The Portland daily press., 1871-03-25
: The rIAe,,.a !. Z, v.neAu,s6n Hall.

was in favor of the site which had been select
ed, and thought everything should be done t
induce the city government to cooperate II
| the matter At the close of Mr.. Haines' re
marks a committee was chosen to prepare
preamble and resolutions. The following gen
temen comprised that committee: james
Farmer, II. A. Jones, Charles T. klmoaii'
K Shurtleff and William Curtis. WINE I'M
committee was out Capt. j. b. Coyle was call
ed upon. He observed that he did not expec
to be called on, but he would respond lest the.
might consider him lukewarm. He said tina
the railroad question was a very important on
and must be handled by men that had bl aims
1t was not confined to Portland, but stretche,
from California to Maine. He was strongly il
favor OF placing the depot on Back Cove, an,
proceeded to show the advantages to be deriv
ed. AT this juncture the committee came il
and reported the following resolutions:
Whereas, The passenger railway stations 10
Gated upon the front side of the city. with thei
attendant movement and making up of traind
are already great obstruction to business, an
will be, it suffered to remain, far greater OBJ
struction in the near future; and
Whereas, by this means they impair the val
ue OF the wharfs, docks, and the entire shore
for commercial purposes, and are therefore 6
detriment to the prosperity and an obstacle t.
the growth of the city; and
| Whereas, as so located, they in fact most Sc.
riously impair the facilities of travel between
Portland and most important suburb, max.
| ing the passage of the Cape Elizabeth bridge
matter of difficulty and Of real peril
| and by this means wrong is done to q
neighborng municipality as we'll as to our own
| citizens, and serious disadvantage and loss on
tailed upon the trade and business of the
city; and
Gated are, even the nearest of them except
the Grand Trunk, distant from the City Hall
a whole mile by any traversable route, the ma
ior part being still further distant, and
whereas by this means they are far removed
from the centres of concourse and public gath
ering, necessitating thereby great waste of
time, labor and money to reach them; and
Whereas, they are, with the exception just
made. inaccessible by any direct approach
from the adjacent or central part OF the city,
on account of the precipitousness OF the land
bordering the immediate shore; and
Whereas, comman point of arrival and de.
parture for passenger trains, in other words,
union passenger station, wherever it has been
| established in other Cities as Providence, Chi
| cago, Pittsburg, indianapolis, Troy, Cleve-
land, ETC., etc, has been found to subserve the
public convenience in remarkable manner,
SO that other stations in other cities are now
being constructed at the cost, some of them, Of
| millions of dollars each, the railroads them
selves deriving equal advantage with the gen.
| eral public, and willingly making the outlay
and
Whereas. our existing station accommoda.
tons are already inadequate, and in fact are q
| discredit to the railroads and a reproach and
| scandal to the city; and
Whereas, any enlargement of accommoda-
ton on the front side Of the town can be effect
ed not without further entrencbment upon
territory needed for business purposes, or
| further removal from the centre of the city
| and
Whereas, a continuance of the stations upon
the front shore becomes daily more inconven-
| lent and reprehensible by reason OF the extern
sion of our population into and over the terri
| tory on the west, northwest and north of the
city; an extension sure to continue with in
| creased rapidity with the growth of the bust
ness of the city;
so made as TO meet the demands OF the future
as we'll as for the present; and
whereas, the city in its corporate capacity
is interested 10 all that tends to further its de
velopment; and
Whereas, finally common Central Railroad
Depot is as needful and as desirable in every
city as Post Office, and q site for q union
passenger station, admirable in all respects,
lies open for occupation on the Back Bay; a
site central in that it is but one fourth OF
mile from the City Hall. both 10 an air line
and by streets already constructed;a site ac-
cessibe, in that the land slopes down to it
with an easy grade, and the the street cars
pass and repass it from two to four minutes
distant; site easily improved, because not &C.
cupied with other constructions and requiring
no destruction of former labor OF outlay; site
to be had at low cost, for the territory is not
adapted to other uses and is not in demand
tor business purposes; site that as the city
grows and extends will be in the very centre
of its population and territory, and may re.
main devoted to station uses without impair
ment of other interests or liabilities to removal
for all time to come; site capacOus, opening
hundreds of acres for the necessities of our
railways However expanded and growing to
whatever annual millions of passengers; and
Whereas finally, the railroads, the travelling
public and the city have in this matter q COM
mon interest, therefore
RESOLVED, First, that a union passenger sta.
tIOn is forthwith imperatively demanded for
the convenience OF the travelling public and of
the residents of Portland and vicinity.
ResotUed, Secondly, that a committee Of
twelve be appointed to confer with the rail-
road companies and the city government, with
view to concurrent action in this important
matter.
Mr.. NJ. L. Stevens moved that the preamble
and resolutions be adopted, which was carried.
Mr.. Haines again addressed the meeting and
said he wished to make one statement to the
effect that Pittsburg, had Central Depot in
which eighty trains entered and departed
daily with perfect regularity. He thought that
there was no reason why Portland should not
have central depot within a reasonable dis.
lance of all points of the city.
Alderman Curtis concurred with what been
expressed.
Mr. James Bailey was called for, and said he
considered the question one that should be full
ly met, and the enterprise would require much
exertion to perfect it.
Mr.. John Neal was invited to speak, but de
clined and thought that Hon. John A. Poor
being so we'll acquainted with railroad matter!
| might be able TO say something of interest.
Mr.. Poor, in commencing his remarks, said
that railroads had been the means of opening
up the great avenues of commerce and civil
cation. They conveyed US if by inspiration
from East to West, from North to South. Mr.
Poor then went into an extended account o
the railroad question, of the Boston & Maine
| Portland, Saco & Portsmouth, the Eastern
| and Maine Central roads. As our citizens are
familiar with this discussion it will not be es
sential to give it. Mr. Poor said that the ques
ton which they had met TO take into consider
alton was one that must be handled by thu
people of Portland. 1t was not particularly :
| Legislative uatter. III COhCIuSlOD, uc Sdiu III
had no doubt that the city government woult
cooperate in the movement, and grand I'm
ion Central Depot would be built on Bacl
| Cove
Moses Gould pointed out the facilities which
this land possesses for commercial advantages
| and its connections made it all that could b.
| desired.
Charles P. Kimball observed that he full,
concurred in what had been stated in regard
to erecting the depot upon the site that hat
been selected, saying that it was richly sndow
ed by nature with every facility. He hopet
there would be no party spirit or animosty
tered into only for the best interest of the city
He observed that some of our depots were in
sad condition, and also that the people of Cap
Elizabeth had an interest in this movement
At the close of Mr. Kimball's remarks tn
meeting adjourned.
The committee provided for by the last reso
luton is as follows: Geo. W. Woodman, w
G. Davis, J. L. Farmer, William Curtis, H.
Burgess, Augustus P. Mari, Eliphalet CLARK
Joshua I. Emery, Chas M. Rice, "A. K Shurt
left, Moses Gould, Allen Haines.
PoRTLANDERs ABRoAD-We mentioned tn
other day that two Portland ladies' RENAME
in Paris all through the siege and how the
enjoyed sponge cake made with ham fat 10
lard. A letter has lately been received fror
| one of these ladies' who saws that before Pari