Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1871-06-29
THURSDAY, JUNE 90. 1871.
The Railroad Meeting.


The Machia- papers ar working with ear
nestness and with effect Ia enlist the bust
/ ness men In the enterprise. Bangor has
taken the lead. and with her usual fore
sight and care for her future Interests ha>
selected u strong delegation To attend The
/ meeting consisting OF the Mavor. Hon.
/ Hannibal Hamlin. Hon. J. II. Rice &. J..
Brown. Esq. james Cunning and q. ".
Ia,ld a delegation which rcflcc,> the polit-
ical the commercial and the railroad
! interests Of that city In high degree.
Bangor never does things hy halves.
| il she moves at all il i in force and Ia
some effect.
Bucksport and Castine will BE-. r,pr,-oui-
ed nv well known and leading citIcu--
! 0t this citv. We can only SAY. today.
/ that the people, very larg" majority IF
them. are fully convinced that We must
| have railroad. These citizens will do
! any thing reasonable and iudiciou- 10
/ further the object of this meeting. The
Mayor e,ince- commeudahlr interest in
! the objects aimed To be- effected. He &, a
/ progressive. as well a safe public officer
! Almost all Of our business men are favor
ably disposed and would work with \ will
and effect; IL they would agr.c 10 act Ia
concert. But unfortunately like almost
all small places there l. too much individu-
alism. loo much working in a single har-
ness, and but little thought 81 care for The
public good or the future welfare "i the
| place. Each one attends Ia hi own hu,i-
ne>- we'll. which j. commehdablc, hat ihi>
J. not enough. il j. tho first but no; all the
duty of good citizen. aud ,umrijunc-.
when contra>tcd with the large-hrarie,l.
IN. public spirited men uho build village.
a. well A. their own regulations aud
fortunes. III" picture J. not one that give
pleasure To- dwell on. w la.- claim to 4
certain smartue->. to enterprise, to the
lo,-'--i"n " piucA. q" hn-,no~, success.
&c. &c. and vet ~agaci"it~ AMI Arcn
observer ofcharartrr. remarked. sarcastic
ally. OF course. that II Ma we'll that tie
first lumbcrnau "n the river did not earrN
on hi bstA in tnr wAAttr- IL, h.. loAi
of lumber sawed Tor II h. had the practice
would have continued until NOW HE
Mayor aud Aldermen have detected good
delegation NH" no houh, sill ncaIh ali
attend
! We copy ia" following from the BidI~-
] ford JoarRd 81 of last week
MARROW GAroE EAIiE"Ap-.
sometime since. in conversation Wtfh r.
/ l.. Niggin. E-q.. of Boston. hc adN coated
] tho narrow gauge for our >acu River road.
+ Al "ur request NJ. Wi..iu agreed fn far
I ni>h II, With seine practical uh>cr,a alton.
ON The subject III hand iur publication H.
/ ha- consequently forwarded &" "a letter
/ addressed {" him ~ teen. g II. stuart.
which We are gtaiiiiei 10 receive. A." -iy-
T the opinions of the General duc weight.
+ the public should Know that h. has a,l rN-
pcficncc of fortt scti- in whivh be- hA-
{ been chief engineer ia the construction 1T
] ten railroad>. consulting engineer iu a.
many more and engineer In chief ni,,I
| Siaic- NAVY.
MN luEk, Iunc ifh .s.i
| 4 - W.crr~ t.. 49,
| an estimate of the value Of narrow gauge
railroads a, compared Ia the wi,l... or usual
/ gauge Of 1 n. IL inchc- would LAY that
! for all short lines. and branch roads. lam
/ convinced that the narrow gauge has such
advantages II will compel their adoption
1 very SOON throughout the country | am
/ not quite conyinced that a narrow 81 l.uAg.
4 than the 1 H. IL inches will not he found
4 more economical for many OF our :, called
! trunk lines.
4 lm support of ihi- proposition. Nuu -
1 pet ~ coir~c statement OF the rra-ou>
/ which govern my conclusions lh--r |
will BRED, give
II. Econom! Of construction. aud H.
right of waY.
FL ECONOMY of operating. and main
iAinsncc Of way. and rolling stock
3D. Better adoption To the auiouA, 81
traiii. Ia b.. carried
ith. While they will afford "a the .d
vantages and convenience that a railway
can control. they can be made to paw A
/ liberal dividend on their cost. while broad
gaugr over the same route would not
The neip~ thai " III make up the saving
in construction are the smaller amount of
material Ia be removed and placed IN the
/ cuts aud embellishments. b.ing uf les
width: lighter ballast. bridge. clilyert-.
| cross-iies. rails. and rolling stock build
ings and fixture, adapted to the require
| men's OF the traffic.
Shorter curves can be- run with safety.
thus avoiding or passing around the ioca-
ton OF valuable private property. and
steep hills. Sleeper grades are praciic.,-
7 =
adapted to the inequalitie. II The surface
| OF the ground.
| livery inch in width Of gauge beyond
what j. absolutely necessary TO accornmo-
1 date the traffic over any railroad. add, un-
/ necessary cost TO construction. increases
the cost of rolling stock. advances the pro
I portion of dead weight 10 paving load in
/ crease the cost of operating and main
tanning the line and a, consequence alb
{ n. he
it, usefulness.
The object of a railroad for general pur-
/ poses i the conveyance OF passenger, and
freight. aud the first question Ia be- deter
mined by every company about To embark
| in such an enterprise. i the probable
amount Of traffic 10 be accommodated.
This known the value OF the improvement
sought can be estimated. aud the road
economically adapted 10 the accomnoda-
ton Of the trade that may reasonably DE
anticipated for il
Too many of our railroad. are such as
are not justified by the wants OF the por-
| ton OF country through which they are
located. being planned and built without
the least reference to the amount OF traffic
they have TO sustain.
OF the many railroads constructed in
this country but few comparatively paw
| good dividends. while the receipts of many
1
pair. aud pay the interest on the debts in
CURED for their construction.-not few
have sunk their entire capital. and passed
into the hands OF their creditors
This disastrous result is not a conse-
quenee OF attempting Improvements in
positions where trade and travel were in
sufficient TO authorize the necessary outlay
Of capital: but proceeds from the fatal
practice of constructing works of a capa"-
ity far beyond the requirements Of the
trade TO be accommodated.
That eminent engineer. the late Col
Charles Elliot, Jr.. in discussing. thirty
years ago, the want Of prosperity of many
of our railroads. uses the following ex-
pressions: If railroads do not sustain
themselves it Is not because they are rail-
roads. but because great roads haze been
constructed sehere hftie roads are only re-
qSired l do not believe there has been
such work commenced. nor probably
| authori which enul1 NOT mar Gh.-aI