Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1868-11-26

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sa,,n.ll the owner of the Bennington and
IRn,i,na rnal 10 sell his road 70 them and
thus 10 obtain the absolute monopoly OF
/ al the railroad CONNECTIONS from western
Vermont south, -,
Tlis breach Of good faith, uot only with
the w,llio, for whose benefit those roads
wore chartered, hut With Mr. Park, was
prrp,trated without previous wo'I oi
Inference between the mplnioa and Mt
Park. 1t was part ui an inscription,
..Lru,u by which the Rensselaer, and Sar.
atoga company, having already control
'ai the Chainplun steamers, oi the road
from Whitehall 10 Troy, and Of the Rut'
land and Washington railroad, would con-
trol every avenue Of business and travel
iram Western Vermont south, and hold
40 their mercy all the roads and all the
. transportation business of the extensive
section north IT them and il compelled
( the people Of Bennington County 70 take
/ immediate action for the protection Of
+ their interests II Was a question Tor a
/ time whether many branches Of manu-
/ featuring and other business in that part
Of Vermont would not be ruined before
relief could be secured, But the Legis-
/ lature was convened In extra session. \
I charter for new outlet 20 the south from
Bennington 10 a connection with the liar
lem road was secured The construction
of a new link Of - miles was undertaken
at a cost 10 the citizens and towns along
lthc line If the road of ) 1000, 600, The pres
/ Ilent and managers Of the Rensselaer, and
Saratoga road predicted that the enter
/ prise would never amount to anything
+ bat the people Of Vermont were composed
oi different stuii from what they supposed,
I The construction % the road had gone
/ steadily ON, and within thirty days cars
will bc running through from Montreal 10
New York over it, without break OF con-
nection, opening a new through route,
and giving 70 Western Vermont an outlet
10 market not under the control Of Troy
monopolists.
| After the construction OF the Lebanon
/ Road had become fixed fact, the Troy X
/ Boston Co. year ago, finally entered in
10 an arrangement by which they agreed
To reopen the connection to Troy. Mr..
Park, who had been at all times willing to
consent to any honorable terms by which
his fellow citizens on the line Of the Ben
nington and Rutland Road could be re-
lIevcd from the embargo, released from
attachment the rolling stock Of the +. and
| i. CO. which he had held ms security for
CLAIMS arising out of the previous lease of
/ the road at a cost of $4,000 he rclaid
| the rails over the portion of his road 10
the State line, and ran his trains there
for a connection; when it became appar-
ent that the connection was to be of little
more value than the previous utter stop
/ page. Having secured the release of their
rolling stock, the Troy and Boston Road
would run but one train day each way,
and that only for local travel, while on
/ freight they charged the citizens of West
erN Vermont lfty per cent more on like
articles, and for equal distances, than they
[ did the citizens Of New York State just
across the line, and compelled all settle
ments for freight ia be made in an open
lot mt the State line, at midnight, before
they would take it. \This evasion Of an
agreement binding in\honor on both par
ties, and honorably fulfilled on his part
by Mr.. Park, this violation of all decency
and honor, was called "smsrt" by the
managers Of the Troy and Boston Com
pany, 1t was said by a gentleman in
their interest that he guessed it would
turn out that they could be Y as smart -
! Park" on railroad bargains. II this Is
smartness. said Mr. F., tru,tI may new
cr receive 50 doubtful a compliment rs to
be called smart by any man.
But-the people Of Bennington County
had lived through all these difficulties
they had secured their southern outlet,
and rs certain rs it is that they have a
road to New York, so certain is it that
will have a western outlet to Albany, in
dependent of the Troy and Boston road
/ What they ask now, however, is simply
the privilege Of competing for valuable
/ freight with II foreign corporation. ask,
/ said Mr.. Park, no favors, nothing for my
self, ask only for justice for my constitu-
cnts, for protection for valuable Vermont
interests from a grasping monopoly, and
that not because it is a foreign corpora
ton but because it is an oppressive apd
INSCRIPTIONS monopoly. We ask simply
for the extension of the Bennington and
Rutland road to West Rutland. four miles
where the road might originally have
I bttil DHlll, II us IillutIS udu nOl NIhH1i
to stop at Rutland We ask the privilege
/ in which the Rutland and Vermont Cen
trail roads are also Interested of reaching
the West Rutland marble quarries, which
now supply l"} tons Of freight u day, or
forty thousand tons wear, and whose
production, with reasonable facilities and
competition in transportation, can be i'm
mcnScly increased This great marble in
terost has bccndcveloped since these roads
We're built, and the. greatest source Of sup
ply, the West Rutland quarries, is at the
mercy of the Rensselaer, and Saratoga
railroad company, foreign corporation.
Mr. Park proceeded to show the exorbi-
tant rates charged by that company on
marble Their rate ON marble from West
Rutland to Troy, Tor hauling alone, the
marble Icing loaded by the quarrymcn, is
/ 500 ton, averaging about $40 a car, for
s miles The New York Central road
.! he testimony Of their superintendent
chafS". $40 a ear for hauling the same
, marble lro" Troy To Buffalo, 300 miles,, -
tHe tarltf OF TN Rensselaer, and Saratoga
j road being thus owe, three times as mucl
, on precisely the same freight. The Rens
Sclatr and Saratoga road haul genera
merchandise OF higher class than mar
tile, which must lie loaded into covered
cars, and on which the lisk Of breaking
and damage Is beyond all comparison
greater than Oh marble, over the Who'll,
length Of thor road 50 miles, Tor from SIT
to SD car load Their charges on mar
bile are thus almost three times as mucl
~ their own charges on other freight
Il \ u,