Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1891-01-01
Railroad Building.
On PAPER AND OTHERWISE.

The situation is clearing up there may be
several things safely predicted now, that
have heretofore beer proper grounds for
surmise only and generally, the matter is
becoming less cl'u,lel, so far as the unex'
plainel or purposely hidden intentions OF
parties concerned 90 to- make up the stua,
! tirn.
I'm the first place, Mdllctowu Valley (let
us quaify this by saying the Valley Register
ana it's particular freld,) are moved by two
impulses: neither of which will weigh when
it comes to bullling rairoaI; the first IS
pluuc, at both real anl f,nciel wrongs done
its people by tn. city of Frederick. the sec
ond Is the vain hope that it may find itself
npon Il through line of rli'roal from Gcttys
, burg TO Washington.
The first named all abpIeclatc at its full
worth and while there is no gainsayins the
fact that Mid llcto WI Valley would to-day
havea railroad to Frederick h.l on" cp,a'y
town realized the value Of such facilities rs
it would have afforded and CONF forward
with its propnrtiona'c aid, yet that is dead
issue and the r1nlir, sholll hive been
uccently huries long since.
The second is an instance Of chim"rica!
fancy aud will eycntuetc IN 4 "hppc deferred
that maketh the heart sick
If Middctown Valley will rest content
with an outlet for its rich and varied pro-
du rs to the Baltimore m Flink via 'hc w.
/ NJ. r. r. and will not reach ont toward the
impossible, it viii! secure it and that readily.
| If 1t will r-ftse its ear to the obstructive
propoSitions of the p Il o. agents and rca-
/ lie the merit (!) of the Emmltsharg railroad
proposition, the movement will become
sinrpliticd and its promise brighten.
| We have occasion again to refer to our
! Ch,vnicye critic, two artc cs i'avlngappcarcd
IN the last issue of that paper, in each of
which the struggle to maintain an unhrc''en
front is painfully apparent,
As 1t Eas now arrived nt that stage, where
in claims for and against the lowe. r"lr.c have
been made, we are content to ALLOW it toy rest
in the shnp. til 1t competent railroad men
and bridge bulllers.' estimating. decide for
or against it, until a real surrey has been
made, whcrcwith to- Conrplre the u.c that
las been made Of the upper route. Either
claim for the lower may he in error, but the
survey Of the upper route settles finally tn"
fact that 1t lisa surprisingly, an exceptionally
inexpensive line to grade. We are content
to leave it thus until sufficient interest is
manifested in the lower roltc to at least
secure q survey. AS to the following para,
graph taken from the article in The Chront-
Gle: ut strikes INC tha! seven miles of road
IN running order is not to be sncered at IN
these times of stringent finances, especially
when placed in the balance opposite the
energy and cost necessary to- build AMI eq'rp
six or seven miles ofnew road from Mechan-
icstown and when we consider that this new
road must parallel the original seven miles of
road, which can be male 10 pay the interest
on its bonded Indebtedness, necessarily divide
the traffic, and in the fltillmcnt of tlis pur-
pose have two lines, neither of which could
pay as II railroad Is this public economy p
| We say this: thls the writer is not logical
for in the same article there appears the fol
| lowing: Long before the extension of the
NJ. V, to Frederick was talked Of, the route
from Gettysburg through Rocky Ridge to
MiddIetown had been planned, and III con-
currencc with these plans proposition WAS
TO have been made to the NJ. V. to ertend ds
road and TIP this proposed line at Lewistown
or some suitable point
Now if the parallclling Of the ss6o@ miles of
the diminishing road be \ breach Of the rules
! of "public economy" how reconcile the logic
of the proposition to parallel nine miles OF
road to the south of Mechanicstown, for the
upper route through the ore belt. would not
tap the Rocky Ridge route short of Bethel
Church. or at least nine mil cs from Mcchan,
;cstown. The writer endeavors to make
capital by claiming that THE CLARroN's
position Is "the public be damned; in reply
to which we say, compare the consistency of
our arguments with the sample OF our critic s
given above and we AFRO still content to stand
OF fall, in the estimation of unbiased readers
! if we are talking nonsense, are illogical and
our selfish motives are more prominent than
Our reasoning Is substantial, then we have
simply wasted our endeavors. TIE CLART-
ON makes no claim of great influence, but il
does say just what it thinks if 1t succeeds
in convincing those who may build IA railroad
from Middletown Valley to the w. Md, that
the upper route is the proper one, it viii. be
content with its share Of railroad building
ION paper; should 1T not 50 succced, it will
>. not lay awake o'nights, but it will be the
first time it has failed to win its fight III any
nll lnr of Nnlli unlicN-