The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-06-05

would bs cut OK the way and very IL,
convenient for the travelling public.
Cheap Coke for Wheeling.
But it is in its relation to Wheeling.
and the Wheeling manufacturing dis
trict that the Uniontown, waynes-'
burg & West Virginia road especially,
appeals. 1t means that Wheeling dis.i
trict iron and steel manufacturers Will
be placed closer to a coke supply than
even the great Smoky City. Al pres,
ent the hauling distance for coke FROM
connelisvIlle to Wheeling is 1si miles,
via the Pan Handle and 142 miles Vial
the Baltimore & Ohio. BY the new road
the distance from Uniontowr to
Wheeling is only ssventy-one miles. and
as the new coke development is located
twelve miles west of UniontOwn the
distance for coke haul for the Wheel
ing district would be cut to about fifty-i
nine miles, little more than twO-flfths,
OF the Baltimore & ohIo's haul.
At present the Wheeling district
pay 81 S5 a ton freight for It's
coke. Pittsburgh manufacturers pay
eighty-hve cents. or nifty cents less
than Wheeling. giving the Smoky City
ian Immense advantage over this dis
trict, The construction Of the Union
town, waynesburg & West Virginia
would reverse this condition. and give
Wheeling rate of about seventy-fve
cents ton on coke. ten cents less than
Pittsburgh's. though Pittsburgh in-.
fuences would probably work to low
ering the rate there to as cheap a rate
as wheeling's
5000 to 1000 Coke Ovens.
The coke development near Union.
town mentioned above, located twelve
miles west of that place. is very eE-.
tenslve. 1t is stated that between COCO
and 1000 ovens nre now being coa-
structed. which will have daily output
Of 1900 tons. Much Of this develop
ment is in the control Of the Federal
and National Steel companies and Ns-
tional Tube Company. which arc III
terested in Wheeling district, Cleveland
ano western plants that would be
reached by the new road in connection
with the Wheeling & Lake Erie and
Cleveland, Loraln & Wheeling roads at
a freight charge that could be made
lower than that of the Baltimore &
Ohio and Pan Handle. 1t is claimed.
Wheeling district alone last year
consumed 100000 tons of coke. on
which the freight charges footed up
Sl.5sO.OOO. The freight charges for this
amount OF coke via the new line at
slxty-flve cents ton would be Sl,17O.-
900. a saving of SS6OOOO. At seventy
five cents ton the freight would foot
up Sl.35O,OOO, or a saving of $4,000.
ASide from the benefits derived by
the iron and steel manufacturers in the
Wheeling district, the jobbers and all
business people of this city would find a
new field opened to them. Fayette
and Greene counties, especially the lat
ter. are not well connected up with the
outside world. and the new road would
give Wheeling jobbers the call for all
or nearly all the trade in that section.
1t would also make Wheeling the out
let for the tremendous output of prot
duce from southwestern Pennsylvania
Coal by Water.
The Juttes. who are SO prominently
connected with the Uniontown,i
wayncsburg & West Virginia. are but.
recently retired from years Of expert
ence in the river coal business, having
disposed of their extensive interests to
the Monongahela Consolidated Coal
Company.
'You may be surprised" said Cap
tam Jutle recently. 10 President
McGregor. OF the Ohio county board of
commissioners. but 1t is a fact that
Wheeling is in position to discount
Pittsburgh In the matter of marketing
coal for the south via the river. Yet
1t is fact"
Further inquiry revealed the inten-
ton of the promoters of the new road
to continue their line from BellaIre to
point below that town, where 1t Is IN
tended to establish extensive coal tip
pies, coal harbors and all the other
equipment needed for the business Of
transferring coal from out the line OF
the Uniontown, Waynesburg & West
Virginia railroad to barges for ship
ment to Cincinnati, Louisville and the
south. Captain lutte says he can make
two shipments of coal from this point
on n rise. while the Pittsburgh and Mo-
nonogahela river operators can max.
but one. In addition the river haul Is
one hundred miles less than 1T is from
Pittsburgh. One Q: the principal ad-
vantages in shipping Goa! from below
Benwood is that the dangerous Pellaire
and SteubenviIle railroad bridges, with
their narrow SPANS. are avoided. Any
steamboatman VIII concede that this is
something not to be Snoezed at. as
nearly oil the accidents on the upper
river have been at these bridges. OF
course this shipping of coal from
Wheeling by "ater Is the restricting
of an old dream, but IL such expert
enced river men as the Juttes believe it
to be practical certainly nobody In
Wheeling is in n position to say nay.
IT am surprised that the construction
OF such road as we have in view and
the shipping OF coal from Wheeling
south by the river have not been done
long ago." said Captain lutte to Mr.
McGregor. ~ believe our roRd Will