Brookfield fights railroad against installing spur across their land

Twelve Men on Guard

to Prevent a Switch

Being Laid at Night

While President Wilson's stand for peace has so far kept us out of any trouble with foreign nations, Sayreville township seems to be quite able to furnish plenty of excitement right at home in the line of war. The excitement is the result of an expected midnight visit by the track layers of the Camden and Amboy Railroad, which wants to run a spur across the property of the Brookfield Glass Works.

It seems that some time ago the Westinghouse Air Brake Co., a subsidiary of the Westinghouse Electric Manufacturing Co., asked the railroad to lay a siding to some lands at Runyon, in Sayreville township, the belief being that they intend to put up a big plant there.

The railroad agreed to build the spur, but it was found that it would be necessary to cross the property of the Brookfield Company, and the company refused to grant permission to do this. Persuasion failed utterly, so the railroad company, as the report goes, threatened to run the tracks across at night.

This did not worry the Brookfield people at all, however, and now each evening twelve doughty sons of old Erin, itching for a fight and quite willing to transfer their hereditary hostility for the Sassenach to anyone who tries to lay a track across that property, are on the job as guards.

This valiant hand patrols the grounds every night with pickets thrown out, and with everything ready for a fight. But up to date no one has appeared to dispute the right of way with the guards, and all they have had to fight has been mosquitoes. It is reported that this has kept them quite busy enough, however.