Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1901-04-24
CUBA'S new RAILWAY.
How Sir William Van Horne
Has Planned to Build It.
DIFFICULTIES HE has OVERCOME

By Him - His Method Of Getting
Around Franchise Restrictions.
The Power to Block His Plans Held
by Secretary Root.
How Sir William Van Horne has
been able to prosecute his railroad en-
terprise through Cuba in defiance Of all
the precautions taken by the admins
tration and congress to prevent the
grant of franchises was revealed by
Sir William to Secretary Root in an in
terview arranged by the secretary for
the purpose.
The Van Horne undertaking rests
not upon the suspended general fran
chise law of Cuba, which in it's clauses
relating to railways provided means
for condemning lands for rights Of
way, stations, side tracks, ETC., by the
assertion of eminent domain, but upon
q special enactment still In full opera
ton permitting the owner of land to
construct railroads on 1t without any
ones interference, says special dis
patch from Washington to the New
York Post. This was designed origi-
nally for the convenience Of the sugar
and tobacco planters to expedite the
movement of their crops. Under it
they have built many short lines
through their own premises.
Sir William has therefore bought or
Is now buying whole farms contiguous
to each other and along the route Of
the trunk line which he has planned
from one end of the island to the other.
In this manner he has secured his right
of way far more eXpeditiously and
probably with not much more expense
than If he had gone through the usual
process of condemnation for every mile
of the way. Moreover, every Cuban
municipality has authority, still opera
tive, to grant rights Of way through
and over its streets, and Sir William
has taken advantage of the fact to ex-
tend his lines into the towns along the
route. The municipal officers seem
anxious to meet him half way. the peo-
pie having risen to the notion that their
future welfare depends upon their hav-
ing direct access to this great artery of
the island.
In short there is just one way open
to the United States government to in
terfere with the Van Horne railroad
programme. AS the rails pass from
one plantation to another they must
cross for the most part over public
highways. which are not under local
control. but are treated by our govern
ment as military roads. To cross these
1t Is necessary to have written per-
NIT from Secretary Root. The secre-
tary has authority to grant revocable
permit. very different thing from the
investment of permanent right like a
franchise. Thus far the secretary has
declined to say whether he will grant
such permits. The matter has not yet
reached the stage where his final deci-
sion is necessary. 1t is realized in
once granted and trains are running
they will never be revoked, for the Gu
ban populace will insist upon their re-
naming in force.
While the pigeonholes Of the war
department are becoming stuffed with
petitions and applications for railroad
franchises signed and pressed by Yam
KEGS who boast of their enterprise"
the British subject has skipped in I'M
der everybody and bought up about ev-
erything worth having. 1t is under
stood that he has acquired this control
Mt an average of not more than SIS an
acre for the plantations. while the mu-
inequalities have granted the right to
enter the towns and villages without
eXacting penny in return, sometimes
indeed Offering Il bonus when there has
been a fear that some place would be
overlooked on its own merits.