New-York tribune., 1891-05-15
TO PIERCE THE WILDERNESS.
DIR. W. SEWARD WEBB PUSHING THE CON-
STRUCTION OF HIS NEW ADJ.
RONDACK ROAD.

RONDACK ROAD.
FASTENING THE WORK IN ORDER TO AVOID
LEGISLATIVE INTERFERENCE AN AS
sERTIoN THAT HIS ROAD WILL TEND
|. TO PRESERVE THE FORESTS
SMITH NJ. WEEDS PLANT.
ORION THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE rBIBuNA
Albany, May 14.-If the new railroad from Herkmer
TO Malone, running thn,ugh the heart Of the Adiron
dack wilderness, is not completed before the meeting
of the next Legislature 1t will not be the fault OF DIR.
w. sewsM Webb. It's energetic president and tho
chief capitalist at present concerned In Its construc
| tion.
| Dr. Webb is hiring all the engineers and unem-
ployed laborers that he secure sending them into
the various regions of the Adrondacks through which
| the railroad will pass, and putting them work.
Not only is the road under construction already from
Malone southwark and from Herkimer northward, but
the engineers laying out the line in the centre of
the Adrondacks and laborers will be put at work con-
structing the roadway of the line there. This
centre of operations Is Upper Lake. the present
terminus Of the Northern Adirondack Railway Con-
| tracts have been made with the Northern Adiron-
| dack, by which railway trains bearing rails and
tes as well other material for the construction of
railway. shall be to Tupper Lake. From that
point the construction of Or. Webbs road, the Adron
dack and st. Lawrence, will be carried on toward
1
southeast Various sections Of the road will thus
be under construction at the same time. The constuc
| ton of the road it is obvious, is rushed to avoid
legislative interference. One who is acquainted with
| Mr.. Webb's plans said today:
"Dr. Webb believes the construction of his railway
will not harm the Adirondack forests but, the con-
! rary, will tend to preserve them. Why, in Europe
railways part of the forest preservation
scheme. When the foresers say that trees arr ripe,
| they are cut down and the logs converted into
lumber. Railroads transport both the logs and lumber
to market. That is precisely the method which the
State will be able to follow In the Adrondacks owing
to the construction Of such railways that Of Dr.
Webb. The ripe timber upon the States lands will be
cut of upon State authority and thus the State will
have income from It's property. The forests also
| will be preserved under such system.
"Dr. Webb has shown his personal interest in tho
preservation OF the Adirondack forests by purchasing
100000 Of forest lands In the vicinity OF
Albany Lake. He intends to build summer residence
| there which will also be sportsman's lodge. The
WILL Of course, be built with te idea Of obtaining
large share of the patronage Of the Adirondack tour
lists and travellers. 1t will make the Wilderness ac
cessibe to thousands of people Of limited means. Now
man can hardly travel through the Adirondacks with
guide at less rate than 80 day. With railroads,
| all this expense will be reduced twothirds.'
"But the Delaware and Hudson Railroad Company's
officials evidently think DR.. webbs road will harm
| their nne."
| at will not. The more passengers DR.. Webb's
| road has the more the Delaware and Hudson will
| have. People will go into the Wilderness by one
| route and come out by tho other. DR.. Webb Is not
| building his road to compete with the Delaware and
Hudsons lines into the Wilderness. He has no Thought
| OF that kind 1t would be truer to say that he Is
building his road without thought Of the Delaware
| and Hudson. And the latter road Will have moro
passengers after Dr. webbs road is constructed than
| II had before ALI the Adirondack railways, as well
as the travelling public will be benefited by its con-
| stuction.n
Nevertheless some of the Delaware and Hudson's
| managers are much annoyed by the construction OF
| Dr. Webbs road. Among the number is said to be
Smith NJ Weed, the president Of the Chateaugay Rail-
way Company one Of the Adirondack branches OF the
| Delaware and Hudson system. Mr.. Weed Is
| reported to have declaimed about the great
injury to the forests that would follow
the construction Of such road as that Of Dr. WeoD.
This evidence Of Mr. Weed Is OF high value IL ohc
Is to Judge by the proceedings Of the woodchoppers
and charcoalburners along the path of his road. for
| miles along the Chateauaay Railway the woods ana
bushes have been destroyed by fire. The country Is
| a black waste Of charred stumps and cinders' IL
looks and s a desert. There is not such desomte
strip of country elsewhere In the State OF new
The spectacle of Smith NJ Weed therefore, coming for
ward and shouting to the Forest Commissioners 10 De
| fend the forests against Dr. WebDs roaa Is hisinS
| dIyertlng to all Adirondack travellers.
| Dr. Webb has shown his good faith In his enter
prse by ordering the steel rails for the entire 100
| miles of road to be constructed When nrst hcor
| porated, on December IL, $780, the Adirohdsck
| and st. Lawrence mapped out route from malone
through the counties of Franklin, Hamilton, ESSEX
Warren Fulton Saratoga, Montgomery and schenectady
to the city of Schenectady Such route would nave
brought Dr. Webb's road into direct competition Win
| the Delaware and Hudsons roads; the Adirondack
| Railway and the Rensselaer, and saratoga
| But the route has since been changed. The
| route now runs from Malone southwark to Paul
smiths and then turns southwestward and runs along
the vest shore of the Upper sar1pae LAKE tnenGe 70
Raqste Pond Rs TSpPNss Moose af lake First Lake Of the
. Fulton CHAIN, Jocks Lake. Poland and Herllmer; ,s:
Dr. wsGS sage TSac crossing I4 e St and
there with the Canadian Pacific and the Canadian Az
antc running RI, WENT nto asoa Ssw state to Montreal
| IL viii also be new route nom Montreal 70 New
oen'r melting cf the Forest Commission was to have
been held in NewYor on Monday TO consider the pro
| DoSed railway extensions in the Adirondack region
bnt II had TO postponed, owing TO the business en-
Sasements Of one Of the commissioners. IL Will be
hee ant tbe Board of Land Commissioners apparently
the sole body when has authority 70 grant pefmsslon
to- DR.. webb's road TO cross the states lands An ap
to-dsy's Tribune ana t9e noru VIII meet on May 20
to consider the sppnTcs,o c"r said ,oaov That b ,.r.
S esspDcstou 81 the AdrondacS I and ST.
lawrence railroad Company tor grant Of land 100
iese,atsS iese road would not be ready until the meeting
eeh s ne commissioners Of the Land Office on Nay 2s.
OF ue uSSed that from the casual examinations he has
he ~ the statutes Oh the subject he docs not think
nt section OF the Railroad law taking effect Nav
shaI rear which provides that the Commissioners OF
~ " once may grant to any domestic railroad
r,o~ton any land belonging to the State except tho
p reservation and concourse lands OF Coney Isl
hich NAV be required for the purposes OF its road,
no terms TO be agreed upon or that such corporation
upon conre the title thereto by condemnation In any
a rneais the amendment to the law establishing the
| Forest Commission enacted in 1887, which provdSs
tst the lands now hereafter constituting the
st treserye shall be forever kept forest lands
avd shall not be sold shall they be leased or taken
bv any person or corporation, public or private ec
T6a oni way In which the State forest lands can DO
dnosed NJ under this law Is pursuant 20 the So-called
uaSIe- amendment which allows the Controller. under
ccrtain RESTRICTIONS sell exchange parcels OF land
detached from the main OF the ForesL Preserve
Sa.Snn ~ th Railroad law taken verbatim from
a. .~ of $3.50 by the Revision Commissioners conse-
GnentIv the amendment 10 the act establishing the
49,. ,,o,rr,isson "a later law and Is now law