The Portland daily press., 1867-03-21


Bnth and her Railroads.
Our neighbors of Bath are making laud-
able effort to bring the railroad from The
Eastward to that city, for conjunction with
the Portland and Kennebec road, instead of
having connection made at Richmond,-and
to this end the city has voted to loan its credit
to the amount of $6O0,00O;-a snm, it is
claimed, sufficient to bridge the Kcnnebec at
that city, and equal the amount raised at Wis
casset,not dollar of the latter being depend
ed on If the road comes to Bath.
The reason why the people of Wiscas. ct
wish the road to go to Richmond, is to make
their place the winter port for the whole
kennebec valley above the point of intersec-
ton, that port being some dozen or fifteen
miles nearer Richmond than Bath is. Wheth.
er their expectations would be realized by the
construction of road as they desire, is
question in relation to which we are prepared
to express no opinion, but that Bath is vitav
interested in securing the road to herself we
had supposed admitted Of no doubt, till we
read in Mondays Times of that city candid
article, which seems to take different view.
| The writer says:
Much has been said and waitten relative TO
the importance of this road. touching the inter
ests OF Bath, and it has been assumed, l,y both
| speakers and writer's, that cur trade and adj
| vantages otherwise, will be increased to large
| extent; while, at the same time not a single
| point has been alluded to-as to achdt they are
to be, or hoao obtained, except that we shall Sc
cure al the eastern travel through our city
ana what benefit or advantage will the east
ern travel secure to u.s. more than we ROW have
and which is sustained by very large and able
stage Company. Our trade will not be be nefit-
ted by through travel" We want the travel
to stop in Bath, and open trade with ms; but
| what have we to SELL to what extent have we
manufacturers, and wholesale establishments.
that we can compete with Portland, Boston
| and New York, in all their varieties and which
| are the great center marts of trade, on our At
lantlc coast. Again on the other hand, what
! nave those eastern towns to sell as, that we
| want to buy? Last year Rockland mannfactur-
| ed nine hundred thousand casks of lime; upon
| an average they have produced about seven
| hundred thousand casks for the past five years,
aeSoralng to the State Inspectors" report
| Allowing one hundred thousand casks to be
used per year, on the line of the road which is
large estimate, who are purchasers of the re-
mainder; and how will it be sent to market
Other OF those towns produce hay and pota-
toes, and perhaps few other articles of manu-
facture, beyond their own consumption; how
will they be sent forward? Not by rail to Bath
to be forwarded through by rail to western
market; for it must be remembered that all
those towns on the eastern coast have an OUT
let Dy water to the sea; and freight can be
shipped by sail or steam vessel at much less
rate and trouble. Besides. shipper of hay. or
any other articles, would not send them here by
rail-, TO be reshlpped on board vessel when
the facilities are much better for sending a
vessel direct to the port of loading.
y. & ID
ges OF the proposed railroad to that city will
prove such as to warrant the outlay, and on
its final completion he asks, twill it meet the
expectations of its friends in BathS In bis
judgment ''the interests of Bath are not in
volved to the amount of one dollar, one way
or the other, whether the road is built or not.
unless the people do something for them
selves"
He then strikes the keynote to the city's
prosperity-a keynote to the prosperity of
many other cities as well-when he says:
would much sooner vote to loan the credit
OF the city to the amount of 100000 or $1 ,OOO.-
600 to establish manufactures here at home.
where we ought to commence. First establish
mart for ourselves; build manufactures for
sugar, duck, cordage, chains, anchors, shoes,
furniture, pals, brooms, glass, nails spikes,
tacks and q thousand other articles which are
used IN daily consumption, SO that purchasers
VIII nave an lnducement to come here and ban
as many now do to purchase and contract for
our ships and smaller vessels. This branch of
business we now hold a large share of for no.
where in the United States can vessels be built
of better quality, and on more favorable terms
than IN Bath; and we now have customers
from the larger cities and smaller towns all
along the Atlantic coast Let as push our
railroad facilities to the North and West. We
need IN addition to what manufactures we can
establish for ourselves, the agricultural pro-
ducts of the farming towns, and the patronage
and influence OF manufacturing places, where
mills are now in operation in our own immedi-
ate vicinity. 5rs ..ua..
That no railroad connections can benefit a
city unless the people are disposed to avail
themselves of the facilities thus afforded, mas
been amply proved to our neighbors in the
case of the extension of the Androscoggin
road That was put through by Bath capital
and Bath energy, but having secured the road,
the people of the city would not be induced
to make the outlay needtul to provide speedy
transit for the freight of the road to its desti-
nation, until the freight-vast in amount
had forced channel for itself by route not
looked for by the Bath people, and now they
find it impossible to control it, or even to di-
vert it from its present line of travel
The truth is, an energetic, enterprising, live
people, having capital to work with, will ere
ate business, and this business will soon lead
to lines of communication with the country
and the great markets; but without such life
and energy no railroads or system of railroads
can build up place. ....
So with other facilities. The people of
Brunswick, by wise foresight and an enter
prising spirit, might have had manufacture
ing population in their town, and manufac-
turing interests, far ahead of Lowell, Law
renee or Manchester Their splendid water
power, in close proximity to navigable waters,
has invited occupancy, and has ever been ca
pable of being made the foundation of, and of
enriching, large city; but there the water
continues to fall, and the sound of the roll
licking stream makes as pleasant music now
as it did to the solitary Indians who once
hunted and fished within sight Of Pejepscot,
and it is almost as much undisturbed by the
gathering loom, the buzzing spindle, the deaf
ening hammer and the revolving wheel. God
and nature furnish facilities, but man must
appropriate them. God may feed the fowls of
the air, with food all prepared, but to man he
gives the faculties which enable him to pre-
pare his food from the crudest materials. Let
him take hint from this in prosecuting his
industries, and in attempting to build up his
own or his city's material prosperity.