The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1866-03-05
Maine Central Railroad.

At the annual meeting OF the stockhold ers
in this corporation held at Waterville last
week, the old Board of Directors were reflect
ed with great unanimity.
The subject Of connection with, the roads
scest Of Portland and the exorbtant charges
of the Boston roads with no depot accommo-
dations for freight, were the principal matters
of interest before the meeting. The report of
the President, Hon. A. p. Morrill,, thus speaks
upon this subject: = - ~ 4
!, "The friendly relations which were alluded
to in our last annual report, as existing be-
tween us and the managers of the Portland
and Kennebec, Somerset and Kennebec, and
the Androscoggin railroads. still continue, to
the mutual interests of all these lines of road.
and giving thereby increased accommodations
to the public. We are, however, meeting SER
ious impositions and eXactions from the man.
ayers of the roads:west of Portland with which
we connect, that imperatlvely call for reform.
The entire Railroad interest of this State east
of Portland, and also the vast interests which
those roads are developing in every branch of
industry along their extended lines, will not
consent, we trust, much longer quietly, to be
arbitrarily and unreasonably taxed blythe roads
referred to; and we ought not to submit to
| pTCS6ub cAdctlU1o luUll We nave exhausted 6V-
cry means in our power to obtain more liber-
al treatment. We have been unable to make
any abiding contract with them for doing our
through business. They claim and exercise
the right to fix such a tariff of rates as they
may see fit, and also to change those rates at
pleasure without consultation with the roads
east of Portland with which they connect In
stead of considering ours as connecting roads
which bring to them an immense amount of
business, thereby emitting US to just and ia.
vorable consideration, they have for a long
time, and to-day are chargingus ten per cent
more for the transportation of every passen-
ger we taketo them, than they exact from in
dividuals or firms who simply buy a package
of fifty tickets. This is an injustice which
marks the policy of those roads towards us,
and which, we think, is without a parallel in
the history of connecting roads similarly stu
ated. In matters of freight we have great
cause of complaint They provide no depot
accommodations whatever for receiving our
freight, and it repeatedly occurs that, when
our freight reaches the p. S. & P. Road, they
have neither cars to receive it nor depot to pro-
tect it from the weather, and we are compelled
to take our cars and freight back across the
city and wait their convenience to send it for
ward. iflll le..i.sf.'.-. ID. %,
The P. s. & P. Railroad has some fifty miles
of its track in this State; the whole through
BUSINESS OF the hOauS east OF Portland Is
thrown npon it in that city, which necessarily
makes it one of the best paying roads in the
country. 1t is however held and managed by
Corporations out of this State, who manifest
no sympathy with our interests, but seem dis
posed SO to manage the Road as shall make it
contribute the utmost income possible to its
foreign lessees.
We will not attempt to point OFT the modes
Of remedy which we think are within the
reach of the Railroad and other interests con
nected Herewith in this State, when acting in
concert as they cannot fail to do, but we bring
this subject before the stockholders, trusting
that, whoever may have the management Of
this Road in the future, proper efforts will be
made TO secure better terms or Different con-
nectlons than we are now compelled to &C
cept." s4I....., 80,
The matter of connecting with a line of
steamers between this city and Boston was
seriously discussed among the Directors and
Stockholders, and the probability is, that un-
less more favorable terms can be obtained
from the Boston roads, both the Maine Cen
trail and Portland and Kennebec roads will
connect with the steamers, at least for trans
portation of freight, until the completion of
the Portland and Rochester Railroad.