The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1871-07-08
The Portland, Rntland, OswegO and Chi
cuon Ruiyrnod

caSO ha1ifOhu
The harbor of Portland is her available CAPT
tai If properly employed, this capital seems
a Commercial City, superior to any upon the
Atlantic Coast north of New York. Portland
mas already larger export trade than Boston,
and must in time have an export trade exceed
ing that of Montreal.
1t must be admitted, however, that the ex-
port trade from Canada through Portland,
which has sprung up since the bnilding of the
Montreal railway, is liable to diversion by the
opening of lines of railway from the St Law
renee to more eastern ports, already in contem-
platoon But, on a careful study of the eeog-
raphv of North America, every one is impress
ed with the surprising advantages of Portland,
for DO h import and export trade. 1t rs on the
direct route from Chicago to n allfax, Tue snort
line to Earope, beside afforiing the best Inc
of shipment of western produce upon the At
lantic sea-board.
| IL has been the traditional dream cf Port
land til 1t she should have direct line Of rail-
road west to the Great L likes. But the want
of sympathy with Portland along the direct
| line to Lake Ontario, across New Hampshire
| and Vermont, compelled the people of Maine
| to seek in the first instance line to the st.
Lawrence waters, through British territory
| This movement produced great commercial
| changes, the most impa1tant of which was
that allowing the free transit OF goods through
our own territory to all ports of British North
| America.
The passage of this law by Congress, secured
the completion of the railway from Portland
| to Montreal, and has made that city a CONNER
cial Metropolis She will without doubt con-
| tinue to make use of the line of railway to
Portland, which line has contributed far more
to her business than it has to that of the City
of Portland. The Grand Trunk Railway is to-
day doing all she can for Portland, making use
of our harbor in sending produce to the lower
Provinces throughout the year, and to Europe
during the twenty -four weeks in which the
navigation OF the st. Lawrence is closed by
ice.
What then can Portland do to make her
capital, or in other words, "her unrivalled har.
Dor" properly available Tor commercial uses?
The Hon. Hugh Allan, the leading mind in
the great firm OF Allan Brothers, controlling
20 ocean steamers, and as many iron-sailing
vessels, second only to one other firm in the
world, in the number of their steamers and
| ships, and who has run steamers from Liver.
pool to Portland in the winter months, on be.
ing appealed to said "There is but one thing
Portland can do to make her a great CONNER
cial City, "buald line of railaoay betOeen Port
land and Os,oego. "a freight line from Oswe.
60 will give Portland ocean steamers all the
year round, and make it great Commercial
City,"
Portland men have set themselves at work
to carry out such line. Charters were OBJ.
tanned in Maine, New Hampshire and Yer.
mont, and convention at OswegO in 1869
agreed on plan for through line. Surveys
followed, and company was organized in New
York to complete the link in the Transconti-
mental chain. These movements aroused the
| Jealousy of parties in Boston, and schemes fol
| an Atlantic and Ontario road was agitated be-
| fore the last Legislature of Massachusetts,
| Delegations from every harbor town at the
eastern end of Lake Ontario were invited to
| BOsten in consultation, and every one prom
, ised the capital for the building of such line
| from the city of Boston to their own doors.
Extraordinary statements as to Portland
| harbor were freely INDUCED in, to induce the
| people of Northern New York to believe that
Boston had superior attractions to Portland az
| place for shipment of western produce
The Boston Dolly Advertiser and the Com
mercal Bulletin have apparently tried to out
| do each other in their efforts to depreciatt
L
tion of shippers of western produce.
The Commercial Bulletin of the Oath utt il
! an elaborate leader, characterized by extraor
binary untairness throughout makes use o
the following language:
Last year the friends of the Portland reatt
had their Convention at OswegO and lai(
comprehensive plans for the opening of
| through line, under one management, between
, Casco Bay and Lake Michigan. But tn,
scheme then concocted was somewhat excl u
slve in its character, and embraced cOmbina
lions which have since been found impractical
7 BILE. This year the merchants and capitalist
: of Boston have been invited to meet the rep
resedtatives of the Lake trade in council anC
the former have cordially responded. Our Os
wegO friends have hestated about working il
, the interests OF Northern line, which, il built
might never be utilized up to the paying
point But they have no such doubts in re
, gard to the Hoosac Tunnel route to Boston
whichis shorter than any line that can bt
whole line is only $50 miles in length, less thar
120 of which remained to be built'
: The complete ignorance which the editor o
the Bulletin has heretofore exhibited in speak
ing of the route over which the OswegO ant
) Portland line is located, which was fully ex
posed at the time, should have rendered i
more cautious. yhe4 sAeatindHd tie Statement
! that line Of railway from Oswego to Boston
will be but $50 miles in length, renders all hi
, statements open to suspicion. Oswego ant
Portland are nearly upon the same parallel
+ Boston is only 26 miles west of Portland, aDt
80 miles south OF it, SO that the actual distanc,
on a line from Oswego to Boston is about 3O
miles against 318 miles from Oswego to Port
. land. By rail the distance will be abou
/ equal. X