Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1869-07-01

other gentlemen from your quarter, with
great foresight and Business sagacity, see-
ing the importance of the direct line to
you, as well as to us, visited Portland in
the winter of 1868. presenting the scheme
OF the Portland and Rutland railway,
one OF its great elements of strength was
its local business, of great promise to
Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, in
addition to its being to us an important
western connection over the New York
system of railways.
The anticipated early completion of the
Pacific railroad and the European & North
American from the British Provinces, and
the adoption of the short link of the Port
land & Rutland railroad by the Interna-
tional Convention at Portland in August,
1868, as part of the trans-continental rail
way necessary to be built, gave to the Port
land u Rutland road new and broader
significance beyond the views of its early
friends, elevating it before the whole
country to a first class position in impor-
lance.
Recently the great business communi-
ties of Chicago, Buffalo and Detroit, by
their Boards of Trade, have adopted it, in
its full breadth, seeing its Importance in
connection with the fine harbor of Port
land, with its great natural shipping Ia
cilities, with ocean steamer C mmunica-
ton weekly with Europe at one end, and
the New York system of railroads from
Buffalo, as also the contemplated Lake
Shore and Air Line Railroad from Buffalo
to Whitehall ON the Other end of your
line. Thus this season has the great West
joined its voice i'll approval, which should
have great influence upon the delibera-
tons of your convention.
Other schemes and plans for reaching
I the West from Portland fade away when
brought to the test of the cool deliberate
judgment of the business interests of the
country. They sink in the scale when
brought into comparison with the great
business traffic, which is sure to center
upon your road. The Concord scheme
will do very well for an additional avenue
to Boston for the Rutland & Burlington
railroad, but is of no value to Portland
for western business, as compared with the
shorter and direct route of the Portland
and Rutland, via White River Junction.
The Portland and Ogdensburgh depend
upon its water communication on the
lakes as their chief source for western
business, but practical experience shows
that the business of the West seeking
foreign markets by water communication,
when once water borne, proceeds onward
to Montreal, the great natural shipping
port of the st. Lawrence basin, during
the season of open navigation, when it
finds abundant OCEAN steam, and sail
transportation abroad. The west always
has and always will continue to avail Of
this natural route to the sea.
In winter this road may find itself in
direct competition with the Grand Trunk
for portion of its business, which now
all comes to Portland, while your road
draws and attracts to Portland, tran--cou-
tinental and through western traffic across
a belt OF country without coming in
direct competition with our Grand Trunk
business traffic, thus bringing TO Portland
business for export and sale entirely new
to US and to you, which cannot be reached
by any other contemplated railroad to
Portland.
In the Rutland slate and marble quar-
ry interest, the harbor of Portland viii
be Of great value, this road enabling you
to place marble and slate ON our deep
water, within reach of a vessels tackles
from the cars.
Our steam and sail communications in
all directions, in the western and south
ern seaboard gives to Portland com
manding position as a cheap distributing
point to all seaboard cities for these heavy
articles, and this is only one of the uumcr-
Gus ways in which the road Will help tho
development of your resources and traffic
| with Others here feel a deep interest