The Portland daily press., 1868-11-30
INC ss.r.tsnd, White Mountains. and

tioLs to the stock will be published in few
DAYS. 1t il only necessary that the example
of the public spirited citizens who have al
ready subscribed should be emulated by others
who are equally interested and who have tbs
same financial ability to act for their own and
the pubic's good. to put the enterprise, where
1t long since ought 10 have ben, beyond any
possibility of defeat. These facts will serve as
an answer 10 Vermont correspondent who
writes as follows:
To the Editor Of the Press:
What are the Portland people doing about
our railroad? This is question that Is asked
through the Lamoilie Valley every day. The
valley is awake TO this great enterprise. The
friends of the road have secured what oil Legis
lative action is needed to make the terminus
west of Swanton on the Canada road by an
act enabling towns on the Sheldon Creek and
the Misssquoi river TO aid in the construc
ton, and the towns have already raised their
money, and We are ready at our end to locate
the road through the most fertile and produc-
tive valley in our State. Our valley is rich III
agricultural products. This is the best butter
and cheese section of New England Our pas
lures afford an abundance of the most nutrl-
cious feed for cows. Our Morgan horses can't
be beat, our Thousand hills" TEEN with young
stock, our Green Mountains are covered with
dense forest of spruce and hemlock tmbers
waiting to open up a market and develop the
resources of the valley, we are impatient to
know what Portland is doing,
BARDwIcK, w. Nov. "a, 1868.
The flowing letter answers some fictitious
objections TO the road aud the practicablity of
the route raised by writer in one of our con-
temporaIes:
MoRRIsvILLE VT. Nov. 81, 1868.
s. J. ANDERSON
Sir,-Yours came to hand
enclosing newsp paper slip.
Allow me TO say q word about that portion
referring to Vermont.
The author saw: There has been no plan
or profile showing a connected line and the
great drawback to the enterprise is entire alb
sence of accurate information as to the length
of the line located, the character OF the coun-
try, the amount of business Offering, the pro-
ducts of the county along lis route, and the
character of the connection with the Vermont
Central railroad at SwantoD or with the Og-
den>burg at Rouses Point"
Allow me to remark that the entire line IN
Vermont, except short distance between the
rivers Lamoilie and Messisquol, which is very
easily estimated, has been carefully surveyed.
The distance from Connecticut river to
Swanton by present surveys is no miles
AID understanding the distance from Portland
| tn the Connecticut river to be 100 miles, the
| distance from Portland to Swapton is 2l0
miles. The country along the whole line in
| Vermont is very fertile, producing largely of
| corn, potatoes, oats, hay, maple sugar, rye,
| hops. sc. 1t is farming region. and with tho
| exception OF about six miles in Lunenburg,
| the land bordering on the line, both sides is
| under cultivation and well settled by a thriv-
| ing, Intelligent and industri. us people 1t is,
| taken together, acknowledged to be the best
| portion of the State. We raise largely of
horses, cattle sheep and swine, and the pro.
| duction of butter, cheese, and wool is very ex-
fflrIl
and extensive along the whole line. There
| are about 40 towns with population averag-
| ing at about 1900 hat are to be accommodated
directly by this road, and when the road is
built, population and business will increase
largely every year. There are several other
towns that will contribute more or less to the
support of the road.
Az to the connection with the Vermont
Central at Swanton allow me to say that we
now have by lac the right when the road is
built to use their road from the point of eou-
nection in SwantOu to ROuse's Point with en-
| CINE and cars, paying such toll as may be
agreed upon. and in case of disagreement the
rate TO be established by the Supreme Court.
so that it gives us an Independent line from
Portland to Rouse's Point If your people
should connect at White River Junct on or
Montpelier, you would always have to pay
tribute to the Vermont Central from the point
of connection to Rouse's Point, being in one
instance about 20 miles aud in the other about
| railroad facilities to any towns in Vermont
not already accommodated, except perhaps six
| or eight between Wells River and MONTPELIER
| on that route. .a
| The author speaks of the Concord Summit
| There is no summit in Concord. There is but
| one summit on the whole line of any account,
| and that is between St. Johnsbury and b ard
wick, and over this summit the line has been
| carefully surveyed and the highest grade en-
| countered is about 65 feet. There is grade of
about 40 feet, for three or four miles, in Lun.
enburgh. This is all. 1 as we'll as yourself
understand the relations existing between the
Champlain and Ogdensburg Company, and
consider them favorable and friendly. They
cannot be otherwise.
How do matters now stand in Portland?-
We have succeeded in obtaining all the legis.
| lation we need. We have succeeded in every
thing we have attempted and now we shall go
| to work to close our subscriptions &c. We
must see the shovel in the ground IN early
| spring if possible. iS,cdnton and Highgate sojll
make their subscription right
Yours truly, GEO. W. HENpEE.
| But the interest in the great enterprise is
not by any means confined to Maine and ver-
mont. AS far out West as Minnesota the peo-
pie are looking to its successful Inauguration
as means of enabling them to reach tide
water by the shortest rail and the longest aoater
route They regard it as part of the great
trans continental road which the Northern
Pacific, when built, will complete. The Min
neapolis Tribune has an article ou this sub.
1ect which we append in full:
The most important railroad project. next
to the Northern Pacific, now on the tapis, is
that Of road from Portland, Maine, to o..
densburg, New York.
Portland is the most eastern METROPOLITAN
city of the United States, and has the deepest
and most commodous harbor on the Atlantic
! fyn dos A..
New York. A direct line of railroad, there
fore, connecting it with the West, would place
1t on the shortest line of travel between En-
rope and the West, the Pacific coast, China
and Japan.
Ogdensburg is a city on the st. Lawrence
river, little above the northeastern extremi-
~ OF Lax Erie. The distance from Ogdens-
burg to Portland, by the line of the proposed
road, is three hundred miles. Grain from the
West. shipped Via the lakes for the seaboard
at New York, now encounters six hundred
miles OF transportation at Buffalo. When the
proposed road is completed, grain may be
shipped by water all the way to Ogdensburg,
at which place it will require only three hun
bred miles OF transportation to take it to the
seaboard at Portland; and when it reaches
Portland is two days nearer Europe than at
New York.
BY the construction of the Portland and
Ogdensburg railroad, therefore, it is plaiu to
be seen that Portland must become the sea
port for all foreign expectations and mporta-
tons to the West; and also, after the construc-
ton OF the Northern Pacific road. for the
greater share of the through commerce across
the continent between Europe and the Orient.
IL must become the successful rival of New
York for the export and import trade of Chi.
cage, milwaukee and all the upper Mississippi
Valley.
Though so distant the Portland and o.
9ensDurg road WILDE o. vast importance to
minneapolis and the region tributary to it,
we shall, ut our people display sufficient en-
terprlse to build the connecting link between
TINS clty and White Bear Lake, Soon have di-
Lake Superior ship loaded with grain NAV
start from Superior City, and sail to Ogders.
ourg without breaking bulk and from that
point three hundred miles of railway carriage
VIII take 1t to the seabOard. FtOm Minneano-
lis to the head of Lake Superior is about 15O
miles. Thus Minnesota wheat might reach
the Atlantic seaboard with only 400 miles of
carriage! This would be indeed "bg thing"
considering the vastly superior cheapness of
water over land transportation. 1t is proba-
Bile that a saving would be effected of more
than one half, compared with the present cost
OF freights TO the seaboard and to Europe
This saving would mainly go into the pockets
of producers.
or course we wish the Portlanders good
luck in this important enterprise The esti-
mated cost of the road is $4,000 per mile,
which will make a pretty big sum in the ag-
gregate; but our Eastern brethren ouqht TO
raise it by the time we raise the funds for our
Superior and Minnesota river airline connec.
tion.
The Legislature, even were it disposed to do
So cannot interfere to nrevent the eyacut;nn