Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-03-04
rrRoM A STAFF CORRESPONDENT. !

tives, vestibule trains, limited expresses
and all that sort of thing-cattle cars, too
with airbrakes attached-will roll to and
fro on the bed of the Chesapeake and Ohio
Canal within a year, it the Governor OF
Maryland can have his way. He believes
the State has locked its last canal boat
through that historic ditch. The day oi
canals is forever past, he says, and the
people who prefer a canal to railroad
will lose in the commercial race.
Governor Beaver, of Pennsylvania, was
recently the guest of Governor E. Z. Jack
son, of MARYLAND He didn't stay with him
long enough. He should visit him again,
and gives His Excellency some points about
that State which this year
LEADS ALL OTHER STATES
in the Union in the mileage of railroads
building; which is the home of the most
progressive railroad in the world; which
nurtures Philadelphia, greater city than
Baltimore, and Pittsburg, which, though
smaller thantMaryland's pride, every few
weeks jumps above her in the amount of
financial clearings; State which, far ahead
of MY Marylanl" as it is, in the race for
trade is now so eager for canals that its
people picture white winged masts from the
great lakes harbored among the black
smokestacks of Pittsburg's steamboats,; and
muleless, screw-propeller canal boats, lifting
commerce from the seaboard, over the Allie
gheny Mountains, and dropping it into the
Monongahela.
"But President Roberts, of the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad, told me only a month ago
that last year his company lost $3.50, 900 in
keeping open what remaining canals in
Al,a A1r
said Governor Jackson to-day when inter-
viewed him for THE DISPATCH. "This
State has experienced greater loss. Every
year the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal has
caused Maryland to lose $3.50, 900.
RUN AT CONSIDERABLE oSs.
sIt has not paid for several years past.
Why, We even lose $50, 900 on lcckmen, en-
gineers, etc., the receipss from the canals
business not being sufficient to pay their
salaries. This loss, of course, is easily
borne by the State, but the property would
never pay private corporation.
1.-The railroads have been gradually taking
business away from the canal" continued
the Governor. sThat is why shipments on
internal waterways don't pay anywhere.
Even down here where we have the finest
water facilities in the country it does not
pay. 1 had mills down in Virginia, near
Norfolk, and to bring up the lumber TO
Baltimore cheaply by the Chesapeake Bay
1 built six barges, of 400 tons capacity
each, and three steam tugs. This mode
saved us about % cents per ton. But
presently the railroads came to me and said:
Let us have your lumber. We have
lowered our rates just about % cents So
1 sold the barges and tugs and they are now
up in Long Island Sound.
THE b. & o. AS A 10 BBIST.
teIt is mistake to say that tie people of
Maryland want the Chesapeake and Ohio
Canal kept open. Why, sir, the greater
part of this advocacy that you hear for the
repairing and resumption of the canal comes
from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Com
pany. I'll venture to say that, outside of
the small number of people who own canal
boats individually, or who are dependent in
some way on the canal for daily wages, the
other three-fourths of this lobbying for the
resumption of the canal is done by the Bal
timore and Ohio Railroad, through its
agents, employees and stockholders. That
corporation does not want a rival railroad
built on the canal because it would parallel
its tracks. 1t would rather have the old
time canal boats as competitors.
''Soon after the food last summer many
of the canalboatmen, and canal shippers,
held meeting at Hagerstown. They said
that it the State would repair the damage
to the canal and put it in running order
again, they would form a company among
themselves to thereafter pay all expenses of
maintenance.
HE WANTS A RAILROAD
SCI reversed this proposition, and told
them that if they would repair the damage
/, as Governor of the State, would recon !.
mend to the Legislature in the winter the
resignation of the present directors of the
canal and the election of the men who re-.
paired it. They had from June until 1
wrote my message to reply, but they never
took further action on the matter.
81 am strongly in favor of leasing the
Canal to the railroad, which promises COM
petition with the Baltimore & Ohio, and
which will develop commerce. These two
things will benefit the people The verv
thing that some of the citizens of Cumber-
land now complain of, viz: The inability of
the present railroads to handle all the coal
mined in the Cumberland region will then
be remedied, and remedied better than with
canal. Coal from the canal has been
worth from 10 to % cents less at Washing
ton, anyhow, than at Baltimore. When
you did get the canal boat down to George
town, where was that? 1t was not Balti-
more Nor was it the coast for you next
miles to the Bay. The canal merely sup
piled the local trade. More railroads offer
the Baltimore and coast trade to all Cum
berland Goals.
RAILROAD RATES REDUCED.
"The largest part of the coal mined in the
Cumberland field has been shipped for sew
eral years past by the railroads. The rail-
road rates were reduced for 81 70 TO 81 o.
and the canal had precious little margin at
its rate OF 80 cents. Operators preferred the
speed and large capacity of railroads, and
the enhanced value of their coal in the end,
A long coal train and a small coal boat
starting simultaneously at Cumberland.
gave the best chances to the shipper by rail.
Railroads can always combine against
canals, and that is why it is useless to think
of maintaining the Chesapeake and Ohio
Canal successfully in the future. 1t will
never pay; but close it up and you at once
secure healthy railroad competition.
81 try to take the broad view of the ones
ton, of course the canalboat owners. the
boat-buiIders, and some others will lose if
railroad is built on the bed of the canal,
But railroad competition is needed in the
upper Potomac Valley, and will not only
help that region, but will make the Eastern
commerce greater.
COMPETITION DESIRABLE.
"That West Virginia coal was bound to
come to Baltimore anyway, and why not
bring it into the city with as much railroad
competition as possible, thus preventing a
possible repetition of the anthracite coal
monopolies in Philadelphia? 1t will place
West Virginia coal in no more dangerous
competition to Cumberland coal than at
present, for Cumberland is bothered that
way now because Of meager transportation