The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1899-05-24
HELP YOURSELVES.
Providence Helps Those Who
Help Themselves.
A Correspondent Gives Some Indispu-
table Reasons Why We Should Have
The Deckers Creek Railroad
Matter Illustrated by Some MeIan-
choIy Examples Of The Past.

choIy Examples Of The Past.
To the Editor OF the NEW DOMINION;
We often hear the saying 'sthert
goes self made man, or he is sell
made man." From youth we are
taught that within ourselves lies the
making or unmaking, and that pre-
seyering industry and push will ac-
complish the end desired This has
become worldwide fact and is Sc
well established by precedenIts that nc
one hardly disputes it.
True certain conditions and environ
ments have great influence In mould
ing and shaping the end, and final re-
suits, but after all the man may be
surrounded with all the conditions
and opportunities and yet be a total
failure and unknown. So after all,
it is to pluck, energy and perseverine
push and effort that great results and
fnal success owes the victory.
If this is true in the individual,
why not more so with the community
or aggregation of individuals tending
toward a single and concentrated eff
fort to obtain results, great in them
selves both to the community at large
and at the same time TO more or less
degree to each and every individual.
There is small village on the shores
Of Lake Erie, situated at and near the
mouth Of the Huron river, the finest
harbor on this great lake. Some fifty
m frf ~ Af III N
and its sister town of Milan were the
rivals of all the towns on the southern
shores of Lake Erie. 1t had the
finest harbor and depth OF water
some thirty feet for two miles up the
Huron river as far as Milan. Some
OF the finest vessels that float on the
lake were built and launched there.
All the towns Of northern Ohio for
fifty to seventy-fiye miles distant
hauled their wheat, corn, oats, dressed
pork and other products to the town
of Milan. Some times 1t took a week
to go and come, SO far reaching was
the commercial influence coupled with
natural advantages. But few rail-
roads were In existence at that time.
The cities Of Cleveland, Sandusky and
Toledo were small villages compared
with their present proportions. Hur-
on and Milan bid fair to be the largest
business points outside of Cleveland,
west Of Buffalo. In fact Cleveland
investors had made large purchases Of
dock properties and lake shipping
facilities. Large grain elevators, huge
warehouses had been built at Milan
ana everything tended towards the
building up of a great Commercial
City. First came then the Lake shore
Railroad, passing some eight or ten
miles south, running from Cleveland
through Norwalk to Toledo. Next
the old Sandusky, Mansfield and
Newark Railroad. From Sandusky,
Ohio to Newark, Ohio these lines be-
gin to sap the commerce and take IL
to Sandusky, Cleveland and Toledo.
Finally a small rad was built from
Huron, and having rail outlet for a
time the great lake facilities combined
with the rail connection, held the
town up and it was still rival to its
other competitors, viz: Toledo, San
dusky and Cleveland. Seeing that
Huron was bound to be the coming
city and being jealous Of its fine port,
along In the sixties a Sanduskian by
the name Of John M. Boalt was by
some means elected president Of the
Lake shore road, and as he was also
the largest owner of the stock Of the
Sandusky and Newark line the COM
bination to shut out Huron was COM
plete.
The branch line from Huron to the
5. M. & N. >road was torn up and
abandoned and the rivals carried all
the produce to their own towns build
ing up the harbors of Toledo, Cleve-
land and Sandusky, and to-day Huron
and Milan are things of the past and
are almost unknown. Their immense
and storage houses rotted
and decayed, their banking and COM
mercial interests went to other places
and from being what Toledo and
Cleveland are, only small villages re-
main, and all this from lack OF spirit
and pluck to keep on and fight the
fight, thinking they had the location
and people would flock there without
effort.
This is only one of many instances
where push and energy Of commune
ties have placed such communities
far ahead in the struggle for existence.
Now, therefore, seeing that success
is accomplished by combined efforts
Of communities as well as by individ-
uals, look at your own position fairly
and with unbiased opinion you can
not afford to sit down and wait or
say it will come, our location, our
facilities, our conditions are all that
is needed. There are other rivals in
the field who have equal conditions
and if not have the men who are fore
ing and forging ahead and who will
pass you in the race unless you are up
and doing.
Sec that you understand the stu
alton and vote for the Decker's Creek
road, upon its merits and worth to
you as a community at large, and the
results to you individually will be
more than your Imagination fancies,
for the benefits will be permanent,
lasting and remnnerative.
OBSERVER.
Rev. John Reid, Jr., OF Great Falls,
Mont, recommended Ely's Cream
Balm to me. can emphasize his
sit is positive cure for