Tidewater in 1904 -- Rumors

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TIDEWATER IS AS A TALE THAT IS TOLD
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Abandoned After Agreement Made with Norfolk and Western
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    The continuation from this section to the sea of the mysterious Deepwater or Tidewater railroad seems to have been abandoned.  This will be a great disappointment to the people of the lower end of this county.  A message sent out from New York says:
     "As a result of negotiations just concluded between Norfolk and Western interests and the promoters of the Tidewater Railroad Company, the proposed line from the Pocahontas coal fields to tidewater will not be built.  The Standard interests behind the Tidewater project were conciliated by the Norfolk and Western management.
    "Last week the statement was made in Wall Street that the road to tidewater would be abandoned, but it was immediately denied.  However, negotiations were still pending to set aside the plans of the Standard Oil interests, and on Saturday an agreement was drawn up whereby the Tidewater Railway Company abandoned its project.
    "It was also learned today that some time ago negotiations were on foot leading to a sale of the Western Maryland, West Virginia Central and Pittsburg, and some allied Gould properties to Norfolk and Western, but they fell through because of the objections of Norfolk and Western to contracts which had been entered into by the Gould people, particularly that with the city of Baltimore.
    "On the failure of these negotiations the Tidewater enterprise was taken up with renewed vigor.  Complete surveys were made, plans prepared, and it is estimated that as much as $1,800,000 was expended on the property for which payment was made in the personal checks of H. H. Rogers."

Bluefield Daily Telegraph
June 16, 1904

[Will Rogers is quoted as having said, "All I know is just what I read in the papers," but he couldn't have been referring to articles with rumors like those in the above article.]

Gordon Hamilton
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