The morning call., 1890-10-27
A FARMERS PLAN.
Building a Railroad With a Very
Small Cash Capital.

While the farmers in the South and West
are endeavorng to better their condition by
the formation of farmers party which
seeks political control, their brethren in
small section of New Jersey are preparing
to give another method trial. For twenty
years past farming pure and simple has been
getting less and less profitable in most of the
Eastern States. II has now come to the
point in some sections when either new
methods must be tried or the farms aban-
doned In certain parts of the counties Of
Morris, Somerset and Hunterdon, in North
ern New Jersey, it has been almost impos-
sibe for the farmers to make any
change in their methods. If they grow
haul to market would; exhaust
the profit, for the railroad facilities in the
section amounted to next to nothing. The
Morris and Essex Division of the Delaware,
Lackawanna and Western runs through
Morris County. and the New Jersey Central
through Hunterdon. but from one road to
the other is twenty miles. 1t is very
fertile country, where small fruits and
vegetables could be grown very probably il
it were not for The expense Of getting them
quickly to market. The large corporations
controlling railroads in Northern New Jer-
Sey have from time to time made surveys
through this section, and the farmers hive
waited with what content they could for the
railroad WHICH was always coming, Dut
which never came.
Three years ago n young man, the son of
farmer in the section, says John Gilmer
Speed in Harper's Weekly, who had been
in the West, and had practiced somewhat as
a surveyor and engineer, returned home
and endeav0red to interest the various
towns on the line of the road which he pro-
posed to build from MorristOwn to White
House, in Hunterdun County. This would
have required the building of twenty-five
miles of road, and the amount of money re-
CURED, some $300.000 seemed so great that
the protector found it impossible to obtain
concert of action in the various towns
and neighbnrhoods the road would
traverse. After great many dsap-
pointments he abandoned this method of
procedure, and concluded to build the road
in sections, a little at time. His first sec
tion was from White House TO New German
town, in Hunterdon County, distance of
five miles He formed company called the
Rockaway Valley Railroad, aud got the
farmers along the line to subscribe for the
stock and bonds. They paid these subscriD-
tiOns partly in money and partly in work
and material. Where the grading was not
too heavy each farmer has done the grading
Of the road as it passed through his place.
The croSS-ties have been furnished in the
same way, and money has only been needed
for bridge timber, iron and rolling stock.
1t is an edifying spectacle to see the farm
ers at work building their road. Each
labOrer is shareholder, and he seems to
feel, as he handles his pick or shovel, that
he is working for himself. The first time l
saw them at work was amazed at the vim
and energy displayed. l did not then know
how the road was being graded, and it Oc-
CURED to me that the particular gang of men
must have been composed of exceptionally
good material, or have the most efficient of
fOremen. L was shortly afterward intro
duced to the foreman, who was guiding ,
huge fOur-horse plow, and | learned that he
was not only the foreman Of the gang, but
the Vice-Presdent of the company. He
said he had TO do no urging at all, as each
man seemed inclined to give to the work the
best that WAS in him. These same men, |
dare say, when working out their road tax
can kill time and do as little work as the
oldest soldier who ever shirked his task.
Many thousands of peach tees have been
planted in this section, and all the farmers
are preparing to try other crops than those
which have proven to be Improbable An
era of hopefulness has set in, and these
sturdy farmers, whose -grandfathers
succOred the starving army of Washington
during the awful winter when the CONT
mental army was encamped at Morristown,
are now trying to save themselves. l have
no doubt that they are making much more
sensible effort than those who are seeking
the assistance Of the general Government in
their material affairs.