The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1895-10-31

vote for you, Mr.: Brice. ,
Hooking Valley Canal Bill.
Perhaps it would be we'll to explain
Just what this Hooking canal bill is, why
it was passed, and what are Mr.. Camp.
BELLS reasons for considering it
"crowning infamy."
The aocking canal property extended
from Carroll, in Fairfield county, to Nell
sonville, in Athens county. For many
years the property has been practically
useless for canal purposes for the five
years that preceded it's abandonment its
revenues from tolls would not aggregate
five hundred dollars, while its mainten.
ance cost the State annually nearly ten
times that much, For years the people
living along it's route had petitioned for
its abandonment, declaring that it was
pestilence.breeding nuisance. In the
Sixty ninth general assembly, Represen.
tative Farrall, of Fairfield county, Dem.
ocrat, introduced bill providing for the
abandonment of the canal and that the
property should revert to the owners OF
the abutting property. The friends OF
the public works seeing in this an assault
upon the canal system of the State, rallied
to the opposition, and after hard fight
succeeded in defeating the bill by mar
row margin. The Hooking Valley is ex.
tremely narrow its rich deposits of coal,
clay and ore are we'll known The in
dustries which sprung up in the valley
were dependent upon u single line OF
railroad, which had come to control the
larger proportion of the coal lands OF the
valley. The manufacturers, the business
men, the laborers, all the citizans of the
valley, had long been praying for another
railroad, but the valley was too narrow TO
accommodate another without trenching
upon the canal properly. This alone pre-
vented its construction. Two years ago
business men of the valley formed an or.
ganization, the purpose Of which was to
obtain possession of the canal lands by
lease or purchase, and thus secure a
right of way over which to build com
peting line of railroad. They realized
that expensive terminals from Carroll to
Columbus and from Athens would have
to be built, and that it would be hard
task to secure the consent of the canal
men tn the looping off of this useless
branch of the system. They secured the
introduction of bill in the senate pro.
viding for the lease Of this canal prop'
erty to the aforesaid organization at IN
annual rental of Sc, 900 per annum, agree
ing to pay five years rent in advance, and
to give the state bond indomrifving it
| for any injury to the canal property, II
the road was not completed within Ger.
tain time specified. The bill was bitter
" fought by the railroad company which
had long held monopoly, and which,
seeing the danger of its passage, finally
sought to have il amended so as to pro
vide thai the lease should be sold to the
highest bidder. Under ordinary circum.
stances this would have been the proper
procedure, but under existing conditions
it was shown that the amendment would
defeat the very purpose of the bill and
depreciate value of the State property,
and for this reason The existing com
pany had, it has been said, the control,
either by lease or ownership. of more
than half of the coal lands of the valley.
It was to their interest to prevent con.
struction of parallel road. They could
como in with straw cnmpHnv and bid
any amount as an annual rental and Sc.
cure the lease. The legislature would ad-
journ, and when the time for advance
payment rolled round they would simply
forfeit the lease this would give them
two years in which to secure possession
or control of sufficient amount of the
remaining coal land to make the building
of another railroad hopelessly unprofit.
able venture. The canal property was
valuable only for railroad purposes, and
if no railroad were to be built upon it, il
would not bring, if sold, an average of SAC
per acre. These reazons were presented
forcibly and the amendment defeated
The bill passed the senate, receiving the
vote of every Democratic senator. The
fight was then transferred to the house
where it was waged most bitterly. The
Hon. Calvin S. Brice was a director in
the established line, and exerted d his in
fiuence to secure the defeat of the bill
Many of the gentlemen who are now
managing his legislative campaign in thii
State appeared in the house to oppose
the bill. The bill came up for third read
ing and the debate was quite sensational
Mr. Campbell asserts in his speeches tha
members openly charged each other or
the floor with corruption in connection
with the bill. The statement is not true
One of the speakers asserted that he hat
: been approached by q lobbyist who wa
generally recognized as Mr.. Brice's sgen
and offered money to vote against the bill
This was the only charge made upon tn,
floor. The bill was passed by an over
whelming majority and became law.
was supported by petstion from almos
, every resident OF the Hooking Valley
not connected with the established road
and delegations representing the labo
unions, manufacturers, and all other in
dustries of the valley appeared befor
the committee having the bill in charg
to urge its passage. Its enaction as la1
was followed by iollifcation meetings il
!. all the cities and towns of the valley
This is the bill that Mr. Campbell de
nounaaa nc III a &C Mcrownino / I. fa m W of h