The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1881-02-26
THE SALE OF THE P, w. & B. r. r.

The purchase of the Philadelphia, vii
mington & Baltimore Railroad by syn
dictate, in which the Baltimore Il Ohio
Railroad Company will have a CONTROL
ing interest being an established fact. the
inquiry is natural, as to the probable
Effect of this change of ownership upon
Maryland interests in general. but par
ticularly upon those of Cecil county. So
far as local interests are concerned, We
do not see how We are to be benefited,
unless the Baltimore and Ohio Company,
in pursuance of its established policy Of
fostering the commercial interests of Bal
timore, shall at once recognize the neces-
Sity of constructing the Elkton and Mid
dletown Railroad. OF this. there may be
some possible prospect. The failure of
Baltimore capitalists heretofore to secure
to that city its natural share of the grain
production of the + lstern Shore. by Il
lack of appreciation of the value of PENN
suar railroads, has given to Philadel-
phia almost a monopoly of that valuable
against Baltimore in favor of Philadel-
phia in both freight and passenger traffic
has been standing and chronic one
against the p. W. Il B. X. r. ever since
it leased the Delaware Railroad. Now
the Baltimore and Ohio Company may
have an interest in changing the Della
ware outlet from Wilmington to EIkton,
and while preventing all the delays which
passenger and freight traffic between Bal
| timore and the Eastern Shore have been
| subject to. can lessen. besides, the dis
lance thirty miles. by the construction
of the proposed ElEton and Middletown
road. We think, it plain that the Balti-
more and Ohio have a direct interest in
this projected road that the p. W. & 3.
! Co. necessarily had not, in view of its
| Eastern connections. But even if the B.
! e O. Railroad were to construct this road
/ at once. :he advantages it would confer
upon Cecil county are but drop III the
! bucket compared to those We would have
derived by the construction of a new COM
pating line between Philadelphia and Bal
| timore and in which every citizen in
| Cecil county would. either By an increase
in the assessahle value of Cecil property.
or by increased local facilities and fares
| Of travel. have shared. Passing through
ty, affording the large productions OF our
| mills direct communication with either
| city. and giving our farmers not only the
| benefit of an enhanced value in their
lands, but the concurrent benefit of COM
peting freight tariffs for their grain and
| farm products, its advantages would have
been to Cecil county incalculable. Be-
| sides, the enormous amount necessarily
| expended in the construction of this road
across Cecil would have given our peo-
| pie circulating capital. that would, for
a period at least. have revived our local
industries, and brought business to every
| mans door. Now, however. the pros
pect of the construction of this cJmpet-
| ing road is distant, since it is understood
gained the unimpeded through route to
| New York so long and So earnestly con-
| tended for. still the interests of its rival
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. will
be protected in the new company. If
| this be the case, there can be no neces-
/ Sity for the Pennsylvania Road to con-
struct. for the present at least, Compel
ing road. The plain English of the situa-
ton is simply this. that the traditional
Delaware stupidity and old fogy Bour-
bonism has lost not only to that State,
but to our own, all present chance for 4
competing road. We think it generally
| conceded. that. had the Delaware Legis-
lature promptly passed the proposed
| Delaware Western amendment. the b.
4 o. Road, instead of being forced into
IN involuntary partial ownership of the
P, W. & b would have constructed
mother through line, the manifest bene-
hts of which have been lost to us by a
set of willing to-bc corrupted blockheadS
1t Dover, who have done more damage
| to the local interests of Delaware and
Maryland than "ttey ,cHl ceer lice 10 ses
otter hands repair.
We see nothing, then, for local con-
graduation in this change of ownership
Of the p, W. & B., possibly some loss of
local accommodation, since if this road
is no longer to be distinct company,
dependant for its profits at least some
VI n local traffic, but is only to be
great through trunk line, then
,ilty is, II = we may be worse
ere before. when.
> 'ommodation was
from a monopoly
ring Z to terms