230 A. L. Bishop — The State Worl:s of Pennsylvania. 



that of the Gettysburg Extension railroad, a work undertaken 

 ahnost exclusively for the advantage of a single individual, whereas 

 other works of doubtful utility were provided for in order to 

 satisfy sectional interests.* 



A very prominent and influential friend and political supporter 

 of the governor of the state, who also at one time was a member 

 of the lower house of the legislature, owned valuable iron mines 

 in Franklin and Adams counties. To facilitate their development, 

 he conceived the idea of having a branch of the public works 

 extended through his property to connect with the Baltimore and 

 Ohio railroad. Having been appointed to the office of canal com- 

 missioner early in 1838, he was made president of the canal board 

 on May 17th, of the same year. In this influential position, he 

 was able to secure legislative sanction to employ the funds of the 

 state to commence the Gettysburg Extension railroad. f Fortunately 

 a change of administration occurred before nauch work had been 

 done, but not, however, until $682,846 had been squandered. 



The circumstances in the above case were, on their face, so ques- 

 tionable that a committee of the house of representatives was 

 appointed to make an investigation of the matter. After making 

 a thorough examination of all the facts the committee reported: — 

 "Of all the works of doubtful expediency constructed by the state, 

 in the opinion of your committee, thei'e is none so useless, so expen- 

 sive, or of so little value as the Gettysburg railroad. It was com- 

 menced by fraud and intrigue, and will end in disgrace and loss 

 to the commonwealth. The means of the commonwealth are inade- 



* Deception seems to have been employed in submitting the cost of certain 

 contemplated improvementp, to the legislature. A "Grand Committee" 

 appointed by the house to investigate tlie internal improvement system 

 reported, in part, as follows: "From the deception that was practiced upon 

 the people at the commencement of the system, the great excess of the actual 

 expenditures over the original estimates, from undertaking at the sa^me time 

 several distant and unconnected improvements of great magnitude, the com- 

 mittee have reason to believe that our system of internal improvement has 

 sufTered in public estimation. It has been proved to the committee, that the! 

 estimate of the cost of at least one branch of our canal improvement, made 

 by the engineer, was by liim reduced to one-half the amount ascertained by 

 his calculations, because, as was alleged, the work never would be authorized, 

 if the true estimate was made known to the legislature." — J. H. Rep., 1832- 

 33, II, p. 749. 



t See Wilson, Hist, of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co., I, pp. 385-389, for a 

 full account of the case. 



