The Portland daily press., 1868-05-27
Portland and Ogdensburg.
Large and Enthusiastic Meeting.
CITY HALL CROWDED.

Hall, in which the meetings OF 1874 were held,
it would have overflowed into the square. A
writer for the Argus has thought it worth
| while to question this statement and express
| his opinion that the meetings of 1874 were
larger, but neither he nor anybody else will
| deny that the railroad meeting last evening
| was entirely without precedent. The floor and
| galleries of the largest hall in Portland were
| fully occupied, and dense throng stood in and
| around all the doorways
The meeting was called to order by Capt.
Charles II. Chase, at whose suggestion Gen.
| Samuel j. Anderson was called to the chair,
and Messrs. N. A. Foster and e. B. Houghton
were appointed secretaries On taking the
chair Gen. Anderson made a brilliant address,
urging the necessity of opening new field for
| Portland enterprise in order that our city may
| take the commercial rank to which her posi-
| ton entities her. He was followed by Mr.. G.
| P. Kimball in behalf of the mechanics of Port
land Mr.. Thomas Parker in behalf of the Ia
borers of Portland; Hon. Geo. w. Woodman
| for the business men; Hon. John b. Brown for
| the owners of real estate; Hon. S. e. Spring
for the bankers and capitalists; Nathan Webb,
Esq. for the professional men; Hon. Israel
Washburn, Jr. in behalf of the projectors of
the enterprise; and John Neal, Esq, of the old
guard which carried through the earlier and
relatively greater undertaking, the Atlantic
and St Lawrence railroad which found Port
| land a fishing village and has made it city.
Letters were also read from VIM. L. Putnam,
Esq, who had intended to be present but was
| unexpectedly called ava! and from Messrs.
| Geo. w. Hendee and Horace Fairbanks of
| Vermont. EH
The meeting adjourned at II o'clock with en-
thusiastc cheers for the Ogdensburg road and
| laundering "Aye", in response to the ques-
ton, "Will you vote tomorrow to take stock
in it?" The enthusiasm during the entire eve
ming was up to summer heat, but reached its
height little after o'clock when the follow
| ing telegram from Deering Hall by the under
| ground line was read by the chairman:
Deering Hall-John Mussey presides Sweat
has made a five or ten minutes speech. The
| attorney of the Boston railroads, Woodman,
has just commenced his argument Not over
one hundred in or about the hall. No other
persons except the president, secretary and the
| speaker on the platform.
Instead of an extended report of the remarks
of-the speakers, we give below some of the
most important points for the Consideration of
| eHO SiuACuo VI OIVlduu Will Tel0r0uCO W tu6
| duty of to-day.
| Gen. Anderson said in reply to the assel ton
| which had been made, that the connection with
| Ogdensburg is not profitable to Boston, that he
had been told by railroad man that one third
| of all the freight chat comes into Boston comes
over the Vermont Central, of which Ogdens-
burg is the principal feeder; while Charles
Francis Adams, Jr., is authority for the state
ment that fifteen steamers between Ogdens-
burg and Chicago are not enough to do the
business on the Lakes; fifteen more are want.
ed now, and the number must be increased to
sixty before long.
In reply to the insnuatons of Messrs. Poor
and Woodman that the alleged offers to build
the road have never been received by the COR
| porators, Gen. Anderson said he had heard
Mr.. Lindsey, the best engineer in Vermont
in the gate of the Notch itself, after survey
of the route, say that the road could be built
| for $25,000 mile, and had been present at the
| Revere House when the formal offer was made
| by the same MAJ, backed by capitalists in Yer
| mont and New York, to take the contract for
the whole line at $4,000 mile cash. 1t was
within his personal knowledge too that anoth-
er responsible party had offered to take the
| contract for $4,000 mile, half cash and half
in the company's bonds. For the truth OF these
| statements Gen. Anderson pledged his word
| as man OF honor Mr.. Spring subsequently
endorsed this pledge.
Mr.. Kimball secuted the pretence that the
| circular signed Mechanic" issued yesterday,
could have been written by mechanic. 1t
| lacked evidence of the common sense which
| the mechanics of Portland possess 1t pre-
tended that a rise OF rents would be misfor-
tune. If people acant cheap rents ao1y don't they
| go to North Yarmouth? The value of real es-
tate is the measure of the prosperity and &C
tivity of town, and the mechanics of Port
| land want, not cheap rents, which they can
| find in the country any day, but business.
Mr.. Parker exploded the foolish notion
that the burden of taxation upon small
property holders is going to be uncomfortable,
house put down on the assessors books at
$1,000; two and a half per cent. of the vaua-
ton will be $25, and the annual interest on
this sum is $1.50 Will not every laborer gain
more than dollar and a half year by OPEN
ing road which will bring his butter, and
flour, and beef and pork to Portland at cheap
er rates than ever before?
Mr.. Parker and the chairman both ridiculed
the suggestion than any political project could
be concealed under this proposition, and Gen.
Anderson brought down the house by asking
how long Mr.. j. G. Woodman had been the
guide and director of the Democrats of Port
land.
Mr.. Woodman said that if the vote of the
city was to increase the taxes unendurably he
should hardly favor it. He believed it would
reduce the rate of taxation and expected to
vote Eyes" on that understanding.
Mr.. Brown, after abiding to the opposition
of Boston twenty-four years ago, expressed
the conviction amounting almost to certainty
that we are encountering the same opposition
to-day in new form. He believed Boston
money was being used here to defeat this un-
dertaking. The chairman confirmed this state
ment, saying that he had it from a man who
has been employed for two days, working
against the Ogdensburg road, that he was paid
with Boston funds. For this statement he was
responsible, and dared the opponents of the
road to challenge the proof in his possession
Mr.. Spring said he had been in Boston for
three months past, and fully believed what
iNi Juoe uocH Lie HuOuey WHICH udQ
been used here was not Portland money. The
leader of the opposition here had subscribed
only ~ to pay the band engaged at Deering
Hall, and the total subscription in Portland
was only 1915.
Mr.. Spring said also that he intended to sub
scribe to the stock of the road, and expected it
to be dividend-paying stock within three
years.
Mr.. Washburn called attention to the fact
which upsets all theories about the rate of tax
alton being proportional to the size of city,
that the rate of taxation in Boston is to-day
less than the rate of taxation in Portland.
We cannot close better than with mathe-
NAUTICAL question which Gen. Anderson pro-
posed for Mr.. j. g. Woodlands consideration.
The Passumpsic railroad, stopping short in the
woods, at the Canada line, doing only way
business, pays per cent. semi-annually on a
cost of $4,000 mile. Now if this road from
Boston to nowhere pays II per cent. per an
mum on $4,000 mile, why should not road
from Portland to Ogdensburg, with a better
way business and the Lakes and the Great
West at the end pay a handsome dividend on
a cost of $4,000 or even $4,000 mile?
Hon. NEAL Dow will address the students