The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-05-22
GENERAL NEWS
OF INDUSTRIES

The sherif's sale Of the charter snd
franchises Of the Lehigh and Eastern
Railroad com pany last week opens up
a nav chapter in the history Vt = rail
road which has been in course oe con
struc5ion for nearly bslt century, bat
has never been built. In Strouds burg
dispatch to the New York Sun. an in-
teresting history SP the road IS given
The expected coming Of the Erie road
into the state aG the Pike county VII
lage 0f MatamOras. opposite Port Jar-
vls. had given certain influential men
in that pare Of the Delaware vallgy IN
inspiration. They would build a rail.
road from Milford to Matamcras
10 connect with the Erie, and
thus hitch the outside world sQuarsly
on to Pike county So in 1S4S Ehsy got
a charter for the Milford and Ma5a-
mcras Railroad company. When the
Erie decided On the change or route
these influential men declared that the
Erie must cross the Delaware at Mata-
moras or nowhere. The Pennsylvania
legislature agreed them and refused TO
change che Fries rodte. And there
the Erie road would nave stepped for
years, perhaps, II the company lad not
proposed a compromise with the Mil
ford and MaEamOras company which
WINS agreed TO. This was that in COO
gideraticn Of the Erie building q COM
bined wagon and railroad bridge across
the Delaware at Matamoras, maintain
ing the same forever, and giving the
Milford and Ma5amOras railroad. by
that bridge, connection with the Erje
at Port Jervis, the change Of route
would bs granted.
This was in 1852. The Milford and
Matamoras Railroad company whether
it had grown lukewarm in its enter
prise or was mad because the Erie had
worried it 30, and consequently WAS
determined TO punish tns Erie by ra
fusing TO build a road from Milford to
connect with it, sat down aud did
nothing. In 1870 work was actually
about to be begun. Then the bridge
tumbled down. The Erie Railroal
company was then Fisk and Gould
They made no move toward building a
new bridge, and finally ieputstion Of
solid citizens representing the Milford
and Matamoras railroad went TO NV
YORK and asked them about i5. They
wsrs blandly received by Col. jim Fisk
who informed them that the Erie had
disposed Of its interests in the bridge
70 The La Monte Coal and Mining COM
pany, permission having been granted
by the Pennsylvania legislature.
The delegation of solid ci5iz3ns TO-
turned to Pennsylvania. An agent
was sent to Harrisburg to look up the
legislation Fisk had spoken Of. RI.
found it, II was on the record all
right, passed and signed. But who In
troduced the bill, whom he did it, and
how, was not on record. No one in
house, senate, or executive chamber
could give any information about IL
Hon ". Fl, Dimmick who reDrssen ted
Pike county in the house that year was
interrogsted HB was amazed At the
transaction He threw them into
more amazement only this was burden
ed with joy, by announcing that he had
himself secured TO the treasury Of the
Milford and Matamoras Railroad com
pany, for ninety nine yssrs, by an act
that had pas5ed the legis aturs and had
been signed by the governor, the SlO
600 annual bonus paid 10 the state by
the Erie Ralway company for right
Of way through the state.
With high hopes reorganization
was resolved upon. Then " was learned
that Representative Dimmiok had
bought or controlled nesrly all Of the
oompany's stock and that be was vir-
toally the company to which the so, 900
was to he paid for ninsty-nins years.
This didn's seem TO please some Of the
older stockholders, who we're practi-
eally frozen out Of the organization.
and they pucksd mp courags and pot
things 10 the way Of the company's
plans All the same, siG0, 900 In bonds
Of the Milford and Matamoras Railroad
company we're issued, and Colonel J
NJ Moorshead, Of New York, took the
contract TO build the road Grading
Of the railroad was begun; iniupctiops
fsw 10 and fro; work done By the con
tractors lsborsrs during the day would
bo uudons at night by the opponents Of
the road Scores OF lawsuits, civil ami
criminal, grew out Of the troubles The
Erie was dragged into the trouble by
suit 10 forfeit its charter or compsl 1t
to build new bridge
The opponents OF the railroad placed
the facts before Governor Goary. and
when the legislature met the first off.
cial act the governor did was TO do
mand, by special message, the repeal OF
the act approprlating the Eric $40. 900
bonus to the Milford and Matamoras
Railroad company, and the act was
promptly repealed. That knocked all
the pinning from under the railroad.
The bonds became worthless, there was
no bridge, and the irate old stockholders
would persist In tearing up the road
bed. So the Milford and Matamoras
rsilroad died again. The last chapter
In Its history was when Colonel Moor.
head, the contractor, made the state
pay S6e, 900 Of bonds which be had ac-
a. a ~.