The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1899-12-15
SENATOR WELLINGTON'S
VIEWS.

VIEWS.
A special dispatch to the Baltimore Snu
from Cumberland quotes Senator Yelling
ton as saying in reference to the proposed
sale of the canal:
II have always held that the Chesapeake
and Ohio Canal should be conserved to
the people of the State as a waterway, it
havin G been built principally by the State
of Maryland that it might give an avenue
of transportation to the coal interests of
Western Maryland, and if possible, to con-
meet with waterways to the westward.
The latter enterprise was never consum-
mated, Notwithstanding that the invest
ment of the State in building the canal
was good one, for it developed the west
ern counties, largely increased the basis
of taxation and opened up the Cumberland
coalfield, taking to the worlds market the
best steam coal now known. While direct
ly the State has received no recompcnse, it
has indirectly been well paid. By changes
in the syatem of transportation, political
mismanagement and other misfortunes,
the canal gradually drifted into such a sit
uation as has placed it in the hands of
trustees, practically controlled by the Bal
timore and Ohio Railroad, and now oper
ated with only one purpose in view, and
thai is to prevent competing lines of rail
way from becoming possessors of it. AS
a peoples waterway it has already ceased
to exist, and is now being operated solely
in the int crest of the above named corpora
ton, which has secured partial control of it.
The next part of the plan was to obtain
a sale of the property by the Board of
Public Works to the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company, upon condition that it
was still to be operated as waterway for
a number of years. Naturally, the Balti-
more and Ohio Railway would not desire
to lay tracks upon the canal, but they do
desire to prevent any other company from
doing so. Many people unquestionably
wondered why the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad in the last election, though its
president is Democrat, were SO exceed
ingly anxious for the reelection of Cover
nor Lowndes. One of the reasons for
their desire, which caused them to use
money and influence in behalf of Governor
Lowndes, was the consummation of this
plan. That there was an understanding
that Governor Lowndes was favorable to
the project there can be no doubt, at least
our people so believed, and this belief had
something to do with the opposition which
developed against him in our section.
1.-THE people in the last election declared
emphatically that they did not care longer
executive of our Commonwealth, and that
they had no confidence in his further plans
concerning this and other matters. They
elected Democratic Governor, and by
this election declared that they desired
Colonel John Walter Smith to administer
the government of our State, and to carry
out his policies; therefore, it would seem
to me that Governor Lowndes cannot af
ford, in the few weeks of power which are
left to him, to carry out his avowed inten-
ton of sacrificing the interests of the State
in the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal by such
sale as would practically debar other in.
terests or corporations outside of the Bal
timore and Ohio Railroad from becoming
bidders. He owes it to the people of the
State to abstain from further action in this
matter. If he does not he will have upon
his record the further stain in the last
hours of his administration of sacrificing
the interests of the State in this great wa
terway for the purpose of paying the
agencies of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-
road for their political support.
1T seems to have been demonstrated
that under existing conditions of railway
transportation the canal cannot be oper
ated so as to pay expenses. This would
demand that it be closed as waterway,
and if it can be utilized for the purpose of
building railway which will give addi-
tional transportation to our coal, then l
see no objection to its sale. 1t should be
sold, however, without reservation, and
the Board of Public Works should receive
sale bids and sell to the highest bidder.
The sale should be made fairly, looking
solely to the interests of the people, and
not for the purpose of paying political
debts"