Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1867-03-20
Competing Railroads.


The action of the Troy and Boston corpo-
ration, in refusing to make a connection with
the Western Vermont railroad, and the well
known object of that refusal, is awakening a
new interest in the subject of freight and
passenger tariffs over our railroads. 1t il
now ascertained that the Troy and Boston
road, which has control of all but one of the
railroads running west and southwest from
Rutland, and which up to January last had
lease of the Western Vermont road, has
refused to connect with the Western Yer
mont because Mr.. Park (who owns all OF
nearly all of that road) declined to make a
new lease of his road to the Troy and Boston.
This Troy and Boston corporation has re
Gently endeavored to buy the Western Yer
mont road, offering Mr.. Park $500, 900 for
it, which Mr.. Park declined because he would
not put all the people of Western Vermont
completely at the mercy of that corporation,
it would be if that road controlled the
Western Vermont as well the other south
western railroad communications. The OBJ
ject of the Troy and Boston is plainly to
prevent all competition, and to secure for
itself a monopoly of freight and passengers
at its own prices. Already it has given the
people a taste of what would be in store for
them in that event, by nearly doubling its
rates for transportation of freight.
We regret to say that this disposition to
secure a monopoly in the carriage of passen-
gers and freights, in order to charge higher
rates, is not peculiar to the Troy and Boston
road. We have statute which provides
expressly that no railroad chartered in this
State shall charge more for transportation of
passengers freight for short than for
long distance, vet we have no doubt this law
is disregarded, to the great injury of all peo-
pie along their lines, by every railroad in the
State. The Passumpsic railroad charges
higher rates on freight from Boston to st.
Johnsbury, than from Boston to Newport
and persons residing at St. Johnsbury have
frequently had freight from the south sent
to Newport, and then reshipped and returned
over the same road forty mil cs to st. Johns
bury, paying the charges for the re-trans-
portation !; and the whole charges were less
than they would have been if the freight
had been shipped in the first instance direct
to st. Johnsbury. The same is true of the
Vermont Central road, which carries freight
from Boston to Burlington enough cheaper
than it's rates from Boston to Montpelier to
more than pay the local rates from Bur
lington to Montpelier. The occasion of this
most unjust discrimination in rates against
such important towns Montpelier and st.
Johnsbury, is because Burlington is the
terminus of the Rutland and Burlington, as
well as the Vermont Central, thus having
the advantage of the competition between
those two lines and at Newport the Pas
sumpsic comes in competition with the Grand
Trunk road taking freights at Island Pond
while the people of Montpelier and St.
Johnsbury, not having the benefit of any
such competition, are therefore made to pay
roundly. This is. of course, not only deliber-t
ate violation of law, but grievous wrong |
to the places which are thus made to pay
unjust rates but it is a wrong which there
is little use in attempting by legislation to
remedy, as the roads have hundred ways of
subecting every one Directing to their rates
to annoyances and delays which are more
troublesome than the burden of the increased
rates. Not great while ago a gentlemen at
ST. Johnsbury, demonstrating with the man
ayers of the Passumpsic road because they
carried live stock from that place for much
less by the carload than they would carry
freight well packed in boxes. received for an
answer that the live stock had legs-meaning
that it could be driven cheaply to Wells
River, where the Concord and Montreal road