Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1884-05-17
CORRESPONDENCE
ALL SORTS OF A LETTER.

CUMBERLAND, May IA, 1884
To the AIKyNa JOURNAL.
Ny last letter was dated April 10.
So many and varied events have fol-
lowed each other since that I am, like
the mariner, almost ''lost at sea with
out a compass" to carry me safely
back to the exciting scenes COM
mencing with our memorable April
term Of the Circuit Court, when our
republican Associate Judge delivered
his charge to the grand jury, and re-
ferred incidentally to the great riots in
Cincinnati.
Events since then are familiar to
your readers who have been kept post
cd in regard to local events by local
papers, which have been filled with
gossip and scandal sufficient to dis
gust even ''poor Bohemians," who are
expected to mingle among all classes,
and to hear much more than their duty
requires them to publish. Surely
there is still room here at the top for
those who depend upon the three
learned professions Divinity, Law
and Medicine-and fine field Of duty,
for the former especially, outside of
"Locsl Option" If Judge Alvey
would only find time to be present
more frequently during our sessions of
Court our grand juries, States At
torneys and members of the bar would
be better instructed in the performance
of their duties, and our Sheriffs also,
who have been too apt to summon
talesmen from hangers-on around our
court room, rather than businessmen
the former to earn more wages with
less work than our poor boatmen are
getting on the canal during this great
and exciting political year. What
Cumberland needs at present is more
trade and less politics, plenty Of light.
plenty of water, plenty of work on our
public streets and men of enterprise in
our City Council who will give us 3
clean city and a Board of Health, whose
duty it will be to prevent sickness
rather than run the risk of trying to
cure serious cases caused by neglect Of
sanitary laws. Frostburg, with its pure
mountain air, is no doubt delightful
Ill a wet season like this, but in a
drouth worse than even ''the little town
of Cumberland" the head of naviga-
ton on a great waterway, which was
intended to benefit the people of the
State by providing cheap transporta-
ton, and in this way opening up the
great mineral wealth of the ''George's
Creek region" as you would say, and
l hope Cumberland will pardon me
for using the expression, as no re
Fiction against the Queen City Of
Western Maryland, which is of 50 LITTLE
importance to baltimore al this time. I'm
less the hoatmen's wages a,s reduced to
help fill the pockets OF great and i'll
huential corporations, and tolls are kept
up SO as to feed politicians, who have
their subordinates in every county in
Western Maryland along its line be-
tween Washington and Cumberland.
Allegany county, in their estimation.
is of little account except at primary
elections, when important honors are
to be bestowed, and where every vote
is expected to be cast solid, as they
used to do in Pennsylvania, when
Simon Cameron was around buying
up legislatures and telling miners and
other white slaves, unless they voted
as he told them, their mills and fur
naces would be closed, and their wages
reduced from so cents per ton down to
10 and even 80 cents if necessary.
Corporations have no souls,' it is
said, and is it not true' They can
run their trains through our city limits
at 40 miles per hour if they choose and
meet with narrow escapes, simply be-
cause small towns are "no count"
and small. mining railroads have no
prior rights land ought not to have
unless with passenger train) over fast
trains filled with human freight. l
have no wish to attack great railroads,
as am writing at this time to an indie
pendent journal, after viewing wreck
caused by fast passenger train run
ming into friendly coal train of only
16 empty hoppers not many days ago.
"Doc." Trout, of Mar,insburg. a brave
engineer, standing manfully at his
post, and no lives being lost, but l
only refer to this to show the great
power wealthy corporations possess
and Also the unwise laws on our statute
books, which does not allow the right
of way to fast trains over empty coal
trains. Both of them should be re-