The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1914-01-29
1 THAT WILEY RAILROADS y \

/ Several of the p-country papers
refer to 1.-THE Wiley Railroad. /, We
wonder If any Of those editors have
lever taken the trouble to investigate
and ascertain what is behind this
Wiley railroad scheme? 1t is claimed
by Mr.. Wiley, so we understand, that
he is working for eastern capitalists
Ion a salary. He must be smooth
lproposition to induce scores of towns
to vote bonds to aid in the construc-
tion of an. alleged railroad for which
not even a preliminary survey has
been made.
We would like to see the route of
this proposed railroad traced on a
map of the state of Minnesota issued
by the railroad and warehouse COM
missioners. The Union will give
five dollars for such map with the
Wiley railroad traced upon it. The
blue prints issued by Mr.. Wiley give
one no idea of where his proposed
railroad will run. The blue print
before US shows broad band of
white running from the Anoka
county line to an imaginary custom
house on the northern border of
Roseau county. We presume the
custom house represents a city that
is to rival Winnipeg? We guess-it
is only a guess for nothing definite
can be ascertained from the blue
print-that Mr.. Wiley skillfully
avoided all the villages: and towns
of any size between the Anoka
county line and the Roseau border
and appealed to the backwoods towns
to issue bonds, urging that the
towns and villages that already have
railroad connections would oppose
his project, as the building of his
railroad would "kill'' those towns,
and villages, and his demagogic
argument seems to have been effec-
tive, for it appears he has induced
quite a number of townships to vote
bonds. The surprising thing is that
intelligent farmers could be in
fuenced by such claptrap.
OF course such railroad as pro-
posed by Mr.. Wiley is out of the
question. His blue print shows the
southern terminus of his railroad at
a point on the western boundary Of
Anoka county. That is queer
place fora railroad %sto terminate.
But Mr.. Wiley was wise to stop
there, for if he: had undertaken to
show how and where his railroad
would enter St. Paul or Minneapolis
he would be getting into deep. water.
If 100000 was voted in bonds to
this imaginary railroad that sum
would not pay half the cost of the
right of way and terminal facilities
in either St: Paul or Minneapolis,
and the same conditions, in a lesser
degree, would govern at the north
ern end of his proposed railroad if it
were to enter Winnipeg. But a rail-
road-builder of Mr.. Wiley's trans
cendent abilities would, we presume,
cause new Minneapolis to spring
up on the sand dunes of Anoka
county and another Winnipeg in the
bogs of Roseau county. ~. ..
Again: we reiterate, the Union is
surprised that intelligent people
S11Oulu SC1AOuoly COllSAuCI HOCu d
chimerical scheme. But, some will
say, the townships have nothing to
lose; if the railroad is not built the
bonds will be forfeited. That may
be true to a certain extent. In our
opinion it is not the intention of
MIR. Wiley to ever claim the bonds.
He will use the bonds as basis to
sell the stock of his proposed railroad.
The law. does not authorize
the issuing of bonds to private in
diViduals. Bonds can be issued only
to an organized railroad company
when definite proposition has been
made by the president and secretary
of the. company. Here isgsthe exact
words of the statute (Sec. 4, chap.
}9l06. general laws of >1877):-"A
Ianfr;+, a:nronoci+;af, in So yvYifinfr