The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-12-05
New Railroad Facilities in Utterly
Needless Jeopardy.
Edoefeld Chronicle.

In the spring of 1857, our Town Council in
stituted suit against the Carolina, Cumoer
land Gap and Chicago Railroad @ Con COMPANY, iT bS tS
the Railroad Company to the Town Councll
in compliance with the Act incorporating tht
railroad, for the purpose or securing the
bondholders Of the town. Ihe case was re, re
testimony and argument, he found the Rali
road Company indebted TO the Town Counci
under the mortgage In the sum or (SfI,5l4
seventeen thousand hve hundred ana Ioul
that up to this time the sum OF about fiyt
Thousand dollars had been paid on the bonds
by to xation; and this suit WAS brought IL
obedience to the general sentiment OF oul
community, and the prevailing impression
that the road would never be built, the uni
versal desire being to bring the matter to the
point, through this process, where something
tangible would be done, the hope being tha
bed from Edgefeld to Trenton would thu!
change hands, and the matter be extricatec
from the Intangible mass OF negotiations
which had apparently been going on to ne
When the matter had reached the status o
the Masters Report, and the appeal therefron
had been lodged in the Circuit Court, the
Railroad authorities intimated that II the
Town Council would give them little more
negotiations then in progress, they would IN
few months be In position to construct the
road from Aiken to Edgefield. Thereupor
the Town Council agreed 70 ALLOW % the case ,tf e
would throw it until March, 1888.
Meantime, in January, 'SS, an agreement
was perfected between the Town Council or 8
majority Of them, and the Railroad Company
which provided for an abandonment Of the
suit on the part of the Town Council II the
railroad was completed from Aiken to Edge
field in six months. The suit therefore went
over two terms of Court without further men
ton.
The road, through some apparently un'
avoidabe delay, tailed to be completed with
in six months, but reached our town IN 9
compiled state in nine months from the time
however, the attorneys for the Town Council
renewed the suit at the present term OF the
Court, upon the grounds principally, that the
specifications OF the agreement as TO time mad
argued before Judge Fraser on Monday o.
this week, the argument being now only con
fined 10 the Demurrer OF the Railroad attor
ueys to the Complaint Of the attorneys for the
Town Council. The former are Messrs. g. "
latter are Messrs. Ernest Gary and j. w. De
vore.
The only poi mt argued was the insufhciency
the as 70 1ne
1t being originally given simply TO secure the
bondholders. Whatever Judge Fraser's de
cision may be, the case will go TO the Supreme
Court, even upon the one polnt 80 Iar inaue.
It seems very unfortunate that just AZ
long as our dream Of railroad facilities is on
the point OF beings an actual realization, there
shouldibe this nagging and quibbling among
lawyers over legal technicalities. which bic
fair to put in jeopardy the little grace thai
Providence has thrown In our way touching
advancement and progress. But q review o.
our recent history forces upon us the unpleas
ant conclusion that this factious and nagginf
spirit has already blookaded to no small de
gree the avenues OF ingress and egress to the
great outside, whirllng world.
We trust sincerely that some reasonable ad
justlnent of this pending suit can be reached
and we urge our business men and property
holders to look to this matter in which theil
interests are so seriously involved.