The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-11-01
What Road Is It?

Tho hearing going on by the joint con1- mittees on street and lights and ordi- nances Of the city council of Selma on the petition of the Southern railway 10 run it's track down Water street to give 10 merchants on either side of the street store door deliveries brought out yester- day afternoon interesting information connected with the recent surveys made in the vicinity of Bessemer and Birming- ham and from those points to Selma At the hearing appeared J. D. Miller who it develops is the consulting engineer for a road known according to it's charter as The Memphis, Florida and Western Ala bama railway who entered the protest found below to the councils granting the petition of the Southern railway.
 Mr Miller, in reply to a member of the committee, stated that If the Southern was granted the right to lay two tracks down Water street that he would be i'm pelled to recommend to his people that no further surveys be made In this vicini- ty although some sio,0Oo had already been spent in that work. Asked If he repre- sented the Southern railway, the Louis vile & Nashville or the Illinois Central, MT. Miller answered emphatically that he did not. His attention was called to his words of "the big bridge" found below. He was asked whether he meant the l.. & N bridge or the county bridge and he smiling answered neither, I was refer ring to a really big bridge" His remarks have caused considerable comment In the city today and were as follows:
 Miller Makes Statement.
 Some of you gentlemen know me and some know rent the spare offices in the new court house building.
 "A year ago while conducting some surveys in this and adjoining states. came to Selma looking for central of-
 flee for my draftsmen. l did not know anything of your city and had no idea of building a railroad through the place, but a short residence has satisfied me that Selma, if put on a through line of rail- way and given competitive rates, had the making of an important railway center besides being a delightful place of resi- dence My impression of your city and of the people I met here. was so favorable
 that brought on my wife from North Carolina, and I have made this my resi- dence for the past ten months. The re- suit has been that have expended sever al thousand dollars In surveying a direct
 route from Birmingham through Selma to Pensacola. although knew in advance that Gin connection with another survey) l could save million of dollars construc- tion by passing to the north of Selma. Now, have expended close on to s40O00 in cash making surveys in this state and Mississippi, not a dollar of which came from the pocket of the peo- ple-it was all through here, and though. of course $40000 is a comparatively small sum of money, I don't doubt that much extra ready money spent In your midst must have helped some, one.
 "Now, about this double e-track--or real ly, trebble- track on Water street-it seems to me like very valuable thing for you to give away. for the asking, and especially as, when you have given 1t away. you deliberately agree to put your selves on branch line forever, as you are now
 Two tracks of a rival railroad along Water street would. of course be a very serious obstruction to any through rail road from Birmingham to Pensacola passing through Selma. I do not for a moment assert that this Is why you are asked permission to lay such tracks, but I do say that with two additional tracks across our line near the entrance to the big river bridge would handicap our sur veys so seriously that I would not feel justified in any further expenditure here and therefore I ask you to take time to fully consider this matter, for your own interests. The present railways have been here some years and have large facilities
 more than they make use of--let them wait awhile until you see what else is in the immediate future that may be bet ter.''