Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1907-08-22
A Tempest in the Town.

the famous porcn question euSasou sne
attention of Shepherdstown is whether
or not the Virginia and Maryland
Bridge Company shall fence oh our
citizens from the Potomac river. And
thereby hangs tale that has provoked
much discussion the past week or two.
The trouble all started with the
new pavement propaganda. When the
council ordered so many new pave
ments to be laid, of necessity good
deal of sand had to be provided.
Several persons sought to make few
honest dollars by boating sand from
various points along the river bank
to the foot of Princess street, from
where it was hauled up town to the
places needing it.
The boatmen, Of course, escaped
the necessity of hauling the sand by
wagon across the bridge, and they
further refused tribute to the company
by declining to pay wharfage fof land.
ing the sand. The officials OF the
b.idge company didn't like this thing
Of losing possible tolls, and when they
were unable to collect anything in the
way of wharfage-there is, by the
way, no wharf there-they brought
matters to a head. They proceeded
to build wire fence, with gate,
across what they say is their property
and what the town claims is public
street.
At the last regular meeting of the
town council U. s. Martin, who owns
river front property, appeared before
the council and complained about
the action Of the bridge company In
fencing up the street. Council sat up
and took notice. Others who were
interested directly or indirectly awoke
to the situation, and the matter be-
came topic Of earnest discussion.
It was vigorously asserted that Prin-
cess street ran to the waters edge,
and that the company had no legal or
moral right to fence it off. Council
appointed committee, composed of
Messrs. J. L. Welshans, E. 81. Rein
hart and Harrison Schley, to investi-
gate the matter.
Following the meeting of the-coun-
Gil the whole town took up the matter,
and argument of the most lively ma.
ture ensued. A very large proper
ton of the people think that the
bridge company is usurping power
that does not belong to it and claim
ing property it does not own. The
company seems determined to stick
to its guns, and charges ten cents, we
have been told every.time it opens the
gate to the river.
At special meeting of the town
council last Thursday night the COM
mittee made its report, stating that
a fence and gate had been thrown
across the road. Spirited discussion
then ensued, and a good deal Of feel
ing was manifested. 1t was plain 10
be seen that the council and the con-
siderable crowd of citizens that were
present were strenuously opposed to
the action of the bridge company, and
the statement of Councilman Wei.
shans that it would be resisted to the
bitter end was heartily applauded.
A resolution was unanimously adopted
that the bridge company should be
notified to remove the fence by Au-
gust Goth, and if it refused to do so
by that time then it should appear at
a special meeting of the council on
August 30th and show cause why it
had not. The company has ignored
the order to take the fence away, and
the council and the public are waiting
to see what responses it will make to
the other feature of the official notice.
The REGISTER does not wish to
take sides in this controversy before
it ia legally settled, but we endorse
that public sentiment which demands
that the council uphold the rights Of
the town at whatever cost. We don
want Shepherdstown to be the only
place in the country which having a
water front within its corporate limits
is denied access to it. For hundred
and fifty years the people of the town
have had this privilege, and it must
not be taken from them. If the |
bridge company can show that it owns
the property in dispute, then the
council should condemn it for public |
use. If the town owns the street to |
the waters edge, which would seem
to be fair inference, then it ought |
not to tolerate the fence moment |
longer than necessary.
With this fence in the way, the
river is practically closed to the PEG.
pie of the community, for there is no
other way to the stream except by
crossing private property. The small |
boy is deprived of his inslienable
right to go in swimming; you can't
get load OF sand in summer or a
load of ice In winter without paying
tribute to the bridge company fel.
low may not own boat on the river
and enjoy this pleasure unrestrained |
and. worst of all, the disciples of Isaac
Walton are deprived of the greatest
pleasure of their lives and the bass in
the river will simply die of old age.
Oh, no The people won't stand for
this sort of thing, and we don't blame
them. The fence must come down
By the way, wonder what James
Rumsey would have thought of this
uort of fhino2