Evening star., 1901-04-10
CANAL May (BE SOLD
Chesapeake and Ohio Franchise As
suming FinanoiabII importance.
INTEREST OF TRVSFEEOOF lS44 BONDS
Long-StandingI Decree of Sale
Again Before Court.
HEARING AT HAGERSTOWN

The Chesapeake and Ohio canal, which
has so long been looked upon as a value
less asset OF the state of Maryland, is, 1t
is peheved, about to assume a place of
great Importance in financial and railway
circles. May l the trusteeship of the
bondholders of 1S44 will terminate, and it
will be within the power of the circuit
court of Washington county, Md, to con-
tinue that trusteeship, or should the state
step in. the court may enforce long-stand-
ing decree and order a sale of the prop
erty to the highest bidder.
The state has already taken steps looking
toward the protection of it's interests At
the regular session Of the Maryland leg
1slature the winter of 1900 a resolution
was passed and signed by the governor di-
rectlng the board of public works, after
consultation with the attorney general, to
take such steps as 1t may deem necessary
to bring the Chesapeake and Ohio canal to
SAFE unaer the decree signed in 1891 by
Judge Alvey, but deferred the sale four
years In order to give the trustees of the
bondhoiders Of 1874 an opportunity to op-
crate the canal This time was further ex-
tended by Judge Stake until MAY, 1901,
The board of public works is directed by
TINS resolution to resist further extern
sion.
Ihat the movement to sell the canal will
pc opposed by the trustees of the bond
holders of 1874 was made plain Yesterday
when John K. Cowen, Joseph BRYAN and
Hugh L. Bond, three members of the
BOARD hled IN the circuit court at Hagers-
town a petition asking that the court ex-
tend the time for the operation of the
canal hve years from the 1st of May, 1901
Judge Stake signed an order setting April
~ 1or the nearing of the matter.
Proposition to Purchase
several years ago, when a movement to
dlspose OF the canal was started, the West
virginia Central Railroad Company came
Ioi ward with proposition to purchase the
OLD waterway and build a railroad along
the route from Cumberland to WASHINGTON.
The terms offered We're not considered sat
1sfactory by the Maryland authorities. and
tne e1orts of the company named to get a
line OF its own from it's present terminus
Cumberiand-to tide water were for the
time being at least abandoned. Whether
the West Virginia Central, now that an
otner opportunity to attain it's long-cher-
ished hopes is Presented will in the event
of a sale become bidder for the property
cannot as yet be ascertained.
There is an intense desire in some quar-
ters' especially on the part of Mayor
hayes OF Baltimore, that the Western
canal and build an independent line from
Cumberland to Baltimore. AS has been
before stated In The Star, the Western
Maryland road is the property of the city
of Baltimore, which now has 5000 900 in
vested in it, good deal of which, 1t is
said brings no revenue, and it is regarded
as very doubtful if the taxpayers of that
city Will consent to advance to the cor
poration any considerable sum of money,
much less to build a railway $50 miles in
length.
With the West Virginia Central out of
the field as bidder there are it is be-
lieved. but two corporations to which the
canal would be at all valuable These are
the Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia and
Reading railway companies, respectively.
The former, with all it's present facilities,
could hardly have any use for another rail-
way except that the ownership of the
canal would enable them to build a short
line from Cumberland to this city by which
coal could be transported from the fields
Of western Maryland and central Penn
sylvania to deep water ports, at a carrying
cost to all points south of Philadelphia
OF probably one-haf Of what the expense
now is, when it has to be taken around
by way of Harrisburg IN order to reach
Baltimore. The Pennsylvania might also
conclude to buy the canal for the reason
that several years ago it bought the South
Pennsylvania road, then under construc-
tion-for the purpose Of shutting off pos
Sible cCmpetition.
If the canal should become the property
CT the Philadelphia and Reading it will, it
is believed make the purchase through the
Western Maryland Railroad Company,
and solely for the purpose of Sc
curing an outlet LOT ltS immense
and growing traffic from it's line
at Harrisburg to Baltimore and Washing
ton. Mayor Hayes is quoted as saying re-
Gently: 1T would be the greatest blessing
If the Western Maryland could be extended
along the canal from Cherry Run to Cum
bcrland. ] do not know of the legal OBJ
stacles in the way II there are such OBJ
stacles."
Gov. Smiths Views.
When the question of the sale Of the
canal in 1899 was pressing, Governor John
Walter Smith of Maryland, then governor
elect expressed himself as follows:
1.-The amount of money which the state
would receive from the property is not to
be considered in comparison with the main
object, viz, providing an avenue for the
products of the mines and forests and
fields Of Maryland and West Virginia to
important as the enormous mine and for
est wealth Of West Virginia is now known,
and Baltimore should lie prompt in making
itself the seaport for that state Of unlim-
tied shipments.
When l was in the state senate I fav-
ored, at the time the canal was a wreck
its utilization as railroad bed and a bill
was passed to that effect. But it was rep
resented to the court by persons owning
the 1874 bonds that the sale of the canal
would deprive them of their only security
which is a lien upon the revenues of the
canal They further represented that if
the canal were committed to them and
taken out Of politics, enough could be
earned by operating the work to pay for
repairing, to pay the cost of operation and
;oto Ga Of