Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1845-04-25
BOSTON AND MONTREAL RAILROAD.
Nh III

BOSTON AND MONTREAL RAILROAD.
No Ill
An important question to the stockholders IN the
proposed road as well as to the merchants oil Dos
ton, is--Which of The proposed routes 'c'" mare me
advantage in competition for freight dnd|oaeF we
propose to make few suggestions touching this
ouestion. now. Having in our last shown that the
Central route will very much better accommodate
The business of Vermont than will the Rutland route,
it is perhaps necessary now to show that the Cen
trail route presents peculiar advantages to the stock
holders also. This, indeed, is doubtless the main
question. Whether one route is little longer or
little more costly than another, or whether the
business Of one section of country is greater than
another section, are questions worth consideration,
TO be sure-but these are all absorbed in the main
question-which route will do the most business
and pan the best profits? The answer to this evil
IDENTIFY depends upon the advantages of the sevara
routes in competing with other means of transport
tation.
In the first place, it is to be remarked, that the
business to be competed for is immense: it is for
the transportation of nearly all the products Of Yer
mont, and the merchandise exchanged for those
products of Northern New York, embracing the
great Iron region on Lake Champlan, and all the
freight which may ere long debouch upon Lake
Champaign from the great lakes, by Railroad
from Ogdensburgh-and finally of Canada, now
sweled immensely by the act Of Congress allow
ing the free transit of British goods and destined
to be swelled infinitely more, by the improved nav
igaton Of the st. Lawrence and Niagara rivers,
and by the great Railroad, connecting Montreal,
by a short cut, with Lakes Huron, Michigan and
Superior.
For this immense amount of transportation, bring
ing with it an immense amount of trade. the chief
competitors are to be Boston and the fist
can avail herself of rail roads only TO Lake Cham
plain the latter has now direct communication
with that Lake by water during the opening of nav
igation the Lake and canal-say seven months
in the year: BY railroad she may COMPETE in some
degree always with Boston with different pros.
poets of success according to the route which Bos-
ton shall select This brings us to the considera-
ton of the different routes, with view to the ad-
vantages of competition between New. Y ork and
Boston.
We will first consider the matter connected
with the business of Vermont. The leading facts
are these: The Rutland route to Montreal runs
near and parallel with Lake Champlain its whole
length-say, by land, 40 miles.
The Central route runs near and parallel
with the Lake 20
Showing difference in favor of the Cen
trail route of 20 miles.
In other words, the Rutland route through the
counties of Rutland, Addison, Chittenden and
Franklin would be compelled to compete with lake
navigation seven months in the year, while the
Central route would be objected to the same con-
petition for Chitenden and Franklin counties only
Remembering that in winter the Lake is closed
and that then the business of these counties would
go to Boston by ele, road we apprehend that their
business would be divided nearly equally between
New-York and Boston.
In the next place, the heart of the State Of which
Montpelier is the centre, embracing the business Of
Washington, Lamoille, and part of Orange, Gale
donia and Orleans counties, would be compelled by
the Rutland route to go TO Burlington, and there
would find the Rutland road and the Lake craft in
competition The result would be that the trans
portation and business of these counties would be
divided between Now York and Boston; whereas
if the Central route is chosen the nearest, cheap
est and quickest mode of transportation would be
over the Central road 10 Boston, and she would get
the ,choe of that business. In this view, the abso-
lutte gain the Central road and to Boston is esti
mated at near half of the business of these coun-
ties. To show at glance the position of the two
routes, both as TO freight and influence upon the
business of Boston, we will take the real estate re-
turned in the Grand List of 1914, as an index of
the business of the counties in question.
Central Rome uia Keene, Beliolcs Falls or Rattle.
boro,.