Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-01-12

Massachusetts Central Railroad,
The second annual meeting of the Massachu-
sets central railroad corporation was held at
the Central hotel in Clinton, yesterday after
noon, the president, Hon. James NJ Stone of
Cbarlestown, in the chair and James s. Draper
of Wayland clerk. Twenty-Five hundred and
four shares were represented by some fifty cor
poratOrs.
This road was chartered by the legislature of
1869, and the company organized Sept. I'd of
that year. The minimum capital required is
S8,O00,000 all but about $500 900 of which has
already been subscribed in the eighteen or TWEEN
ty towns through which the proposed road is to
pass: Northampton, Hadley, CRANKY, Amherst,
Belchertown, Enfield, Greenwich, New Brain
tree Hardwick, Barre, Oakham, Holden, Rut-
land, Sterling, West Boylston, Berlin, Hudson.
Wayland, Sudbury and Weston. The exact
route will depend upon the relative subscriptions
of the different towns.
1t is estimated that three quarters OF million
additional, amounting to S375O,OOO in all, will
be ample to complete all the equipments. OF
the amount raised 1886, 100 consists of subscrip-
tons by fourteen towns, and the remainder of in
dividual subscriptions. Nearly 100000 were
raised by individual subscriptions in the four
towns Of Barre, Rutland, Hudson and Wayland.
The president submitted the following report of
the directors for the past year, accompanying it
with an urgent appeal for additional subscrip-
tons from the towns most interested, for the
completion of the amount to be raised:
DIRECTORS REPORT.
The directors of the Massachusetts Central
railroad company have been charged with an
important trust in behalf OF the general public
interests, and especially in behalf of the towns
and the people of the towns upon the proposed
route of the railroad. The basis Of all eXpecta-
ton for building the road was the subscriptions
of the towns to the capital stock to the amount
of five per cent of their valuation, as authorized
by the charter. Want of faith in the possibility
of building the Central railroad, fostered by
rival interests, has prevented an entire unanimi-
ty of action by all the towns, and has diverted
into other channels some Of the town subscrip-
tons, which were originally expected to aid this
enterprise. But, Notwithstanding all the efforts
to disintegrate and scatter the elements for ac-
comprising this great public improvement,
fourteen towns have voted to subscribe for the
capital stock of the company to the amount of
S0S6,7OO. In addition to the subscriptions made
by the towns, individual citizens of some of the
towns have made liberal subscriptions. Believ-
ing that the citizens of the other towns on the
proposed route of the road, as soon as they saw
bildA pEdCllCdl TGSulIS COulu De ATTAINED, WOulu
emulate the example of the citizens of
those towns IN which efforts had been made for
subscriptions by individuals, Ithe directors made
a contract with a responsible party for building
the entire road from Northampton to the pres
ent eastern terminus of the charter,-Stony
Brook station, on the Fitchburg railroad, in
Weston. In making contract, the directors
kept in view two points, indispensable to the ac-
complishment of satisfactory results: First to
secure the construction of the railroad at rea-
sonable cost, to the end that the stockholders,
whether towns or individuals, should have a
valuable dividend paying stock for their money;
second, that the controlling interest in the COM
pany should remain in the bands of the towns
and the individual stockholders living on the
line of the railroad, to the end that the manage
ment of the road should be such as to promote
the business and convenience of the localities
through which it runs. Both these points have
been secured by the very favorable terms of the
contract, but in order to make a contract to pro-
vide etfcctually for these results, engagements
have been made which require additional stock
subscriptions, which the directors had no doubt
of the ability or the disposition of the people of
the towns to make without much delay.
Upon the basis of the contract,
and reliable estimates for so much
as is not covered by the contract, the total cost
of the railroad from Northampton to Stony
Brook station in Weston, with complete equip
ment and rolling stock ready to commence
operating will not exceeds $50 900. By the stock
tract, the whole amount necessary to thus build
and equip the railroad has been provided for,
except less than 100000 After closing the
contractthe directors, presuming that a frank
statement of the position of the company, and
the extent of its needs for additional subscrp
tons, made 10 the parties most interested in
having the railroad built would encourage them
TO put forth the necessary effort to secure the
subscription without delay, called public meet
ing in Boston of the people of the towns on the
10 mn in Narng dad and
willingness was enthusiastically manifested to
enter upon the work of obtaining the requisite
additional subscription, then apportioned
among the several towns. Within two weeks
two Of the towns, Wayand and Hudson, which
had already furnished liberal additional sub
scriptions, had filled the quotas assigned them.
The reports from two other towns, Rut-
land and Hardwick, show that their quotas
have been nearly filled up. Although
some subscriptions have been added in some of
the other towns, statement of their several
amounts would not be complimentary to their
efforts in favor of this great public enterprise.
The directors cannot doubt, notwithstanding |
the delay, that the additional subscription
assigned to the towns on the route will be soon
made up. They are informed that in some cases
the remarkably rapid progress made in pushing
the enterprise so near TO completion, of the sub
scripton, instead of stimulating increased activ-
lty to make up the additional sum, as was eX-
pected, has induced inactivity under the mis- |
taken belief that the work would not stop for
the want of SO small a sum, which would be |
furnished Gin some way" Put the contract, it |
should be borne in mind, rests upon the procur-
ing Of the additional subscription, and without |
the expectation of this it could not have been |
made. The directors stated to the meeting in |
October exactly what was wanted, neither more |
nor less, and they do not know of any other |
"way" by which the road can be built
The annual report of the chief engineer, Ed |
ward Frost, was then made, showing the pro-
gress made in the surveys. A very large pro-
portion of the field work necessary for deter
mining the final location OF the road has been |
done, as follows:
1. A complete location has been made from |
Northampton to Amherst.
2. A location connected with the foregoing |
and independent of the New London Northern |
railroad, has been extended eastward through |
Federal street in Belchertown, and thence |
through Enfield to Greenwich Plain.
B. Exploring lines, exhibiting the entire field
from Northampton to Greenwich, have been
run.
4. The heavy work near Gilbertvle in Hard
WICK has been located in curves and in a final
manner.
.. In Barre, from tie outlet OF Muddy pond
to Furnace Village location has been made
upon newly explored line, comparing favor
ably with all previous lines
s. Between Muddy pond on the west and eau,
ada mills on the east viz: in crossing the Rut-
land division, occur the gravest questions and
the widest alterations. Exploring lines have
been pushed necessarily forward but this sinh
ject has not been by any means thoroughly
worked up.
7. From Canada mills eastward to Scar Ridge
or Rays mill, location has been made and
maps and proflles exhibiting the same are al
ready executed.
8, Some detached explorations and short