Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-02-12


session when members have yawningly |
said "Can't we get up railroad war
or something to make things little
livelier?"
Well, there is railroad war now in
sight, ana it is one in which the citizens
of Wilmington have particular interest |
The combatants have been grinding
their battle axes and furnishing their
shields and will be down here this week
or next ready for the fray. The parties
in interest are the Wilmington City
Railway Company versus the Cotton
syndicate which has acquired control of
the Front and Union streets railway.
This latter corporation, though no great
shakes heretofore at building and opera
ting railroads, has been working for
half generation under a charter that
seems to have given it powers over
which the City Council and its sue
cessor in the regulation of the high
ways ofWilmington, the Streetand Sewer
Department, have been able TO exert
little or no control. Readers of THE
GAZETTE will recall how the City
Council, years ago, labored in vain for
months and months to compel the Front
street railway to pave the roadbcd be-
tween its tracks, and how, when the
Council committee threatened TO obtain
by legislation the power to bring the
railway company to terms, the COM
pany's counsel simply laughed the threat
to scorn and pointed to contract
rights which even the State could not
cut down or take away. The Front
street railway was not amenable to
Councils or Street Commissions; within
the scope of its charter it could do pretty
much as it pleased, whether the people
of Wilmington, or their representatives,
liked it or not.
Since then the Front street railway
has changed owners and its present
nominal controller, Mr.. Franklin b.
Cotton, evidently dreams of doing as
big things in railroading as he did last
November in Rcpublieanizing the
Twelfth election district How Mr..
Cotton expects to do this is explained
by a close inspection of the supplement
to the company's charter, which is now
in committee in the House. 1t has es-
capped the newspaper men hitherto that
under this charter it would be perfectly
within the power of this syndicate to
lay tracks over any street in Wilmington
and run steam locomotives thereon
The right is given therein to use cable,
horsepower, electricity, or any other
approved motive power; the company
being the approving party. Under the
unlimited power to construct turn-outs,
connections" &C., therein given, the
company could, 1t is argued, lay tracks
down Market street, if ii desired, to
''coEnect" its Front street line with any
uptown branch it might construct
perhaps with the Delaware avenue
tracks of the Wilmington City Railway
s,I,
of condemnation contemplated, ITO
condemn lands, tenements heredita-
ments," &C., might empower the Cotton
syndicate to condemn and take posses
sion of to run its own cars, operated by
steam, cable, electricity or mule-power,
over, At least, the counsel for the Viii
mington City Railway Company AYERS
that this is a possibility under the pro-
visions OF this Front ana Union Streets
bill.
| do not pretend to give this gentle
mans exact language, but the following
is the substance Of part Of what he will
bring to the attention of members Of
this General Assembly. "Taking the
specific provisions of their bill, You see
they contemplate running over our
tracks to French street. Then they ask
the right TO lay tracks to Walnut street
and up that street to Fifth. Our tracks
Will run up French street to Fourth,
just one square away. Then they will
go on out Fifth street to Church. Our
tracks run ont Fourth street to Spruce,
Then they will run up Church street to
the Eleventh street bridge, just keeping
one square away from our tracks again,
till they intersect with us at the bridge.
Then they will go over the bridge on
our tracks and, as there is nothing in
sight in Pickelsyille to divert them to
the right or left, they will keep on with
our tracks TO Nandever avenue. You sec
they are paralleling our tracks at lust
one squares distance and using them
where they cannot run parallel line.
Then in the western part of the city il is
just the same. We build track IN
Monroe street and they want to come up
Adams We run out Maryland avenue
and they want to come there too We
build line on du Pont street and they
talk of coming up Union or Broome
Then when they reach Delaware ave.
nue. they will want to come in along oul
tracks to Market street and, when they
lave got there, they can run 'connec
ion down Market street 10 their Front
street line. They talk about competition
put what they aim at is 70 get sometime
to sell out to us or to depreciate tit
value of our property, divide our bust
ness and force us to sell out to them.n
II is furthermore stated that the Phil
adelphia capitalist behind Cotton in thi
scheme tried last summer to get posses
sion Of the Wharton Barker holding
= Al.