The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1901-03-08

Railroad Company, the lessee, could have
positively brought the freight cheaper by
rail. The Morris Canal and Banking Com
pany is here favoring the passage of this
bill, but we should not have been here
this year, save for the incident which
Senator Edwards has related.
THE canal has cost a good many mill
ions of dollars. There are outstanding
$4,000 of mortgage bonds on the prop
erty. The preferred stock amounts to
s1,175 and the common stock s1,025. 600,
making the present capitalization $2,700-
900. The Lehigh Valley Railroad. under
its lease, is required to pay dividends of
ten per cent. on the preferred stock and
four per cent on the common stock. The
Lehigh Valley Railroad Company has
paid off half a million dollars of debts
since it took hold of the canal The canal
has been operated at a loss for many
years. The loss last year was $4,000. be-
sides the interest of the bonds and stock.
AS matter of fact, the property has
been run at a loss for twenty years. In
the year 1923, under the charter, the State
may purchase the canal and its appurte-
nances at fair price to be ascertained
by ten commissioners, to be named by the
canal company and the State. If the
State does not take it the charter con-
tinues for fifty years longer. At the ex-
piration of that period, or in 1878. it re-
verts to the State without price.
''The owners and lessees hope to save
from the remnants of the canal to pay
off this S500,0o0 of bonds and to pay off
some of its preferred stock. In almost
every case where canal has been aban-
doned it has been the practice to save
from the remnant a right of way for a
railroad. 1t is even within the power of
the Legislature to change the use fer
which property acquired by condemnation
may be put In most cases where the
right of way is changed from canal to
railroad uses, extra compensation is given
because it is held that railroads are
more burdensome. Some of the old Nor
ris Canal property was obtained by con-
demnation; much of it was obtained by
deed, which set out that the canal COM
pany should have it only so long as it
should be used as a canal"
President Pitney, who sat in the rear
of the Senate Chamber, seeing that Mr.
Corbin was not going to give any further
explanation of how the lands were ae-
quired, arose with an interruption. He
said that much of the property of the
canal had been acquired without paying
anything for it. The company under its
charter, was given the right to condemn
and before the condemnation proceedings
were completed, it was authorized to go
ahead with the construction of the caral
Mr. Pitney asserted that much of the
right of way was simply gobbled up un-
der this privilege and the condemnation
proceedings never completed. For these
properties nothing had ever been paid AS
a matter of fact Mr.. Pitney said that but
seventy-five deeds in all were acquired for
rights of way across the entire county of
Morris. He had examined the records on
the point within a few days
Mr. Corbin replied that seyenty-fiye
deeds might cover large part of the
county which Is principally made up of
farm lands. After some further discus
sion of a general character the hearing
was aGiourned