Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1844-09-20
VERMONT G. MASSACHUSETTS
RAILROAD.
letters TO Hon. Thos. II. Perkins, of Bos ton.

SRA 1.-THE interest y01 have manifested in III,
tifa' enterprise "i connecting vonr city with the
S.i'e OF Vermont by Rniiroad as eynced by the
can Ut pnric ne.,g on tla 21iii 10 aid that enter
l'Isr, has ~ Hred me To attempt 10 av .,nf,re Won
s'inn incts aud considerations. which will. trust
slow that v,ur conf Hence in that measure is mn,
WSpntei. Having been somewhat familiar with IN,
'l'v ~ R1lro1ds III this Commonwealth and h,y.
M known the character of the cases the ditIre
c'l pam w'r" able TO make ou'. when they have
o'r ed their CT ir,,r.. have n, he. tncv IN saw.
~. ,n'' '"r pt".r. f profit ,hr investment il,
Ii'r vermont nnd VI issachus,i,s Ralio1I is better
INN was ~ the c'se Of any Of the great lines from
NJ rnv 9 10 ton. when their stock was taken M
that time the cllG ia Of the frnsls and snpNs or +,
nhtartn climate upon this sprrcs of ln,crna. M
p'pvenrn's were problem iiicn; a.l the most san
= in" nj That day did Anticipate that increase of
uhSiheSS' "hrh subsequent experience has shown
that ihesr roads atualiy crente believe also that
we can show an amount of business on this road
nearly ns great as existed on any other line when
t!rif foals were commenced, and rcaer prospect
oNrr'osc; whle the road Itself will cost not more
th1nti1'f as much per mile as the Eastern Lowell
Providence Worcester or Western roads
TIE gen ri Direction or Povte of he Poqd II
you we're to spread the m,p OF New England before
you, with al HE railroads nox 20 lS,r,rted marked
u't upol II, ana were now To select pnsf,on of conn
Try, Connected with the hv business transactions
"hth was de.tildte Of the common facilities Of the
day. an! which would n, the snlne time suyport n
m lfoid and add 10 HE wealth and business Of your
c'y' your eye would al once rest upon that broad
runs from Boston 10 Concord y. II. on the one hand,
nhd from Bosion TO Albany Oh the other This w,d,
SPACE OF country is the very portion which ia inter
s.it'd and divided INTO two nearly equal PORTIONS by
IN road now propnsed-a SECTION Of country 81 i'm.
D. rant hat Il attracted The earliest attention of the
LEGISLATURE: for you viii cct that the Franklin
haipad c!l1r'rr, the first charter granted in The
STATE tayers"d this very routc--1 route 81 feasible
mat hr. Baldwin, after examining every line from,
Boston to the Connecticut river, selected 1t as the
best route !or a canal This broad tract of country
- not only sufficiently extensive TO suyDori n mil
rad bnI IN do 1t without npnir,ng the business of
any other road noW N operation. The Vcrm ,nt an
Niassnc. nlsetts Kiiro,d commences Il, Fnchbnrrh.
about f'rty-Iive miles from Boston, and is at ,ilni
poni about twenty-five miles from Worcester and
aoon' thirty from I. DWELL the nearest ppn,, on cach
OF nose roads, and as the contemplated road pro-
cceds westerly, II dvergcs more aud moro from both
OF those lines. 81 that when il reaches I'ratt!eboto'
IT'S IN round numbers, 100 miles from Boston and
90 "r ~ from Springfield NJ. and Concord, n H.,
we nen'est man points on The other 70 Dis. Thus
sn1led, II will be that this road is designed To
accumulate an intepen lent line Of travel and will
n'' interfere win the present business on either of
th' other roads.
am aware, however, tia, there may be- some per
s,ns VINO NAV fear that it will divert travel from the
Worcester or Western road. and 50 ini,re those car
pnra ms But all such fears are rerirr;ly nronnd-
Irss. They arise from narrow view of the subject
Every man acquainted with the subject knows that
large share of he business of every road is found or
created nlonI the line Of the rord. am will 10 To
allow ('or intend o present all The facts as believe
them ~ cxis) ,h't th, road, when completed would
avert some travel from the Worcester and Western
'ni. Bat Il will have remuneraiing effect which
" u balance all the injury done, 1t will take so ne
travel from these roads and it will turn some travel
upon them. For instance: n gcnilcmrn ut Bratla-
take the stage from Etat,lehoro' to Worcester and
then travel an the railroad len miles'tu Weshorouoh
but II the contemplated railroad we're constructed he
would ,nhe the ro,d to Boston and up the Wore
'1r road hhtrfy miles TO Wesboroueh. But the great
feIhnneraiing consideration s, that this road would
increase the business and population of YOUR civ.
ana nence lncicase the travel and business on every
roid IL ding u the city. |, is narrow view of the
subject I" oppose any new improvement because it
may hy POSSIBILITY turn business in a new channel.
Experience almost invariably shows that all new IA,
cii'ts ~ communication ln'reasc business TO that
extent, that the whole community are gamers in The
end. " ~
This railroad route is flvrably situated in another
re'pcct. IT strikes CuDnec leu, river inst where il
VIII bring mo travel and buness upon the road
ira 50 contribute most 20 the business oi your me.
"onoIisi me Western road strikes the Connecticut
20 low down, that is unable TO arrest the business
on the river, aud much Of it II ats down 10 Hartford
and SO on TO New York or II arrests some of ths
business, IS compelled to transport at a prize so nw
A. 10 n'iora tiie or no profit TO the road. This cir
chnstnnce alone diminshes boh the business and
me prdifs oi the Western road. But no such obpc.
ION can lie against the road in contemplation II
reaches the fver IN the night place TO secure the qrea
to' W 'I1l'. II " was mach 10 rould
not arrest the bn mess down the valley What came
from above wol.i cGn'inr,e TO descend and find ire
wav to New YORK. or. if arr, sied by this road the
BUSINESS must be done al rates which could furnish
no no ptohts TO Inc r"nt And # the road struck tho
Connectlct much higher NJ it would lose the busi.
ness blow. The topography nf country shows nj
onre, tt't the business the river will naturally de.
rcrnd mat valley unless turned aside bv some artih-
ca, means BUSINESS thirty niles above Bra,Ileb ru'
would almost necessarily come To that place if the
fotd were constructed, while business thirty miles
hro" would seek n mart by some other line Of uayel
lower down the valley, The good people Of Boston
have project Of bringing soft wafer in,n the r,y:
and If Won were reduced 10 the necessity of Ling
from Connecticut river and were DESTROYS Of Obtain
lno the largest possible quantity, you would dam the
stream n the lowest point Al which you could com.
maud the wafer knowing that Il YOU struck the river
tao high Won would Iose the water Of the tributaries
which fall in below that point; and if YOU srrnch il
too low, You would not have sufficient head IN hiring
the water 10 the city, Precisely the same principle
npp'lcs 10 this railroad If the Concord road q con
hnled 10 the lake il might supply the wants and
take the sness Of the upper pari Of the
rver VI ley, hut you would loss all the business Of
INC southeastern portion of the State of Vermont
whereas. nv nterseciing the valley at Greenfield or
Northied. you not only secure the business of the
lower but OF the upper portions of that State and nj
the same time nrccomm ndafe the manuflctirin, sec
ton, telwern Ftchbnrsh and the river and secure
the trade OF Fran I'm county. Though the people of
Boston cannot he regarded selfish or local in their
feelings, vet II must he additional recommended
ton to this line, that it will accommodate our own
penn'e, aad that II traveres our own State, and is
snhl,ct To our own safe aud stable legislation where
as line 10 the lake. via Concord ~ H. would fur
n>h no farlllles 10 our own citizens and would be
subject 10 the narrow and lIbera policy of The state
"a policy which would greatly enhance the cost Of
the road and render the investment insecure after the
road was constructed.
The proposed road is not only so situated as not 10
interfere with any other road but the Topography of
the country SEEMS forbid the construction Of AM
other road which will interfere with this road in
this direction must necessarily follow up The streams
which fall into the north branch Of the Nashua and
cross the summit in Westminster or Ashburnham, the
lowest portions of the White Mountains in this sec
ton Of the country. On The south The high lands in
Princeton, and an the north the Monadnock range in
New Hampshire. render any other passage over the
summit rornlv inpraciicabie This is sufficiently
obvious from the general face Of the cDunry and is
de'nonsirably shown by the surveys of Baldwin and
others. have presented this point more distinctly
because no prudent capitalist will invest in n road
which may in n short time be superseded nv another.
IN this there can he No danger of this sOri-
Lot this road he constructed, and there can h. M