Year: 1879

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me Dslavare westers Railroad.


There can be very little II any re-
srst at the movement which is said to
b going on to transfer the Delaware
Weatern Railroad to the Pennsylvania
Company. 1t is true that the first
named is local road and to the citi-
,sns generally belong the credit Of
building it, and on this account there
may be some who would like to COZ
time il under the present local man
agsmsnt, but at the same time 1t must
be- plainly evident that hemmed in as
i. is by other great railroad lines,is can
never bs anything else than a mere
dependency living upon the favor Of
corporations which control nearly all
the freight sent over it. For instance
. large amount Of coal is shipped over
the road for use in Wilmington but ev-
sry ton comes from off the Pennsyl-
vsnia railroad, and IS there are com.
psting lines fer this part of the trade,
the little home company Ia compelled
to accept just such prices for carrying
freight as are doled out to 1t by its more
powerful neighbor that is in posses
sion Of the approaches to the coal
mines. It is true that there Is agreat
deal Of manufacturing along the line
Of the Delaware Western road, the ship
msnt of the products Of which it cop-
trols, but here again it is met with the
same difficulty at this end Of the line,
a. all the kaolin, the snuff and iron
manufactured, in order to reach the
places where they are shipped have to be
reshipped at Wilmington. Thus is this
little local line Of twenty miles only
hemmed in and crossed by two powerful
corporations, the Pennsylvania Rail.
road company at its western end and
the Philadelphia, Wilmington 4 Balti-
more Railroad on the east. By great
effort and expense it might be extend
ed sixteen miles farther from Landsn-
berg 70 Oxford, but even If this was
done it would be only road thirty-six
miles long and would be hemmed in
the same as it now is, and would be
just as dependent upon other corpora
tions for freight aS it now is with the
exception Of little addition in local
freight which would not pay the inter
est on the Expense OF building the ex-
tension.


The annual reports of the road since
it was sold to the first mortgage bond.
holders shsw that short as it is, it IL
abl. to sustain itself, handsome divi.
dend being left for the stockholders af.
ter paying all the running EXPENSE
and the interes. on the first mortgage
bonds. The road runs through very
productive section of country, romantic
in the extreme and abounding with
manufactures, some OF them very ex-
tensive ones, Of various kinds, and for
. local road it is probably better sup
ported. with local freight than any
other short road in the country with a
terminus at small country village,
and at a junction with another road
that has the power to crush i. when
ever it saw proper to use that power
but no matter what these facilities OF
trade have been, nor the advantages
which the road possesses, it could be
made still more productive by having
such an owner as the Pennsylvania
Railroad company, and Wilmington
would no doubt be largely benefited
by the change. What our local rail
road mpaniss, no matter how efficient,
has been unable 70 accomplish to i'll
crease the. carrying capacity of the
road and to benefit the city Of
Wilmington also, the Pennsylvania
railroad is able to accomplish,
when it becomes the owner. Of course
in such radical change as is contem-
plated, and with the influence which
such monstrous corporation as the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company natu-
rally possesser, there is possibility of
expecting too many benefits from such
change, but it does not require any
long stretch of the imagination to see
tnat the company in taking control Of
the road has more in view than the
profits arising from the carrying Of the
local freight found along line Of TWEEN
ty miles, and that arising from the coal
and lamber required in the trade Of
Wilmington. The change would give
to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company
what it has never yet had-an eligible
and economical outlet and freighting
point on the Delaware. 1t is true that
after years of toll and expense the COM