Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1922-06-15
THE CIRCULAR
BOUNDARY DISPUTE

THE CIRCULAR
BOUNDARY DISPUTE
Editor Every Evening: The pub
llshcd reports OF the meeting at unioh'
Delaware. June Z, to discuss the Della
ware Pcnnsylvania boundary line dues-
ton. were so confused and contradio-
tory (perhaps naturally 80, since the
questions involved are somewhat tech
nicsD. that It seems imperative that
the whole subject should he cleared up,
so tina, the public may understand just
how the matter now stands.
| First. IT must be clearly understood
THAI the new line run by the Della
ware-Pennsylvania Commission, In
1892. has now been ratified by the
Legislatures of both States and by
! Congress, as provided by the United
states Constitution, and Is therefore
| the present legal boundary, and will
remain so unless a like commission DO
again appointed and the same lengthy
procedure be gone through With. After
more than two centuries of uncertain
" definite line has at last been es-
tablished and marked with permanent
stone markers. and II would undouot-
eddy take very strong and persuasive
! arguments TO convince the two Legis-
latures that the involved matter
should be once more opened up and
the line run all over again. The con-
troversy must end some time. Nc
general law has probably ever been
passed that did not affect some one
adversely, but in such cases the few
should yield In the interests OF the
general public.
Even should the two Legislatures
decide 10 appoint a new Commission
however, would II be able TO run tn,
boundary In accordance with the "olC
line" as demanded by these few pro
testing iand-owners2 William A
KINNEY. your local surveyor, say,
he thinks Il possible, but the Com
mission of 1892 and Capt. Hodgkin
, Of the L. S. Coast and Geodet1c Sur
vey, who ran the new line, say other
wise. l am not surveyor, but
should like TO know what higher au
thority can be found in the country O,
this subject than the L. S. Coast SUI
/ wy anu MUaNtNtt tftN StN WoNA
naturally be accepted as authority
= And so too with the Judgment OF me
az such conspicuous ability as the lat
$ Senator Bayard. ex-Attorney -Gener,
= Wayne MacNeagh and the others {
s that Commission. Did they have an
= bias. as between the two States c
{ their respective land owners? The
r were named equally from the Nv
States and their very names bear ii
10 seal OF trustworthiness and impart
:. aliiy.
a Where the Trouble Lies.
Where does the whole trouble liz
: Merely in the fact that the line ma
u never been run since 1901. was the
e run with primitive instruments. ar
q was not marked with stones OF ar
l. kind OF permanent markers whateve
II but simply by slashes on the tree
The western end OF the line. where q
= the trouble now Is. WAS then wi
: forest land. unsettled. and in a vel
u few years no earthly man could {,
o where that paTt OF the line ran.
e the land "a this western end can
e gradually 20 he taken up the settle
had no way of knowing which eide
tr the line they were on. and when Mas
al & Dixon came along. in 1854. and e
tablished the norrhea<t corner
Maryland, the landowners. somehC
!. NATURALLY enough perhaps) got {
J. idea that the circular line enGed at
near that corner This no doubt q
;, counts for the fact that the Delaws
10. d L.,
Wedge and always retained jurisd
ton over it, though on the maps
was shown as part OF Pennsylvania
A. If the circular line did not end
" this corner OF Maryland. where did
end? No man today can tell T
=" Commission OF 1892 therefore n
nothing 10 go by AT that end OF :
> curve. With all their efforts I'll
could find only three points ON the G
- tire curve that could still be iden
u fed:
u, !. The site OF Lamplugh's house
the Delaware.
,. The great curve in the Brand
Wine near Cossart.
"a 3. The stump Of the old hickc
a tree AT the .,outh corner OF Kenn
eu and Pennehury Townships
W All of these three points were
IA the eastern half OF the curve. Alo
40 the western half there was nothing
IN naming 70 guide the Commissi,
ne True, a few deeds did mention C,
tain stones as being on the Sta
ca line. but these deeds date long sir
ed the 1901 line was run and merely re-
10 resent where the settlers as they la
or took up their lands supposed the i
'st 20 be. The Commission could in
OF way connect these deeds up with
ng line OF 1901 and so had 10 reject tn
as evidence.
New Line In Della wares Favor.
The statutory instructions 10
Commission OF 1892 We're TO re
la tablish" the old boundary line and
ate run a new one. They wished mo
ers over 20 disturb as few Of the Ia
the owners as possible. They theref
adopted the above three points VIII
nDIIr CTOD'