The Portland daily press., 1869-11-23
from osdensburg Daily JouInsl'l

Ogdensburg.
Some time ago we published an article writ
ten Tor the Portland Daily Advertiser by a
PentlemaD-siguing himself 'Viator," the %,
iect whereof was to create an impression ~
Inc minds of the people of Portland, thai nm' Sno
l,roject tor railroad connection between ,o;y- ~
uensburg aud that city was wild, naIi ritor ia
Cd and impracticable scheme. Inc " ns,ra%n
,,u;rb the ceptlempen from Portland, who went
"a delegates to the great railroad convention
EcalIed', OF the city OF Oswego, for the purpose
Of fostering new iv via az Sswa a Tho,
article. as our readers know, abounded in mis-
rsnresentations of Ogdensburg, Its business
I'd commercial facilities and prosperity. In
his letter, the writer was indiscreet enough to
ftate that
In le47 deput alton waited on Messrs. Preble and
Por, when in Montreal ON the question of gauge
yvr the Portland line, proposiug a change of plan,
the running OF the Portland line to Ronse's Point
an Ogden burg instead of Montreal, on the assur-
hnce that the et. Lawrence business would be inter
cepteo at gdensburg on the completion OF tner
fsllWay from Boston. But the Portland deiegaroh
haVlng no au hoity to change their route, dechhed
10 ehts rtain the proposition!
This admission, coupled with the fact that
Johu A Poor accom- panied the delegation to
Oswego led us to believe thaG ne was the au-
thor of that article. In producing the iacts
recLy charged him with tho authorship of the
article. We have since ascertained that Mr..
Poor is not a resident of Montreal hut of
Portland. Our conclusion as to his residence
was natural enough, for all who read his ar
tice will agree that if not n resident of tho
Metropolis of the Dominion, he ouebt to be-
ltappears, however, that we succeeded in
smoRing nun out, and John A. Poor over bis
own proper name and signature returns to the
TASK OF writing down Ogdensburg. In the
Fortland Advertiser OF the 9th instant he fills
couple Of columns in furtheranee of this OBJ
]ect We regret that our limited space does
not enable us to lay his letter before our read
ers, for we are certain it would afford them q
great deal of amusement to see what impotent
arguments some great men will resort to in
their endeavors to gain point. The editor of
the AdceFttSef, however, sifts it thoroughly in
snort ana pertinent reply, and finds it con-
talns put nve propositions. By perusing the
Aduertssers reply, published elsewhere. the
reader VIII have the pith of the last Poor let
ter. N
As some Of Mr.. Poor's Portland readers NAV
credlt him with sincerity, we have taken some
pains to ascertain the amount of -four and
grain which has arrived at this port for several
years and which is as follows:
1860 1861. 1868.
Flour ur............... .24s 200 4l1,4ss 467 ss7
rVta reduced 10 grain 5,s51ess
1864. 1865. 1866
Grain..: Iss7, ,7e6 1ssS,1es 2774,7o9
Total red ICED to grain, 3,2S334 3,sOl53s
1867. 1869.
Flour ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 24O,296 247s95
Or n,...,,.. 7,5l5 2.S84 70I
Total rsduced to gram, 3,7SS,995 4,1-4,l76
The 70 egoing figures are compiled from our
files, with the exception of those for 1869. 1t
has been our practice for nearly twenty wears
to gather from the papers OF the Custom
House The receipts of produce at this port, for
publIcaton, from time to time. Too much
war in 1862 and politics in 1868, prevented us
from performing this labor, and we are conse-
quently without the record for present use
The figures for 1869 we have gatheie ed after
Tour days, labor among the records of the Gus
tom House, and IL is proper to say they cover
oouiy from the opening OF navigation to Satur-
day, Nov 9th. During the time which shall
intervene between the 9th and the close of
navlgstlon, The amount will be increased by at
least 200 600 bushels. The statement does moi
iuclude the amount brought in from Canada
6y Terry, winch is stated bv the American
consul at Prescott to be 40 945 bushels. nor the
amount brought via Grand Trunk Railway.
IL LIS u falr TO presume that the grand total for
1869 will aggregate 5000 900 bushels of Grain
we nave confined our report to flour and
grain, for the reason that il is the commerce i'm
these articles that Portland is endeayoripg to
secnre. The receipts OF lumber at thus port
1or the past year has been over 80 100000 feet
and OF apples and pork well up toward 100 600
barrels.
Mr. Poor is mistaken in supposing that Port
land can be interested only in the flour and
gram trade OF Ogdensburg. A large portion
OF the pork. apples and lumber comm o to Or
densDurg IS for expectation to South America
and Europe.
we assume that tie people of Portland are
as int lllgent and enterprlsing as any in the
world, and in their endeayors- to secure new
railroad facilities they take for their obiective
point the locality likely to give them the
greatest advantages and the greatest re.
turns In TACT, they have indicated what we
assume by settling upon the Oedensburg
PROJECT and the earnestness in which thew
are pressing forward the work. Mr.. Poor
aod the sixteen delegates who attended the
Oswego Convention and agreed to the accura-
cy OF MS conclusions, appear to be all there are
VI lis way OF thinking. We ask any of these
gentlemen to take an accurate map and trace
the proposed Portland and Ogdensburg Rail
ROAD TO Ibis city, and the Grand Trunk and its
connections from here to Chicago. and noint
OUT 70 us what better sail rail route can be
ionnd from the great flour and grain centra of
the West TO a New England sea mort. The
distance from Ogdensburg to Portland bv the
fo RostddnI Rtd road is less than from Oedensburo
always seeb watt wateff the grain and flour trade viii
cable routes, the statistics us ys'9n over practi-
wego, Buffalo, Clevel md, Tole6o."p Us
Miiwaukee and Chicago abundantly prove. ''t'
MI. roor endeavors to make point against
ogdensburg from the statement that Oswana
and Montreal are both larger and mora n,osN
pelous. Whlie willing to admit that thew are
larger, we deny that they are more prosrcrons me
efthar os were eais true, 1t dues rnIOw that
euueI t, vi Ihem are better intermediate pointa-f
ppansdlpment ponn on long, thropgb 50dre Mr..
Monrsa not f5aE natEer Or So ened ned oswegs or
osdensburg. TIE harbor Of Oswego is mac.
cesslbe, from its narrow entrance. to vessels
N stormy weather, and if it was not. IL is
aifeaey, at busy seasons taxed to its utmost
osPaacty, "a while at Ogdensburg we have four
Ut W HVe miles OF lsed harborage. We have
before shown that Montreal from its location
can never become serious competitor nj
Ogaensourg for the flour and grain trade The
one 6undred and twenty miles of circuitous
ava dangerous rapids, with an ordinary dentb
OF seven Ieet, between this place and that citv
are an eHectual barrier to all aspirations IN
that direction. Ii Portland went to Oswego 10
secure the Hour and grain trade she would
suroo ane 0sWego Canal, the Oswego and
hairoad, and the Midland Railroad to con,e
kTt, VIZ ior me trade of an over-taxed harhor
:" .tu tne Midland forming a short and direct
Iou.e .,V 70 new York, the Portland people could
make no show IF competition.
Ii, as MIR. Poor claimed, we scould show no
Increase OF Hour and grain arriving AFT this
point, 1t would be no argument against Co
oensourg as the proper place for Portland to
r. ds "Iu Mr ppele ior Western flour and grain
~ ~. ue, MI. roor certainly does not expect to
gee nundreds OF thousands of barrels of f1onr
y Snd mliions of bushels of grain. comino 70
Osoensourg on its way'to Portland betore an
fHenne Ave sSu5 70 carry 1t through has been opened
--ao. ) 5 oS"' ~ Auiuu, 700, tnat IT ANYTHING L
goes down the River: st Lawrence past Oae
aensourg TO Mostreal, for Portland, it Is be-
I "a use IL has now no other route. When the /
Lorllsnd and Ogdensburg Railroad is COM
ple1se' ne Will see what chance Montreal |
= !. inos as competitor OF Ogdensburg for the |
! ,ur ana grain trade seeking the Atlantic sea.
board for exportation. AA'io '"'''No sea
Inc qlrt ction of the -four trade from tho
sIeae Lase ports to Montreal has beretoforel i
besn zee oy large vessels to Kingston. where it
aas oeen transferred to light draft baroes to
siontreai: During the present season . nor
n,l .,ou VI thls trade has come to Ogdepshprp for
'sesnipment to Montreal. 1t was this fre;nb,
DO iuat Mr. Poor saw unloading at Montreal
', uen lne Portlanders have lilt their road So
" S,,1 70 connect with the Ogdensburp line thev
WI attract here millions of bnsbeis ot ,ro;S |
M auo hundreds of thousands of barrels of annr
" ulen now Seek the Sea board over otbar 49,, |
cause, having the best and most faasih,a am5 |
Most direct water and rail line. thew con carru
me cheapest and most rapidly 0"H 0"iiS
lne statemt mt that the Oodensburg q, T,
Cnampiain Railroad cost SO 600 600 and de-
not pay on such an investment is no aronment
On Mr.. Pocr's side. A similar statement would |
pc found to be true of almost every railroad in
me country. The road pays the present stock.
holders and under the present management ia
attracting hither increased quantities of 1our
sraln and merchandise. The questions which
- y nost interest Portland are has Ogdensburo
me undeveloped resources necessary for opr
ie y emandS? Is her harbor of sufficient canacitu
% accommodate the shipping reonired ~
oring us ten, fifteen or twenty milan hnsboIS
af.1s /