The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1881-03-19
The EnIImoTe q ohio Railroad and Its
New York Terminus.

The baltimore d ohio Railroad and It's
New York Terminus.
We had recently an interesting CONVEX
saaon with an official Of the Baltimore
4 Ohio railroad company in regard to the
miscsrris.e of their coup de man Tor the
possession II the Philadelphia Whining
ton & Baltimore railroad. The B, d O.
p,opls relied upon the good faith OF the
principal Boston holder Of the stock OF
that road, and supposed that they, in con-
nection with Jay Gould syndicate, had
really bsrgained for the purchase ot con-
trolling interest in tho road, and feeling
secure in this understanding had let the
secret out to the world, No sooner
was the secret out, II not indeed before,
than the principal Boston holder put him
self in communication with the Penn
sylysuis railroad people, giving them to
understand that the agreement with the
Baltimore & Ohio was net fully Consum
mstsds and might be entirely frustrated
provided they were willing to bid up on
the agreed purchase price OF the
stock. Upon thi hin. tho Pennsylvania
railroad people acted at once, and they
proceeded to bid up the price Of the one
hundred miles Of the road 10 So 900 900,
cay 500 600 per mile-a most unheard oil
and really fabulous price, This for road
that can be duplicated for seven and a
half millions of dollars.
The purchase Of the line puts tho Bali
more & Ohio in an awkward fix, They
had proposed to make great through line
from New York to st. Louis via Parkers'
burg, and to Chicago via Wheeling. Bnt
in this intention they hsye been consider
=. ably baked. They have experienced great
difficulty in getting over the junction"
in PhIadeIphis, and now they will expe'
Renee new difficulty in getting hight
OF way over the olly line between Phila'
Cslphia and Baltimore. In other words,
the Baltimore 4 Ohio Company seems q
captive at the tail OF tho Pennsylvania
Railroad car They have been over
reached by that enterprising and rather
unsCrupulou9 corporation in all their
efforts to become a great through line
from New York to the West
The miecarrisge Of their late plane has
revived tho talk Of rival limo through
Delaware between Baltimore and PhilR'
dslphia. The new route 10 feasible, but
whether It is desirable under oil the cir.
cnms,anCes Is another question. There
are those who contend that the true flank
movement for the Baltimore & Ohio 10
mako Is to build q road from their main
line at Hancock, Md, to Harrisburg, Pa,
and form a junction with the old Allen
town line. This line would avoid both
Philadelphia and Baltimore, and save over
one hundred miles in distance, and might
easily enough be made q great freight
route between New York aud tho wGat,
1t might alao be made an important pas.
senger liue between New York and tho
West, although it would always labor un.
der certain disadvantages on account Of
avoiding Baltimore and Philadelphia.
At present all freight between Now
York and the West via tho Baltimore 4
Ohio Is brought 10 Baltimore by sea, and
although the time lost by water tranBpor.
tatlon and breaking bulk at Baltimore
is not more than 81 hours, yet 1t Is an ex.
pensiys method, involving as i!-doRs sea
risks and insurance, and the Baltimore 4
Ohio would gladly exchange 1t for an all
rail route. 10 secure an all rail route they
must either build nav line between
Baltimore and Philadelphia or between
Hancock and Harrisburg. Before deciding
upon the lattOr 1t will DO necessary for
them 10 enter into some agreement that
will stand with the Reading Railroad Com.
pany for the possession OF the Allentown
road between Harrisburg and New York,
As otherwise they will again BIO out
wittsd. II they can secure said road
we do not see why they may not
retrieve their seeming bad luck in regard
to the Philadelphia, Wilmington 4 Balti.
more rosd. The saving Of One hundred
miles Of hauling on freight Is great con.
sideration. The saving Of three hours
OF time for passengers is alao great con.
Alteration. The Allentown route, when
1t was run by the Pennsylvania Railroad
Company, was very popular route In It's
day, and may be made 30 again by the
Baltimore & Ohio people, iilhey can only
contriove to iniuse into 1t some OF the en-.
terprise Of the Pennsylvania road, In
which enterprise they have generally been
sadly lacking in tho pas. BY cutting of
twenty.four miles between Wheeling and
Cumberland, by means Of the Hempaeld
extension, and by cutting OF ono hun.
bred moro between Hancock, Md, and
New York, they might, WITH proper de
gree Of enterprise and punb, establish
really great through route between New
York and the Vest