Evening journal., 1911-03-09
THURSDAY. MAR. 9. 1911
PHASES on THE DUPONT OFFER.

HE JOURNAL is not disposed TO quarrel with
- those who are searching for pinhoes in the
DUPONT road offer. The Journal is not very much
concerned whether il is considered as a business
offer" or as gift" Time alone will tell
All that have to say on that point is that
IN judgment if the State declines TO cooperate
with Mr.. dupont in this matter it will be many
day before il has another opportunity similar TO
that which is now presented 10 IT,
Let assume the gift angle of the question.
AS we have said objection has been made by a
few persons 10 accepting a gift in the form of a
State road. Probably the novelty of such gift
is what startIes and astonishes these persons The
gift OF a good road is something new, as we have
said before, but there is no good reason why such
a present should not be received. The persons who
oppose gift should have objected to any other
thing That has been handed to the State or TO the
conf unity.
Delaware unfortunately has had very few gifts
Some Of our wealthy men have probably given
mere outside the State than in the State. But
the ooJectors should have opposed the erection
OF the Sayard monument the gift of land for
park purposes on the part of Mr.. William Ban
croft the gift of the site for the Rockford water
tower by the duPonts, the various contr-
buttons On the part of members of the same fam
lily Tor different road purposes in their own neigh
borhoods, the gift of the people who contributed
to the erection OF the monuments on Delaware
Avenue and gifts of various other kinds.
1T we CONSIDERED the DUPONT offer as a gift
we should say that it is very practical one, of
mrre benefit TO the every day people than a library
would be OF a monument of any kind In our
Judgment IT would be grand gift gift that does
not put the people under any kind of obligation
TO the donor, no more obligations than that of
thanks End constant appreciation on the part of
those who use the road
Look at the business end" of the offer as
some consider it TO be merely a matter Of busi-
ness. We think it would be long time before
any man other than Mr.. dupont or any corpora
ton would build road TO cost more than one
million OF dollars at their own expense and with
their own expert engineers in return for the priv
nege OF constructing trolley line or laying any
kind of conduits
There has been some talk that the Standard
Oil Company might want to lay pipes down
through the State. II would not be difficult for
them to get right of way to do So Let persons
60 TO the Standard Oil people and say to them.
We shall give you the right to lay pipes, if you
viii give us million dollars in return and if YOU
permit us 10 levy tax in addition.
The Journal doesn't think the Standard Oil
would be very keen in accepting the proposition
For be II remembered that if the trolley line or
any other public utility should be constructed
IN the near future, or in the distant future II
would be taxed in any manner thought proper
by the State
Cidsr the latest proposal of General dupont
the way is open for any other man or set of men
TO embrace the fine chance presented 10 them to
build trolley line or any other public utility