Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-12-12

PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD COMPANY,
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT,
PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 10. 1885,
Messrs. W. A. Wimsatt and others, Committee
Of the Washington City Lumber Exchange,
Washington, DC:
Gentlemen: Absence from the CITY has de-
layed my reply to your favor of the Sd
instant, which I find on my desk this
morning. 1 regret to say that the position
of affairs to which you refer is one not alto
gether unexpected, for the reason that
although we have made every effort for
number OF years past to increase our facilities
at Washington, that we could promptly
handle the traffic offered to us, We have been
utterly unable to get authority to lay
the neediul tracks and sidings, SO as to make
available the real estate purchased and leased
by US to accommodate the rapidly increasing
business of your city. We have not
been unmindful of the growth of WASH
ington nor of the fact that greater
facilities will be required every year
to properly accommodate its business and in
order to do our share of tn, work we have ex-
nded from time to time large sums in the
purchase of real estate, upon which to provide
special facilities for Car load deliveries aud the
handling of lumber. coal and other
bulky traffic. Having done this, however, we
have been advised by the Commissioners that,
with every disposition on their part to meet
your requirements, they have no power to per-
NIT sidings to be laid into this real estate al
though they were absolutely necessary to pre-
vent the blocking OF your streets and to relieve
our company of the civil and criminal penal
ties that would follow the unauthorized occu-
patton Of your public highways. Among other
properties We bought large block OF ground ON
14th street near the Long bridge and endeavored
to secure permission to lay tracks into it.
But it was finally decided by the Supreme
Court of the United States that no authority
exists under which this permission could be
granted and We have recently had to dispose
of this property, it being, of course, utterly
useless to us or to you unless we could
lay tracks upon it We are now under
indictment by your city authorities on eigh-
teen different counts for the use Of sidings
long since laid with the assent of YOUR Commas
sioners into and for the accommodation Of
business establishments located on our
route, as well as for the use OF
sidlngs constructed on ground leased from
the Commissioners of the District at large
yearly rental You will thus see that the same
obstacles exist whether the property that we
desire to use to accommodate your traffic be
leased or purchased Our efforts to give the
people Of Washington the proper facilities
for their freight traffic have thus
been thwurted in every way aud our company
also subjected to heavy expenses by reason of
continual verdicts rendered against US for
damages based upon the temporary but en-
forced occupation Of portions of your
highways in order to facilitate not only
the business interests of your city
but also the absolute needs Of the Post Office
department
OF course you will understand that there is
no disposition on our part to relax our efforts
to serve you in every possible way,
but We would like the public, who
have the real interest in this
matter, to understand just how our efforts in
this direction have been met in the past and
how pOwerless we are to remedy the evils of
which YOU complain, unless proper legislation
Is obtained from Congress, and while
regret exceedingly the Inconvenience
you have suffered by the delays in the move
ment OF your traffic, you will, am sure, I'M
that it is not due to any fault Of ours. 1t is, Of
course, largely against our interests after con-
structlng a railroad to be without the facilities
necessary to its working, and especially to have
freight delayed in transit, not only because We
lose the earnings OF the cars while they are
standing idle, but because they block the move
ment OF other cars and cripple the traffic
movement on the entire system. l have con-
ferred fully with our general manager, Mr..
Pugh, and with the officers specially charged
with the operation of the Baltimore and Poto-
mac railroad, and have requested them to use
every effort in their power to relieve the block
ade which has existed i'll the lumber coal and
other traffic and to do all that is possible to
promote your wishes. But you will understand
that II they do succeed at this time the relief
will be but temporary, and if they
do not succeed it Will be not from
any indispostion on their part to
to meet your views, but simply from the fact
that the railroads entering Washington are to-
day without the facilities absolutely necessary
to do their business, and that the Congress OF
the United States seems to be the only body
which can grant the authority to the roads to
supply these facilities. / trust, therefore, that
the acts which have come to your knowledge
IN connection with your own business, and
which apply as well to the movement of other
large blocks of traffic to aud from your city, will
induce those who really represent the busi-
ness interests of Washington to make such
representations to Congress that the lines Of
steam railway which have become essential
to the prosperity OF your city will be enabled
to provide themselves with the facilities
which, while now denied to them in your city,
cheerfuliy extended to them in every other
city in the Union. Very truly yours,
q. Il. ROBERTS, Prest.