The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-12-07
THE SHELL ROAD AMENDMENT.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ALSO PRO-
TEST AGAINST IT.

Step He VIII Takc-Is Only Indf.
rectIy Interested Anyway, He Says
Mayor Myers Says the Amendment
VIII Not Do at All in Its Present
Shapc-AIdcrn,an Thomas Account.
for the Present Extensive Rond
Privileges of the Company by the
Epidemic of EpizOOtic, Which Pre-
vailed About 1870
Mr.. d. b. Lester said yesterday that
he has not decided what course he viii
pursue with regard to The opposition a.
the amendment to the charter of the We %
non Shell Road Company Of which he is
president, offered at his request by Rep
resentative LaRo&le. He my requc S.
Mr.. LaRoche. he said to change the
amendment so as TO obviate the objections
now raised to it.
The people who are most intereste j
and who should make known thelr
wishes" said Mr.. Lester, "are those along
the line of the proposed railroad vino
would be benefited by its construction.
Though the fight seems to te' dl-
rected at me I am only Indirectly inter
ested. I do not propose to buid a rail-
road. I simply endeavored to SECURE an
amendment to the charter of the com
pany in order that Mr.. Richards and
others who might be interested with him
might take hold and build the road. Tn
questionably the road would be of great
benefit to the people of White Bluff and
the intervening country and do not
think there is any part of Chatham
county which stands more In need of
such facilities"
Mr. Lester said that he had no object
ions to changing the amendment so as to
limit the road to a line to White Bluff
with permission 10 extend to Rose Dew
and other points in that section Of the
county.It had never been contemplated to
occupy all the roads in the county he
said
1.-The difficulty in amending the bin so
as to meet the views of those who are
so strenuously objecting" said Mr. Les
ter, lis that the White Bluff road is so
narrow that there are portions where we
would be compelled TO use the roadbed
for short distances. For tile greater part
of the route the road could be built to
one side and many abutting property own
ers have expressed their willingness to
move back their fences in order to per-
NIT of this. There are some of the large
property owners, however, who are UNI
favorable to the project and who will not
agree to this concession. Condemnation
proceedings are expensive and tedious,
and a fight of this kind would damage the
prospects Of building the road. In fact.
there is no probability for the road being
built unless a right of. way can be obtain
ed with little difficulty. and hence the
desire to follow the line of the White
Bluff road"
Last nights mail carried TO Atlanta a
protest from Chairman Dale, acting by
Instruction Of the County Commissioners
against the passage by the Legislature of
the amendment offered by Representative
IaRoche to the charter OF the Vernon
smell Road Company, permitting It 90 con-
struct railroad tracks and operate the
same by steam or electricity. The County
commissioners considered the matter at
q meeting held yesterday morning and
unanimously decided upon this course.
Chairma1 Dale. after stating the amend
ment to which objection is made, goes
on to say:
Your attention is called to the fact that
uhasf The present charter OF the Vernon
Shell Road Company IL has mower N main
Ialn toll shell road over the bed of the
w hlte BLUM road, from Savannah to Yer
nohburg, and 10 use on the road steam
rlctlon or common road engines with We
hlcies connected herewith for transpor-
atlon of freight and passengers: bur the
oeo OF the road is open and unobstructed
Tot the use of any person upon payment %
toll, and the road Is under the supervision
OF turnpike commissioners, who have au-
thority to compel the shell road company
10 Keep the road in good order The
amending bin gives the company unre-
stricted power to construct and maintain
over the SAID Shell road railroad track
on winch to operate cars with steam or
any other motive power without regard
20 the rights of the public to use the high
way, and extends this right and power 10
construct and use a railroad track on other
roads leading to the White Bluff or Yer
non Shell road; in effect, comforting unop
this private corporation the power to d.
vert these public highways of the county
from the uses to which they have been
dedicated, and convert them into private
railroad rights of way
Mayor Myers said YESTERDAYS that the
city Councils objections were based upon
two grounds, one being that it considered
1t contrary 10 public policy that any com
pany should be given such extensive rights
as to wholesale railroad bu ding upon pub-
lie roads as the amendment would confer
upon the she'll road company and the her
that it did not desire to see a railroad con
structed down the driveway which is prac-
tically the continuation of the city's rrin-
cipal street.
II the amendment simply gave the COM
pany the right to construct a railroad from
Savannah to White Bluff along the Inc
of the road, specifying the driveway
should not be used, here could be no OBJ
Jecion. As the amendment now ands.
however, there would be nothing to pre-
vent the company putting its track down
the middle of the driveway. The present
charter does not give the company the
right 10 construct a railroad. The amend
ment is a very inge NOUS one as Il Q YES
the right to construct railroads and cx-
tends this right to extensive privileges
which were evidently granted for other
purposes
The discussion on this question at the
meeting of the Committee of the Whole
Tuesday night caused Alderman Thomas
TO recall some interesting local history
which ne and others present, thought ac
counted for the amendment to the shell
road charter in 1870. Alderman Thomas
recalled to the minds of the aldermen that
about 1870 there was a general epidemic
OF eplzootic among the horses in this soc
ton OF country The epidemic was mar
ticularly severe in Savannah. almost All