720 



PENNSYLVANIA. 



struction was commenced in February and 

 completed in May. The line starts at Wil- 

 liamsport and runs slightly north of west over 

 the mountains into Potter County, and on to 

 Coryville, or Frisbie, the initial point, in Mc- 

 Kean. It passes over a high range of moun- 

 tains near the little village of Waterville, at 

 the forks of Pine Creek, and it was found 

 very difficult to lay the line at this point. In 

 several places the sides of the mountains were 

 so steep that the pipe had to be let down with 

 ropes to be placed in position. The distance, 

 according to the figures of the chief engineer, 

 is just 100 miles ; and as the pipe is six inches 

 in diameter, it requires nearly 28,000 barrels 

 of oil to fill it, reckoning 41 gallons to the 

 barrel. There are tanks at Coryville and a 

 pumping station. The next pumping station 

 is at a point about four miles from Couders- 

 port. The distance from Coryville to pump- 

 station No. 2 is 22 miles; from there to Wil- 

 liamsport is 77-J-, and the oil, when raised 1,200 

 feet at the summit, runs down to Williamsport 

 of its own gravity, as the fall is 2,100 feet. 

 The pumping-engines are forty-horse power 

 each, and each has an equal share of the lifting 

 to do in the way of the application of power. 

 The last joint of pipe having been laid, and 

 everything in readiness, the engine at Cory- 

 ville was started on the 28th of May, at four 

 o'clock in the afternoon, and the first oil was 

 forced through the pipe in the direction of the 

 pump-station in Potter County, 22^ miles dis- 

 tant. The pipe is of such a flexible character 

 that it readily adjusts itself to the formation 

 of the ground, except where very sharp turns 

 had to be made, and then short joints, sharply 

 curved, were used. The engineer says that 

 the flexibility of the pipe allows it to deflect 

 at least fifteen feet in one hundred. Every 

 joint has been carefully tested by subjecting it 

 to hydraulic pressure, and but little trouble is 

 apprehended. Joints are liable to burst, how- 

 ever, in which case the pumps would have to 

 be stopped, and considerable oil would be lost 

 before the break could be repaired by putting 

 in a new joint. At Williamsport tanks had 

 been constructed to hold 60,000 barrels, and 

 trains prepared for its constant transportation 

 to tide-water. The capacity of the pipe was 

 250 barrels per hour, or about 6,000 barrels 

 per day. The first shipment by cars was made 

 on June 7th. Over sixty iron tank-cars were 

 filled. These cars carry 100 barrels each, and 

 about 6,000 barrels were loaded. The siding 

 which has been laid by the Reading Eailroad 

 Company for the oil-cars is 2,700 feet in length, 

 and thirty cars can be filled in a very few min- 

 utes, so complete are the arrangements. The 

 pipe conducting the oil from the tanks is eight 

 inches in diameter and about one mile in 

 length. At the siding another pipe of the 

 same size runs parallel with it for a suflScient 

 distance to cover fully thirty cars, and there 

 is a stand-pipe opposite each car, which is so 

 curved that the oil flows into the dome in a 



steady stream. As the tanks are more than 

 200 feet above the level of the siding, the oil 

 flows with great force. It is thus seen that 

 the facilities for shipping are excellent, and 

 comparatively little time is lost in filling a 

 whole train. 



The reports of thirty-eight of the railroad 

 companies of the State for the year 1878 rep- 

 resent the aggregate earnings at $132,168,389, 

 against $127,936,695 in 1877. The increase 

 is about 3'3 per cent. Twenty-four roads have 

 reported their earnings for four years, and 

 show in 1876 an increase of 3'1 per cent, over 

 1875 ; in 1877, 0*8 per cent, over 1876 ; and 

 in 1878, 4'1 per cent, over 1877. The increase 

 in 1878 was larger than in the preceding years. 

 From 1875 to 1878 the increase was about 8-2 

 per cent. A general decrease in expenses is 

 also shown. 



The druggists of the State, although exempt- 

 ed as regular apothecaries from license-fees, 

 have been held by the decisions of several local 

 courts to be liable as venders of patent medi- 

 cines to pay such fee. 



Many questions respecting the legal liabili- 

 ties of municipal corporations have arisen out 

 of the failure of the city of Williamsport to 

 pay the interest on its bonds. The city was 

 authorized by express grant of the Legislature 

 to issue bonds to the amount of $200,000. The 

 total of bonds issued, however, amounted to 

 $645,000. It was urged on behalf of the city 

 that all of these bonds in excess of $200,000 

 authorized by the Legislature were illegal and 

 void, inasmuch as no power existed for such 

 action on the part of the municipal authorities. 

 On this point the Supreme Court held, by a ma- 

 jority of one (Justices Agnew, Woodward, and 

 Sterrett dissenting), that when a municipality 

 has lawfully created a debt it has the implied 

 power, unless restrained by its charter or a 

 statute, to evidence the same by bill, bond, 

 note, or other instrument. The Court held 

 that the act of the Legislature did not limit the 

 implied authority of the city of Williamsport 

 to issue bonds for municipal improvements. 

 This decision has been disputed as unsound in 

 other States, and as throwing the door wide 

 open for a wholesale issue of bonds. 



On the part of the city it was shown that a 

 portion of the bonds issued in excess of the 

 $200,000 expressly permitted by the Legisla- 

 ture ($123,339) were not authorized by Coun- 

 cils ; that 67 of the $1,000 bonds were issued 

 for " unknown purposes," and that 183 were 

 to " persons unknown " and for " purposes un- 

 known." The opinion of the Court did not 

 notice or distinguish that the validity of a por- 

 tion of the bonds in dispute rested on evidence 

 going to show that they were issued fraudu- 

 lently. At the close of the argument, how- 

 ever, the Court stated that it was not meant 

 "to deprive the city of any special defense to 

 any particular bond or bonds." In dissenting 

 from the majority of the Court, Judge Agnew 

 said : " The citizens of Williamsport find them- 



