Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-02-14
THE CANAL RAILROAD PROJECT.
Debate In the Maryland Legislature
Rumor Of Another Lease Scheme.

The proposal to lease the Chesapeake and
Ohio canal to the Washington and Cumberland
railroad company occupied considerable of the
time of the Maryland legislature yesterday.
In the senate the bill to authorize the lease,
being on its second reading. was, on motion of
Mr.. Wootton, made the special order for 1880
O'Clock next Tuesday. In the house Mr.. Rich
offered the following order: That the attorney
general be and he is hereby requested to
furnish the house by Wednesday next if he
can, his opinion upon the following points in
reference to the provisions Of house bill No.
80 in reference to leasing the Chesapeake and
Ohio canal to the Washington and Cumberland
railroad:
/. Are any Of the provisions Of the said bill
in conflict with any of the provisions of the
constitution Of this state?
2. Are any of the provisions of the said bill
onerous on the state or impossible of perform
ance by it.?
8. Are the interests and property right Of the
state as fully protected by the provisions of
the said bill they can be consistently with
the terms of the bid made by the Washington
and Cumberland railroad company to the board
of public works for q lease of the Chesapeake
and Ohio canal?
This gave rise to considerable debate. Mr..
Shaw opposed the order, as he said il could
have no other purpose than to delay the bill
Mr.. Rich. arguing in favor of the adoption of
the order, urged that the bill came from the
railroad company and that they should take
care that the interests of the state were suffi-
ciently guarded.
Mr.. Kilgour opposed the order. He said that
the governor took into his consideration this
yexed question and il he had any doubt about
Its provisions he would have acted accordingly
MIR. MelOy favored deliberate action. lie
could not see how Mr.. kilgour distinguished
between the lease of ninety-nine wears and alb
solute sale forbidden by the constitution of the
state.
THE POTOMAC WATER POWER.
Mr.. Meloy spoke of the richness of the terri
tory through which the canal passed and of the
greatness of the water power in the Potomac
Mr. Shaw said that after full, clear investi-
CATION of the proposal and all il contained the
highest official in the state, the governor, rec
commended that the proposal be accepted.
Then In pursuance of that recommendation the
committee Of ways and means bring in bill to
carry into effect the provisions OF the proposed
lease.
Referring to what Mr. Meloy said about the
vast possibilities of the water power of the Po-
tomac. Mr.. Shaw remarked that these vast
possibilities were not called to the attention
of the people until this bid was made. and sub
mltted an abstract from a sworn statement OF
Baltimore and Ohio official made in the court
at Washington to the effect that 1.-THE canal was
deterIOrating daily" There was no desire he
said to put this matter through hastily. neither
was there any reason for unnecessary delay.
Mr.. Rich maintained that there were differ
ences between the bill and the proposal ap-
proved by the governor. He urged that under
the bill the state had no security for the 1874
bonds
The order offered by Mr.. Rich was finally
adopted by vote of So to %.
On motion of Mr.. Philbin the bill to lease
the canal to the Washington and Cumberland
railroad was then made the order for next
Wednesday at o'clock.
AN OPINION EXPECTED EARLY
IL is expected that the attorney generals
opinion will be before the legislature early
next week. Mr.. Laird hopes to have the bill
amended so that the lessee will be required to
pay something like $4,000 to the canal-boat
dered useless
President Gambrill of the canal company has
sent reply to the order of the Maryland senate
requesting him to state the amount now due by
the Chesapeake and Ohio canal company for
labor and materials furnished, and also the
amount OF floating ind" btedness of the COM
Pany. He says the amount remaining unpaid
for labor and material from January 1, 1888, to
JanuaryI. 1880. is as follows:
Labor and materials, S55 65l %: pay of officers
"a, 22S; total, $50. $40 90. Floating debt Poto-
mac lock and dock company, S4S $50: Chesa-
peake and Potomac telephone company, 81, 242;
total debt, S1O9,s7l.93.
ANOTHER LEASE SCHEME.
The Annapolis correspondent of the Balti-
more Sun says: Another proposal for the lease
of the canal is said to be seriously contemplated
and II 1t Is shown that the legislature is in favor
OF that method of disposing of the waterway am
amendment to the bill will probably be offered
incorporating n higher bid. Mr. Warren E.
Elliott of Norfolk, the newly-elected president
OF the Wilmington and Weldon railroad of the
Atlantic Coas. Line system was in ANNAPOLIS
today and Mr.. Kicker of Portland, Me- who
has several thousand dollars invested In the
Baltimore and Annapolis Short Line railroad,
Is also said to have been around this week A
CONFIDENTIAL agent Of New York capitalists as
the story goes, has been here within
day or two. President Joseph b. Seth
ana e1-State Senator Tunis are in
some way interested in the negotiations. III
this project gets in active shape a railroad
company Is to be incorporated under the gem
eral law. and the canal-lease bill now pending
VIII be accepted with all of its provisions ex-
cept that the consideration offered may aggre-
gate Sl,5oO,OOO. That is an advance of 100000
or more above the Washington and Cumber-
land railroad bid A proposition to paw $4,000
10 the canal-boat owners and others will accom-
Pany the bid. The deal will probably include
the Annapolis, Washington and Baltimore
road. with an extension to the Potomac in Mont
gomery county, or new line from the canal
10 the bay, and the new Baltimore and Eastern
Shore road to a connection with Iewes Del
and Cape Charles and Norfolk by the New
York, Philadelphia and Norfolk road BY this
route Lewes would be less than eighty miles
from the bay and Cape Charles one hundred
anu forty miles. This would put a coaling
station at the mouth of each bay This is the
outline Of a scheme which has occupied the at
tentlon OF the people concerned. and they are
said 10 be engaged In formulating the needful
papers. As yet it has not gone beyond the
paper stage, but large backing is claimed for
A Good Washington Hotel.