The Portland daily press., 1865-05-20
The Wants and Necessities Of Portland.

large and wealthy city. Her harbOfis one OF
the safest and easiest Of access on the col'l-
nent She is favorably situated ID encourage
intimate business connections with all parts Oh
the State. She Is tan or twelve hours nearer
Great Britain than any other nrst class harDor
in New England, and much nearer the COM
nercial centre Of Canada than any other win
ter harbor on our coast Behind her is fer
tile country and an Industrious rural popula-
ton. SO that nature could hardly have done
more than she has to encourage the building
up here Of one of the most populous, indus
trious and thriving communities in the North
ern States. if1a
r To the natural advantages Of the place have
been added many important works of art,
which are second only to those of nature In
stimulating the growth of city. We now
allude to the railroad lines extending East,
North and West, and connecting us not only
with other parts of our own State, but with
Canada and the Great West. Nor are these
all. The lines of fine steamers, now regular
ly plying between this city and New York,
and Boston, and st. John, and the Penobscot;
the large and hitherto profitable West India
trade the lines Of packets connecting with
the towns along the coast-these are all graf.
flying monuments of Portland enterprise and
thrift We have passed through the terrible
ordeal Of war and come out unscathed, ex-
cept as loved ones have fallen in many in
stances, sacrifice on the affairs Of a noble
patriotism.
The war, however, which has brought with
1t employments and activities that could have
come in no other way, is now practically clos
ed. The arts of peace must now engage the
attention of our population. "Shoddy" must
stand aside for the genuine articles which go to
make up the warp and wool of peoples
permanent prosperity. For four years we
have gorged on blood henceforth we must
return to, and learn to love and be satisfied
with, the palmer, simpler yet more healthy
aliment by which nations growth is to be
promoted and its health preserved. The i'm
plernents Of war, having served out their
mission and crowned with imperishable hon.
ors those who have faithfully welded them
In the cause of Liberty and Human Rights.
must be laid aside, while the implements OF
hnsbandry and the mechanic arts must be
grasped by stout hands and Piled with vigor
which comes only of earnest purposes. In
other words, as city we are now to enter up
ona new career of life and progress life to
be weak or vigorous, aimless or earnest, abor-
tive or successful, very much as we will to
make i. To make it success; to build up
the city in population and wealth. we must
I'd fha
or all our efforts viii be fruitless.
i. Wewant increased Accommodations for
:. the growing population Of the city. Those
only who have had the misfortune to need
es can tell hoC hard it is to find comfortable
hous quarters even for small faulty. There is
absolutely no room in the city for more people
to reside. We know personally of cases where
men-in some instances men of wealth and
controlling large business operations-have
been obliged to abandon, or adjourn indeH-
nitely, the idea of removing to the city and
becoming citizens of Portland, simply because
Z of the absolute impossibility OF procuring
house room. This should not be. an indus
trsous population Is public wedEth. 1t alone
gives value to real estate and lessons the bur-
dens OF taxation. The merchsnt, also, needs
the presence of large, increasing, industri-
Gus, and prosperous because industrious pop
ulation, in order to give encouragement TO
his enterprise, and to create demand for his
wares. Let all, then,-land-owners capital
lists, merchants,-al who seek the city's pros
perity, conspire together to abolish this great
impeachment to our growth. Mechanics should
be encouraged to build houses for themselves
and to sell to Others Owners of vacant I'M
productive lots should contrive to have them
improved, and allrational and feasible meth
DDS should be adopted to accommodate the hun
dreds Of families which almost every month
would become permanent residents Of our
city, II they could find the means OF Temporal.
ry shelter.
q Johnny now comes marching home
again." The "boys in blue"-oficers and pri-
Yates, who have been looking at the fat, fertile
lands of the sunny South" are soon to be
among us again. Shall they stay Nth us p
Shall they be encouraged to stay2 Shall we
open up employments for them, so they shall
not be seduced away by the prospects of bet
ter remuneration in the land of the palm and
the cotton plant? g ~
What shall be doneP What can be done ?
Nothing is more needed in Portland now
next to supply Of dwelling houses, than
the opening up of new branches of manufac-
turing. We do not refer to large, overgrown,
paiace-like cotton or wooden factories, but to
those more humble yet equally useful and
equally honorable branches of production,
which may be started with small capital and
conducted within narrow limits. We now
have our Portland Works" with its enterprise
and activities. We have our Sugar House,
our Shovel Factory, our Glass Factory, our
Kerosene Works, giving employment to hun
dreds; and we are to have, we trust our Dry
Dock, our Rolling Mill, and many other large
and costly works. We also have our Furn
ture, Carriage and other factories. But where
Is our Steam Cordage factory to supply the
meet OF vessels, old and new, always demand
ing the products of such an establiahment?--
Assureiy is not creditable, while claiming to
De the commercial metropolis of the State.
@nu while shipyards are springing up all
around us, and while Portland sDuckv is for
sale by every respectable ship.chandler. that
noS iathom Of cordage is used or sold ia
Portland that is not first importrd from the
q Dus snefe are nnmberless branches of me-
cnanical industry, requiring far less money 70
oonuuo' 'neln IMAM cordage factory, of which
we are sadly deficient, We ara told tbat Inn,
Der passes through this city every week from
the west going east, to be manufactured the
manufactured articles afterwards coming back
hore for sale and use. So lumber Is Skinned
from this city to Boston, and is there mann.
featured into articles which find their wav