The Portland daily press., 1871-01-04
'ernas $500 per anaaune, i'm advance.


| teemed by the business men of Portland. a.
its great necessity, to ensure the commercial
importance ofour city. But efforts to extend
such line west, were palsed in formsr times
by the indifference or want Of sympathy with
Portland, on the part of our Western neisf
bors.
The railroads running north and south drew
the trade of New Hampshire, Vermont and
Northern New York in another direction, and
line from Portland to Oswego wonld cross
the railroads at right angles to their general
course.
But as Portland increased in Importance
and became the winter station for the Cana
dian steamships, in connection with our rail-
road 10 Montreal, and lines of railway extend
ed. east of Portland, those living West of it,
upon the same parallel cf latitude, saw that
Portland was their natural outlet upon the
sea; and for some time past thar hayc .bes,,
moving to secure connection with Il bv
railway. The leading men of Vermont were
the first to mcve in this direction, and this
movement has spread west to Oswego, on tie
same latitude as Portland, which city is al
ready extending line west to Niagara river
as portion of the Transcontinental line. or
the trunk line between the West and Port
land.
So many of the business men OF Portland
had become connected with one or both of
the western lines in progress, before the Os-
Wego line was started, that it was hardly
deemed prudent by many among us to under.
taEe new enterprise calling for capital, till
the other line bad got fairly underway. The
Portland and Rochester railroad is how nm
der headway to Rochester, and will reopire
no further aid from Portland, in addition TO
the Sl,OooOOO already pledged or secured by
bonds. The Portland and Oswego railroad
has received STA, 300 OF the city's money, and
has been lallowed 10 issue mortgage boIdsto
amount of 100000 more, to ensure its com.
pletion; so that, so that Portland is at liberty
to turn her strength upon the long contempIa
ted due west line, which has been steadily gain
ing strength since the inception of tie enter
prise. From Oswego to Portland every COM
munity upon the route, shares a common pur-
pose to secure this line, and will aid it 10 the
evtent OF their means.
Lake Ontario 234 feet above tide water,
From Osweeo due east to Piseco Lake, dis
is gradual rise OF 1855 ieet or to 14S9 feet
above tide water, reached by easy grades COM
ing east. From the summit at Plseco to Fort
Ann. distance of Is miles, the highest grades
are 35 feet to the mile going east, and sixty
feet going west.
The favorable character of the route from
Osweso to the Hudson Just established by
surveys, through, in 1870, has stimulated the
friends OF the Lake Ontario shore road, run
ming west, SO that the funds for the comple-
ton OF that liue are mainly secured and the
road will be put under contract in the spring.
But for the certainty OF extending a line In
connection with that, from Oswego to the
Hudson, the friends of the Lake Ontario
shore road would hardly have been able, as
the emo now assert to carry that Re Portland
most is tirfs: Can we extend our line West,
SO as 10 connect with the chain OF railroads
reaching to Oswego and the Niagara river?
or in other words, can the Portland and kut-
1and road be built as a portion oil the Trans
continesAtal railway, On tho most direct line
from the West TO the seaboard?
1t is well known that line can be carried
through by way of Schenectady, il we could
forego the connection with Oswego and the
Lake, for so great is the dread of this north
ern route OF the part of the friends of the
New York Central, that they would make a
connection with the East by the way of
Schenectady and Saratoga, if the Oswego line
is given up.
1t does not seem to be difficult matter to
build 40 or Al miles of a new line from Port
ldnu W TIC 4NeW hampshire pouuudIy, start
ing out from tide water by level route to
Buxton, by way Of Moderation and the Ossi-
pee Valley, the grading of which is estimated
at moderate exper Sc by competent engineers.
As soon as the line is undertaken in Maine,
the cheap route nom Freedom to Meredith
can be built by the means raised along the
line, with the aid offered by the other railroad
companies, so that the only points OF difficulty
are found upon the section in Maine, and that
in Vermont between Rutland and Woodstock
the Woodstock line having been already
partially graded, and nearly ready for the rails.
A tithe of the effort made to build the
Montreal railroad, would give to Portland a
connection with the Great Lakes and the
West, within cur own territory inside of 40U
miles, of vastly more importance to Portland
than our line to Montreal, great as the value
of that work has been, and is admitted 10 be,
to our city.
Portland, therefore, has Only TO turn a por-
ton of her strength ON this direct line to the
West, now within her reach, to become a
shipping port for Western produce all the
year round, and large participant in the
Foreign commerce of the country. Our great
rival in the Canadian struggle (Boston) Is
| watching US with most jealous care. more so
than our people generally suppose, and Is
| putting forth every effort TO cut us off from
the West, as no one can now reach Portland
| from the West by rail without coming round
by way of Bostou, or through by Montreal.
| Their efforts to regain lost trade, to recover
their position, and 10 give facility for handling
merchandise by means of marginal streets OH
tide water, are prodigious, carried forward,
regardless of expense, by the city, so that our
only safety lies in faithfully adhering to the
| policy agreed on with our friends on the lina
| to Rutland and Oswego. Con-.