Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1884-11-28
THE NEW RAILROAD,
A Citizens View OF the Subscription aud
the Board of County Commissioners
Duty Hereunder.
"a E.litnr nj b. Psri,I.r

A Citizens View OF the Subscription aud
the Board of County Commissioners
Duty Thereunder.
To "a. Editor Of "a. Register.
As the question of signing the contract
of subscription to the capital stock Of the
Mt. Vernon, Coschocton h Wheeling Rail-
road will probably be brought before the
Board of Commissionersat at its next meetinG,
the following observations are submitted to
the Commissioners and to the public:
The first question to be determined by
the Board is what was the real and actual
understanding and beGet Of the people al
the time they voted in favor of the sub'criP-
tion." This question is easily answered.
The election notice saws, "the said subscrlp,
ton to be paid over to the said company
uyou IDS completion into the City OF Wheel
ing" This means that This particular rail-
road shall be actually bSilt and completed
to and into the city Of Wheeling before
any money shall be payable to the COM
panv By Ohio counto. 1t does not mean
that the subscription shall be payable when
the said company shall run a train OF their
cars" from any place in Ohio over any rail-
road now in existence, or hereafter to be
built. And vet the latter is the substance OF
the contract that the Board is asked to enter
into
The second proposition clearly udder-
stood by the people was that no liability in
Indebtedness (elther single or double),
should be incurred by the county until this
road was actually completed, and in opera
ton from Mt. Vernon to Wheeling. The
petition or proposition presented by the com, ,
pany TO the board on MAJ ), 1881, in speak
ing of the terms and conditions of the sub
scription, uses this language: That the
company shall first perform their obIlga-
tions before the Indebtedness shall be in-
Cured by the county Now, Why does this
company ask the county TO incur an lndeot-
edness by signing contract OF subscription
to its stock before a single foot OF the
road has been built? Mr.. Paul says:
Il is for the purpose Of giving the company
credit, TO ens Die il to borrow money, to have
work done o credit to sell bonds, etc. This
is the very reason why the county should
not sign q contract until the road IS actual
ly completed. If the county subscribes for
this stock will it not be liable to creditors of
the company for the amount (or rather for
double the amount under the Ohio laws
Notwithstanding the private condition in
the proposed contract? The moment the
county signs a contract it becomes, to all
intents and purposes, a stockholder and is
liable to all creditors of the company for
double the amount of its stock even although
by its contract it might not be liable to the
company until all conditions were fulfilled.
The county should do nothing further
than has already been done until the road,
actually and in good faith, has done all that
it agreed to do. Then the county css sub
scribe and pay for its stock. This is what
the people intended and they do not expect
the Commissioners to violate their wishes.
CITIZEN.
WHEELING, November %.