Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1899-05-23
WILL BE LEFT
IF the Cheat River Road is
Built

And the M0rgantown and kingW0od is
N0t-Thats What We will Get-And
the Trade of the Country North of Us
Will go to the Other R0ad-0nly way
Out of 1t is to Build Our Own Road.
Morqanto,on aciu be left If the Cheat
River railroad is built, and the Nor
gantown and kingwood railroad Is
not. j. M. Guffey and his associates
have chartered railroad from Point
Marion up Cheat River to Parsons in
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,
aud tiley declare their purpose to
build ct 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 Monongahela River. They are
both natural routes. One or the other
viii soou pe bne line OF the railroad.
If not Decker's Creek, then Nor.
gantown will be left, and Point Mari
on will be her rival as business place.
TIE toe should frjghten no one from
voting for the railroad subscription.
1t will be only tauelge cents on the hun
dred dollars. A person assessed with
one thousand dollars worth of property
would pay only $1.20 year.
Here are the figures: Interest at
five per cent on $45, 600 is $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, Ut is now s., ia, 1922
| Twelve cents on the one hundred dol
lars on 81, 100000 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 a 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 a mile, net earnings, to pay the
dividends, and only about 1892 per
mile to pay both dividends, (equaling
interest on all district subscriptions, J
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 800. 900 in all, or
i $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 Creek road will go from one
county seat TO another, from rail and
water transportation to rail, through
a good agricultural section, much bet
! ter settled, with more people, timber,
coal, limestone, fire-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