Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-10-12
LAEuAsfER, PA. October IL. 1859.
The Turnpike Decision.

The Turnpike Decision.
The decision rendered by the supreme
court In the turnpike case is probably
one that h adapted to our present devel-
opment, though there can be no question
that II the law had been thus laid down
In the past, great injury would have
come TO our communities In the sup
preston Of the turnpike roads that
Il then would certainly have caused.
For whatever may be said and thought
now BY those who are annoyed by the
tollgate, no reasonable person will deny
that great benefit has come to the COM
munity in the establishment Of the
macadamized road upon which toll IL
still charged. They may think as we
do that 1t is time now that the pub
Tic treasury should be called upon
10 abolish the tollgate and make the
macadami1ed road free; iuat az II is
time that the authorities should be re-
quired, especially In 80 rich and popu.
lous . county As Lancaster, to ma.
cadamise the great highways Of
travel. The work has been we'll COM
menced IN the macadam roads that lead
ont in every direction from Lancaster,
and that have been built with care and
good material by private enterprise
and under the intelligent dlrec.
tions Of sensible boards of mana
gers, whose works contrast strongly
with the mud macadamized streets Of
Laucaster's idiotic-or worse--street COM
mittee. We say that il would have been
. great damage to this community If the
law had been In existence when these
roads were made, which the supreme
court now declares to forbid incorporated
companies from taking possession of
ordinary country roads, 10 macada-
mize them and put tollgates OH them
for without such authority our maeads-
mi1ed roads would not now generally
exist.
And this for several obvious reasons.
One Ii that II the road had to be bought
the cost of It would be likely to defeat
the undertaking, since II would make
the capital required for It too great to
he rewarded by the tolls collected.
II is fact that many of the
turnpike roads do not even now
pay legal interest upon their cost.
And another controlling reason for put.
ting the macadam road upon the bed
Of the old road 10 that II the latter was
allowed to remain open and free along.
side the other, the toll road would only
be used In times of mud, and Its reve-
nues would not suffice to maintain It,
Then, again, the two roads side
by side would be public nui.
sance, being wholly unnecessary
for the accommodation of the travel.
And again 1t would be generally i'm
practicable to build road between the
same terminal points which would not
in some places call for the same road
bed, II the natural grade of the country
should be adopted, as 1t would need to
be to avoid great expense In building.
Our public roads do not generally ex.
hibit feats of engineering. They arc
put down on the cheapest line, and need
to be to avoid unnecessary cost.
The more costly toll road Is caused
TO b, the greater burthen it will be OF
the travelling community, II 1t is made
since greater tolls will need to be charged
for its use. This decision of the supreme
court makes future toll roads costly tot
costly generally to be made; and tn,
day for their erection has gone by. w,
think that this is probably we'll; sine,
they should now be made when needle,
by taxation In the counties--or by TIN
state-which are now rich enough I,
stand It.
But the argument by which Judg,
Mitchell reaches his conclusion may no
be generally convincing. We under
: stand II to be that there has been no ex
press grant of the right Of public domain
by the state to the turnpike compsnie
Il incorporates, which enables them t.
take public roads for the roadbed of tina
which they propose to establish an,
such express grant IL needed and can
not be implied by the charter. But hoy
then can the road he laid2 Where /
the authority to condemn private pror
srty for its use If public property ma
not be-?
II We are TO understand that road
cannot he made hereafter without th
purchase, by consent Of the Landowner
Of the right Of way needed, there will b
. severe check put upon. railroad col
struction but 1t may not be an unwhol,
some one. Whether or no this decisio
has this intent and effect, II seems clet
enough that railroads cannot col
fiscate public roads as they have bee
In the habit Of doing condemning thei
for their use whenever they happened
liz In their way crossing them ut pleasu,
when they did not use their bed, an
putting their bridge piers upon ther
without thought of the public incor
venience caused by their appropriatin
and narrowing the ancient highway.
That the country road has righ-
which corporations must respect an
that IL protected from their approprl,
tion II the lesson we are happy to dra,
from this decision, which has an in
portance beyond that which the supren
court seems to have contemplate
for It, important as the opinion d
clares the question to be. The
II salve IN this rendering Of the law f
the many wounds that railroad 90
porations have put upon the long suffS
ing public and the good that il gives
fuil compensation for all the injury
may threaten to corporate interests.
He Does Not Think II.
The editor Of the Philadelphia Pre-