Milford chronicle., 1883-09-14
DRAWBACKS TO TIE PROSPERITY OF
DELAWARE, no, 4.

AS we stated i'm a previous article
the people Of Delaware and of the Pen
sula, having hitherto been a cOmpari-
lively isolated community outside OF
the great lines of travel have not such
enlarged views of what goes to make
up the general welfare Ofthe people as
those more favOrably situated in this
respect. Hence many among them in
dulge in prejudices which have an in
/ furious effect upon both the individual
and the general welfare of the people.
This is exemplitied in the TRADES we
/ have heard. as well fiOm men of posi-
/ ton, as from those who occupy life
of e;s prominence in the community.
/ We have heard the railroad denounced
| because of their tendency TO raise the
price of home grown produce, owing
TO the facilities it affords for ship
ping TO other markets where better
price can be had for than at home.
We have known Well-tO-dO man who
could lay claim to much intelligence,
though he was shOrt-sighted in this re-
spect, complain that he now had 10
pay two dollars and a half for a cord
Of wood delivered at hisdOOr. when
before the railroad was introduced he
could get it for two dollars or less. He
did not stop to think that the extra
half dollar or more went Into the pOck
cts of the farmer, making him so much
the better off, increasing his purchas-
ing power, and thus distributing the
money arising from the increased price,
among the community at large, and so
conducting to the general prosperity.
We have heard the same complaints
against transportation regarding corn,
eggs, poultry and other produce.
Now, what would Sussex county in
Delaware and Worcester county in
Maryland have done without the ID. (
NJ. u V. railroad. How would they
ever have been able to dispose of the 7
immense amount of railroad ties, ship I
knees, ship timber and other products (
of their forests? How could they have /
disposed of the greatly increased pro- /
duce Of their farms, especially perish
able goods, if it had not been for the .
railroad and steamship line affOrding
them rapid and cheaper modes of get
ting to better markets than they had
hitherto? Having but two really avail
able harbOrs, Milford and Lewes, the
distance to these for the transportation
OF any heavy freight was an effeetual
barrier to its finding a market, and in
the case of perishable goods the uncer-
tainty of time was nearly as great; now
by railroad and steamer its arrival in
market can be calculated to one or two
hours. 1t may safely be said that
this accommodation the two
counties named would now have been
in the same state they were twenty
years ago, yea, far worse
These advantages have raised the
average value of the land within their
at least two dollars an acre, 4
ndopened upmarkets for their produce
which has returned them tens of thOus-
lnds of dollars. We know of one sta
ion on the d. NJ. & V. railroad from ,
which nearly Sis 900 worth of eggs
ind poultry were shipped between the J
irst of April and the first of August,
wO or tb rec years ago; aud the trade ]
las greatly increased since then.
twenty years ago in that town people 1
ode to church in OK carts, soon after {
he railroad was built they began to