Middletown transcript., 1892-01-21
MORE ABOUT THE RAILROAD.
rcoMMuNIcArFp,1

dletown' that could lay aside prejudice
and without excitement calmly look
on the subject Of the building Of the
Odessa and Middletown railway from
business stand point. In looking at it
from that point he sees as I do that the
completion Of our railway must neees-
sarily increase the value of the prop
erty along the whole route more partic-
ularly as it will be run on the princi-
pie of street railway, stopping any
where for passenger or to let one Oh,
and it will not be run at break neck
speed like the Delaware road. He
cites Ito prove that property will in
crease in value along the line Of the
railway, the great increase in value
along Woodland Avenue, Frankford,
Norfolk and New Port News. I can
add from my own knowledge several
| other towns where great increase in
value of real estate has taken place
along the lines Of Dummy Steam Rail
,oays; in Richmond, Va, Memphis,
Tenn, Birmingham Ala, Atlanta,
Ca, the last two places property along
the dummy railway has increased
over ten fold in value. There are over
200 towns and cities in the United
States where dummy steam railways
are run with great satisfaction, and in
every case so far as have heard or
read causing an increase in the value
of Real Estate along their route, and
defy any one to prove to the con-
trary.
In no cases have learned that after
the railways with dummies have run
three months, have they been objected
too on account of frightening horses.
The highly drought and imaginary
fears of our sober-sided, old fashioned
farmers are really laughable and ridi-
culous to any one who has honestly in
vestigated the matter as l have tried
to do for the past two or three years
for if thought the electric or dummy
steam motors would seriously affect
the travelling along our public road
and frighten the horses so as to cause
accidents I should not work 60 hard to
build the road, but having pretty thor
oughly read the matter up as well as
to visit the dummy lines in all the
above named cities, also those in
Brooklyn, New York and Philadelphia
my own obsel vation and conclusions
are that the fears of our good people
are intensely magnified and are not
justified by the experience In other
suburban railways, and I cannot be-
lieve the horses Of Delaware differ so
much from the horses in 200 cities and
towns of the United States. If our op-
ponents will let their excitement calm
down and look at facts and experience
they will soon be saying that they we're
unduly and unnecessarily excited
without cause, and I predict that with
in three mouths from the completion
of the railway no one will even wait
for the motors to start from either end
Of the line ahead of them unless some
one has colt or horse particularly
foolish and fiery, and, should any one
have unmanageable horses they will
have to wait but few minutes should
it be car time for the cars to start
ahead Of them and then they would
have several hours to make the dis
tance between the two towns, the road
will be occupied but few minutes at
time by cars, only three or four times
each day, the balance of the day the
road will be just as free from cars and
as safe as though no railway ran down
the road.
If our railway had been built when
the Morris-Tasker Iron Works wished
to locate in Middletown and were
driven off BY the high price or refusal
to sell them lands on the Delaware
Railroad by our friend, Mr.. S. Pening-
ton. they could have connected with
the Delaware Railroad and come east
of Middletown by our road, and bought
land Of either Mr.. Willis or Mr.. Will
liams for less than half Of one theus-
and dollars Isl, ,O00) per acre, and they
would have had quite town built on
their farms, and the balance of their
land would now be selling for building
lots at ten or twenty times the present
prices.
/ am in correspondence with party
now about locating in Middletown OF
Odessa, or between the two places, that
wishes to erect a factory to produce an
article that is not thought of by ouI
good farmers and citizens of Middle.
town, and I expect to work just as
hard to get new industries in both
towns or between them after we get
our railway built as / am working fol-
the railway for the reason l must
build up business for the railway so as
to make it a paying concern, which
truly believe can do !; for you no
doubt will acknowledge that 1 keep
hammering at what undertake SO
long as there is a chance of success and
1 do believe by proper effort we can
soon have several new industries built
up between the two towns.
| understand some Of those opposing
the railway propose laying injunctions
until the next Legislature meets. I
would advise them to put their cash to
better use for any candid lawyer Twill
tell them that the Legislature cannot
repeal our charter, for charters are in
the nature of a contract, and the State
and United States constitution pro-
hibits the Legislature from impairing
contracts, let alone repeating them.
Respectfully Yours,