The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1899-05-24
WILL Be LEFT
If the Cheat River Road is
Built

If the Cheat River Road il
Built
Aud the Morgantown and KingWOod /.
j Not-Thaf's what We will Get-And
the Trade Of the Country North Of u
| viii go to the Other Road-0niy way
Out Of It is 10 Build Our Own Road.
/ Moggantoscn ,ciu be left if the Cheat
River railroad is built, aud the Nor
gantown and Kingwood railroad is
not, J. NJ. Guffsy and his associates
have chartered railroad from Point
Marion up Cheat River to Parsons 10
Tucker county, there connecting with
the Davis and Elkins road, and have
over two hundred thousand acres of
coal land under options. Surveys have
been made, and rights of way taken,
and they declare their purpose to
build at once. II this road is built,
then Kingwood and Masontown, with
all the country between, with its great
body of coal and timber lands and
general business will go to the Cheat
River road and to Pittsburg, leaving
Morgantown TO one side, unless we
can divert this trade down Decker's
Creek TO Morgantown.
This is no idle fear, but grim fact
! that stares US in the face. Cheat
River and Decker's creek are the only
two streams that cut through the
Laurel Hill mountains and permit a
railroad to be built down their valleys
to the Monongabela River. They are
both natural routes. One or the other
will soon be the line OF the railroad.
II not Decker's Creek, then Nor
gantown will be left, and Point Mari
on will be her rival as business place.
The tor should brighten no one from
voting for the railroad subscription.
1t will be only tseetve cents on the hum
dred dollars. A. person assessed with
one thousand dollars worth of property
would pay only $l.20 a year.
Here are the figures: Interest at
five per cent on $45, 000is $2250. The
revaluation to be made this year will
| show the taxable value of real estate
and personal property next year which
is as soon as tax could be levied. to
be 81, 900, 900. ct is now 81, ia, 1872
Twelve cents on the one hundred dol
lars ON 81, 900, 900 will produce $2400,
or $3.50 more than enough to pay the
annual interest on the $45, 900.
| Nothing will be due on the princi-
pal till the end OF the first five years,
namely, in 1905 and the principal is
to be paid in fifteen annual payments
or an average of three thousand dol
lars year. In these five years the
railroad and other new forms of wealth
and property will swell the taxable
property to at least $4,000, 900 which
at twelve cents will just produce
three thousand dollars year, and so
pay off the principal in fifteen years.
As the total issue of preferred five
per cent stock is limited by the court
order to $50, 900 it will only require
three thousand year net earnings,
or about one hundred and sixteen dol
lars mile, net earnings, to pay the
dividends, and only about 1892 per
mile to pay both dividends, (equaling
interest on all district subscriptions
and three thousand dollars year on
the principal of the district bond sub
scriptions.
The above estimates are perfectly
reasonable and safe. To prove it take
the following facts: The Kingwood
and Tunnelton railroad, only ten miles
long, is earning six hundred dollars
per mile net, being at the rate of six
per cent on all its stocks and bonds
which amount to $1,000 in all, or
$40, 900 per mile. 1t goes through a
very rough mountain country having
only coal and little timber, outside
of passenger, mail, and express and
local business to support it. The
Decker's Greek road will go from one
county seat to another, from rail and
water transportation to rail, through
good agricultural section, much bet
ter settled, with more people, timber,
coal, limestone, flre-clay and glass
sand, to support it, and will cost
much less to build and operate. 1t
should earn at least double as much
upon its cost as the other has done.
In addition TO these advantages, the
Morgantown and Kingwood road has
already had rendered TO it by the
Baltimore & Ohio railroad traffic
contract by which it will receive a
| liberal per cent of all freight charges
on through business, while the shipper
will be charged only one freight rate,
and that as low as the shipper at
Morgantown.
This will greatly stimulate the de-
velopment of all local enterprises,
build up new manufactures, mines,
mills and quarries, and increase earn
| ings. Such contract was not se-
cured by the Kingwood and Tunnelton
road until over year of negotiations,
and went into effect only year ago.
The result has been to greatly increase
business on that road within the last
year. The new road would start off
with that advantage.
Let's see what your railroad tax will
be. 1toelue cents on each 800 of your
assessed real and personal property.
81 20 on each $1,000, $500 on each
So, 900, and twelve dollars, only, if
you were assessed with $4,000. You
now pay twenty cents on the hundred
dollars for county roads, fifty. one
cents for schools, thirty-five cents for
state and state school tax, and seven
ty-fve cents county tax il you live
outside of the independent school dis
trict.
Your railroad tax will be the small
est tax you will pay, and will do you
most good. Morgantown, South Nor
gantown and Seneca Taxpayers pay
still less, excluding their town taxes,
but somewhat more including the lat
ter. You will pay twelve cents for
twenty years to help build the road;
you will tax ten miles of road over
ST. in the district at large, and
about So. so on one mile in Morgan
town, for all time to come.
| What will you get if you vote to
subscribe to aid in building the rail-
road? Before you will be called upon
to pay one cent, the railroad will have
expended in cash in the district, for
labor and materials, about $65, 600.
VIII that not make business, good wa
ges and good times? Will it not buy
bread meat and provisions, houses and
lots create demand for houses to rent,
lots to build upon, and for all house
hold supplies, furniture, hardware,
Clothing. hooks. and all that 90 &c