remove some Of their shops, has been
tried on. We quote from his remarks or
this head, as follows:
In the interview above referred to Mr.
ksyser took the trouble TO inform the at
torney that the city ofCumberland wOnld
surely not insist upon the collection otilt
taxes as it now claimed them, because Il
il did tue good feeling between the city
and the road would be destroyed and the
road would move lis machinery and IL
rolling.mill and all its works away, and
the city would lose more than 1t woulC
gain. To which the attorney, much tC
The establishment Of Mr.. Keyser, replied
that the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad wa
carried on upon business basis, and tina
whether the interests Of the citizens o.
Cumberland were concerned or not thu
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad would keel
ia shops here il it paid, and If II die
not, it would move them.
Attorney Semmes does not apparently
believe that any amount Of concessions tc
tho railroad company would materially
enlist ia sympHthies on behalf OF the PEG
pIe Of Cumberland. On this point he
expresses himself AS follows:
"What has the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company done for Cumberland
without proGl7 What act Of favor with
out hope Of reward has she ever shown
On the other hand, the citizens Of Cum
berland, as part Of the body polite OF the
State, loaned the road their share Of S.
100000 OH condition that the road would
release is privilege Of exemption from
taxation. The road accepted the money,
agreed to the terms, and then rcpudialCd
them, and, strange TO telaie,H judge OF
the court Of appeals Of Maryland decided
that this fraud was right, and the State
guilty OF violation OF the Constitution
OF the United States in attempting to buy
back right which il had bought with
the conaent OF the party owning that
right. The city bought thirty acres Of
land and gave il to the road for arolling'
mill, which the road, in It's love for the
city, won't run because on business prin'
ciples it don't pay. The city spent $780,
900 in building wAter-works, under the
solemn assurance that the road would
take the water, and because it couldn't
get special rates" that were not given to
others, out OF it's love for the city, and
true to It's business principles, it built its
own water works. Out otits love for the
city and true TO its business principles
and to enable US to have our gas furnish.
ed cheaper, 1t built its own gas works.
We laid out streets, built houses for its
hands and improved and increased our
taxable basis. which latter we got with
yepgance, and the road, true 10 its liber-
ality towards the people Of Cumberland
and It's business principles, bought land
and built houses upon 1t and rented them
to It's employees and converted that land
from the taxable basis Of the city into
stock (sic) which it says Ia exempted
from taxation, and when the city at.
tempts 10 tax Il says "Let's have peace;
don't make US mad, we don't want 70
quarrel with you, because II We did
we could hurt you SO badly you
know" Why 1t is that wherever there
Is a railroad IL New England that q town
springs up, and wherever the Baltimore
and Ohio railroad goes an old one be.
comes older, 4 mandatory Is strangled
and canal, d ID oHHle genus, gradually