The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1871-07-27
The Portland, Rutland, Oswege and Chi
eagO Railway.
THE PROCEEDINGS OF YESTERDAY.

|
THE PROCEEDINGS OF YESTERDAY.
The announce ment made several weeks aso
that railroad convention to promote tue ioca-
ton and construction OF the Portland, hutiauu'
Osweeo aud Chicago Railway, winch Is 10
: make a long link IN a great international
chain of com N unicatioD, would be held in this
eitv ON the 26th inst, brought TO Portland a
large assembly of distinguished men from our
own State and along the line of the proposed
route, to interchange views, discuss means and
provide a methcd for securing the passage by
Congress Of the bill in aid of the enterprise,
introduced iuto the U. S. Senate iu January
last by the Hon. Hannibal Hamlin of this
State.
The projected railroad consists of two grand
divisons-irom Portland TO Os 1ego, 400 miles,
and from Oswego to Chicago, 600 miles The
western division is for the present. left out of
the account, the more immed date purpose of
the convention being TO make arrangements
for the construction OF the line from Portland
to Oswego
The new charters for this portion of the line
incorporated originally the Portland & Rut-
land, New Hampshire Central Woodstock,
Rutland q Woodstock, Rensselaer, & Sarato-
go, and New England & Oswego railroad COM
panies-six new corporations. Between the
lines of the New Hampshire Central and the
woodstock railroads there is gap which is
already filled by the roads of the Northern
New Hampshire and Boston, Concord & Mon
treal companies, which are also parties to the
| A haai nf hath
companies thus interested has been agreed up
on, and one of the articles in the notice of tho
annual meeting of the Maine corporation, is to
see if the stockholders will ratify contract
| upon this basis.
The rain storm of yesterday made a change
| in the programme necessary. The harbor ex-
curson and island clam-bake was necessarily
postponed until to day, when it will take place,
| il pleasant, very much in accordance with the
original pla.l; and it was publicly announced
in the morning that general meeting would
be held at the City Hall at 8 O'Clock
At 10 o'clock an informal meeting of the Di-
rectors of the P. X. o. & G. r. r. Co. was held
at the office of the company, II Exchange st.
Besides the Directors, a plumber of gentlemen
living along the line in New Hampshire, Yer
mont and New York were present, and reports
were received from the different communities
in relation to the interest felt and the progress
made in the preliminary work. The speakers
were Hon. Cheney Ames, 7. f. CarrIugton
Hon. Gilbert Mollison and Judge w. T. Allen
of Oswego, VIM. McEchron, Esq, of Glen's
Falls, N. Y, Hon. o. S. Fowler of Bristol, N.
H.. John w. Lane, Esq, of Hollis, and Col
Joyce, President of the Vermont Senate. The
reports made were exceedingly gratifying to
the friends of the road in Maine
The afternoon meeting at City Hall en-
braced about 900 people. Hon. John A. Poor,
President of the company, called the assembly
to order, and nominated the following gentle
men as officers of the Convention:
Hon. Sidney Perham, Governor of Maine.
VICE PRESIDENTS.
Hon. Austin Blair, of Michigan,
VIM. Niles, LapOrte, Ind,
John B. Hay, Illinois, .s.l |
s. F. Worcester, Rochester, N. Y,
J. G. Kellogg, Oswego, N. Y,
5. Z. Thompson, Boonvlle, N. Y,
Augustus Sherman, Gen's Falls, NY,
Col. G. II. Joyce, RutlaLd, Vt,
Prosper Merrill. Esq, Woodstock, VT,
DR.. VIM H. H. Mason, Moutonbo-o, N. H.,
Hon. Chas. Buffum, Orono, President of the /
Maine Senate,
Hon. b. Kingsbury, Jr., Mayor of Portland,
Hon. AlODZo GarcelOn, Lewiston,
Hon. e. b. Smith, Saco, Speaker of House |
of Representatives.
SECRETARIES.
John Neal, Esq, of Portland,
Henry L. Davis, O3wego, N. Y,
Henry Clark, Rutland, VT,
II. e. Lapham, Glen's Falls, N. Y.
Gov. Peiham, in taking the chair, remarked |
MT ha hal haa kI,oA Al
officer had been assigned to some practical rail- |
road man, but he felt an interest in the matter
which they had assembled to further, and he
accepted the duty with thanks. l am informed
he said, that am to perform the pleasant du-
ty of welcoming you to the State. Had we
time to take you from the western to the east
ern border of the State, we could show you
water-power sufficient for all the manufactures
of the country, slate enough to cover all the
houses in the United States, and if the capital
of the nation should ever be removed to the |
valley of the Mississippi, Maine is to have the
contract to furnish the granite for the new
buildings. We could show you harbors that
can accommodate the foreign transportation of
the products of the whole country. The great
question of the hour is to provide cheap and
rapid transportation, to cheaper the price of
the necessaries Of life, and give the laborer
proper remuneration for his work. He believed
the time was well-nigh come when sectional
differences would cease. Railroads have been
a great agent in promoting unity of feeling
between different sections, and he was thank
full that chickering's and jealousies among the
States upon business interests were dying out
The cooperation of different sections indicated
in this assembly affords the best promise that
the great necessity of the times will be prompt
ly met. In conclusion the Governor extended
to the strangers hearty Down East welcome;
and introduced the Hon. Hannibal Hamlin.
Senator Hamln began by congratuating the |
friends of the enterprise that there has met |
from different sections Of the country so large |
an assemblage of respectable and responsible |
men. He desired to say that he came to Port
land for personal conference with these prac-
tical men upon project of grandeur and i'm /
portance and not to address public meeting; |
and in the presence of these men he ought |
rather to receive than attempt to impart infor- |
ton; still, if he could do anything to advance |
the interests OF Portland and open to her the |
commerce of the Great West, he would attain |
his object. The great problem of the age is to |
seCuTo Cutdp, CcTtdlH anu Tapiu ITduSpOrlatlOu.
The shipping of our country is depressed, but |
the depression is not solely owing to outside !
causes, but to the competition of railroads in
doing cur transportation. Railroads have rev.
olutionized our commerce. The physical ge-
ography of our coutftry shows New England
to be fitted for the manufacturing place of the
country. Here are water powers and we can
manufacture at less cost than in any other
part of the country; while the seat of agricul- |
ture is among the fertile valleys of the West.
We want numberless railroads to the West, to
cheaper the products of that region to the
eastern consumer, but we want them protected
against abuse. There is not railroad that
radates from this little city, or from Chicago,
that wonderful city in the middle of CONT
nent but has my warmest sympathy, and
wish them all the greatest prosperity. Rail-
roads are democratic institutions, dwelling up
to common grade the business of the coun-
try, and paradoxical as it may seem, incl easing
the price of the raw material to the producer
and handing it to the consumer at a reduced
price. Our New England railroads are well
managed in regard to the rights of corporations
and the public; but it is net so in other parts Of
the country. Corporations are made up of
men, and there is good deal of human nature