The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1899-05-24

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Everyone comedies the Importance
and great value to Morgan District
of the construction of this railroad.
All recognize the fact that the build
ing of the railroad for eleven miles,
the longest way through the district,
with additional employment which
will be given to our people and the
additional market for their farm and
other supplies would greatly aid the
business and prosperity of the pub
lie. No city or town can have any
great degree Of prosperity that is
not supplied with railroad facilities,
and the more the better. Fairrnont
is an illustration of this fact, pos
sessing no greater natural resources
and no better country around it than
our own; nevertheless, its railways,
north, south, east and west have
multiplied its trade and business
and increased its population until it
has far surpassed Morgantown in
each of these respects.
While Morgantown is at the head
of river navigation, it has possessed
but one railway, and that through
line, and has fallen behind Fair
mont in population, business. and
developed resources.
Admitting that we must have
more railway facilities if we would
continue to prosper, the only ques-
ton that remains is, how shall we
increase such facilities? The stock
subscription of $4,000 by the dis
trict if made donation outright
would nevertheless secure the road
and cause the spending Of nearly
twice that amount in the district.
This would be done at very slight
increase of the taxes in the district,
certainly not more than twelve
cents on the one hundred dollars.
The calculation is simple one by
which this result can be shown. The
interest on $40, 900 at five per cent
is so, $50 year. The taxable prop
erty under the retaliation will ex-
coed 100000. and at twelve cents
on the one hundred dollars will pro-
duce $1,000 year, or $3.50 year
in excess of the additional interest.
In view of the fact that the smallest
rate of tax for any suppose in the
district or the county or the town is
very much more than this twelve
cents on the one hundred dollars, it
is a small addition, and at the same
time that this tax would be added,
the railroad itself would, with all
the additional business created by
it, such as manufacturing plants, be
subject to tax ranging from 81 to
1886 on the one hundred dollars for
this and other purposes, go that it
would itself at once become tax
paying source of revenue to the dis
trict for all time to come, while the
tax Tor subscription to aid in build
ing the road would be ended in
twenty years.
The earnings of the Morgantown
and Kingwood railroad will certain
ly be greater per mile than that of
the Kingwood and Tunnelton Rail
road. The latter, ten miles long,
represents cost Of 100000, or $40
600 mile, and is now earning, above
all operating expenses, over six per
cent on it's stock and bonds or more
than six thousand dollars clear each
year; and it passes through coun-
try possessing very much smaller
resources for profitable business
than the road from Morgantown to
Kingwood and it cost more per mile
to build and with greater grades
than the latter will cost or have to
encounter.
All the business from Kingwood,
Reedsville, Masontown, Dellslow,
and the country between these
points, which is great agricultural
section with timber, coal, fire clay,
limestone, glass-sand and other re-
sources, will give assurance of the
very much more profitable traffic
that can be built up here, than
could be had from Kingwood to Tun-
Melton, while the passenger, express,
and mail business will be very much
greater.
The preferred stock, which will
all be held by the districts voting
the subscriptions and which is lin
tied to 100000 in preferred five per
cent dividend stock, would only re-
quire $4,000 of net earnings on the
whole road to pay the five per cent
interest on the subscription.
And if ten miles of short road
can earn $4,000 yearly, the twenty
six or twenty eight miles of the long
road should earn $4,000 on the pre-
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