Middletown transcript., 1891-04-09
, legislative NOTES.

Company. This chartei po'i0 i0oo -
the building Of road from a poin
at s4e Or Duf near the town Of Lewss to an.
noin+ g. 4 u the line between New Castle
connty and the State of Maryland
M oIiaot Is to reach Lewes and
maIs the establishment of great
coaling station there a possibility
The situation Of such station at
Lewes would provide an outlet for
tbe coal of the B. s. o. or the Lehigh
valley roads which would be vastly
benefited by the possession of such a
ohor+er tt is understood that
nei+her ~ 81 these corporations are back
of the movement. The fact that
sucb men as D. W. Corbit and
Thomas F. DiIworth Of this county
are named as incorporators with a
number of gentlemen OF equal busi-
ness ability in Sussex and Kent is a
sufficient guarantee for the honesty
of the charter. This bill will go
through the House this week II it can
he shown that the charter, after it is
secured. will not be sold to the Penn
sylyania The members of the House
are solid for a competing line. When
it gets to the Senate there will be
strong fight made against it. If
properly managed however it will
get through.
This is the most important railroad
measure which has thus far been in
troduced. If the company is charter
ed a new road will undoubtedly be
built. The Importance to the State
of such a charter can readily be seen
when the mortgages on the D. M. u
v. system are considered. AS soon
as this charter is granted two or more
bidders will compete with the Penn
sylvania for the mortgages now held
by the State. The amounts of these
mortgages are 100000 and 100000
respectively. OF this-amount the D.
M. &lV. Company offers to pays $685.
600 and to pay the balance Of 1886, 900
in three per cent. bonds to run forty
years. To say the least this proposed
settlement shows an immense amount
of presumption on the part OF the
people who propose it. If this settle
ment is made on the proposed plan
the Pennsylvania people will ever
thereafter hold menace over the
Legislature. This can be readily
done by informing the members OF
the Legislature that to charter a
competing line will result in taking
away from them SO much business
that they will be unable to pay the
interest on the bonds or even to pay
the bonds themself. The bill which
provides for settlement on this plan
is hanging in the House and will
be killed. Such a fate is
well deserved. A Senator who is
taking a part in other affairs which
tests the strength of his backbone re-
that the Pennsylvania |
Company has a grip on our throats
which we might as well cease to re-
,ist." Looking at the thing in this
way is discouraging to those men
who have taken such am active in
5erest in the bill and its conse-
luences. The real fight on this bill
will be in the Senate when the forces
Ire almost evenly divided, but it will
pass.
A delegation of New Castle Repub-
leans visited Dover Tuesday to argue
against the Five Commissioners Bill.
The Senate took a recess and the
members repaired to the House
here to listen to the remarks of Mr..
Spruance, Mr.. Nields and Mr.. Bird
who made it appear that they only
desired that which would be super
atively fair and honest to the
people. Mr.. Spruance got particular
y good and said that while he is not
/ religious man he believed that he
lad carried into politics that
Measure of honesty and fair dealing
which he had always employed in his
business. He then stated that
Senator Williams and Senator Hall
re such good men that to vote for
his measure is with them an i'm
possibility. After eulogising Gov.
Hall he paid his respects to Mr..
Williams in most profound language,
md could not see how a gentleman
Vho had made such a grand and
loble national record in Congress
ould possibly vote for such a bill.
Whether or not all this taffy had any
feet on the venerable Ex-Congress-
nan remains to be seen. 1t was ex-
ected that the bill would come up
his week for final action, but if it
oes it will have to be forced out of
be hands of the committee in order
D place the Senator from Kent on
ecord as either favoring or oppos-
1g reform in county government.
fr. Spruance and Mr.. Nields ignored
he other members of the committee
and confined their atten-
ion strictly to Mr.. Williams. Mr..
|ird undertook to make some re-
larks, but he only succeeded in
howing that he did not know any
hing about the important provisions
I the bill. That this bill will pass is
ow doubted by many of the shrewd-
st politicians of the State; up to this
eek they hoped for it, but they
ave now despaired.
The Kent and Sussex bills which
ave been modelled after the New
astle bill will share similar fate.
he registration act is now fully pre-
ared and is a good measure in every
articular. The secret ballot bills
re all dead, and it is possible that
mother bill combining the better
,atures of all the others will be in