Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-08-17
Government Aid to Railroads.

Government Ala TO tanIroauss
To tie Editors Of the Boston Daily I'D.
ue7tiser: The people of Portland have
not forgotten the good Offices you rem
dered them years ago in the carrying out
of their railway to Montreal, and they
fully appreciate the value of your declar-
alton in favor of the Portland, Rutland,
Oswego and Chicago Railway, in which
you say in your leading editorial OF;
August /: --r
ave hope it will be built. The more
lines there are opened the better. We
are not blind to the advantages Portland
possesses, and we rejoice as heartily as
She can at every successful effort she
makes to get trade. There is not legit-
innate railroad project she can undertake
which will not have our sympathy. There
is room enough for Portland and Boston
and dozen other great cities In New
England. If not, let the best win" '.-'e
1t is certainly gratifying to the friends
of this line that you should have thought
it of sufficient consequences to be worthy
of attack but your sense of fairness will
give me space to point out some errors of
statement in your leader. You are in err.
ror in asserting that the Portland and
Rutland charter was thrown into the
Maine legislature when a bill to incorpor-
ate the Portland and Ogdeusburg Railroad
was pending before it." The Portland
and Ogdensburgh charter was granted
February II, 1867, aud had the ground,
all to itself,-some of it's friends claiming
that its route through the White Noun
tain Notch was the proper one TO secure,
to Portland western trade, and formed
the proper line of connection with the
great West. 4 charter was secured for it
IL New Hampshire July 6. 1867, and the
act to incorporate the Lamoille Valley
Railroad WAS passed by the legislature OF
Vermont October 20, 1867, authorizing a
continuous line between Portland and Og-
densburg across that State. 1t was not
till 1868 that the friends of the Portland
and Rutland line moved in the matter,
and their charter was granted March q,
1868. Portland had become committed
to the Portland and O4densburg Railroad
a wear before the Portland and Rutland
Railroad was talked of, and those who
believed that the through route from Port
land west was by the way of Rutland and
O-WtkD IabbcI tsihh W NV W DANS
tain Notch and Ogdensburg, moved in the
matter as soon as the people on the route
in the States of New Hampshire and
Vermont were ready to cooperate.
The friends of the Portland and Rut-
land Railroad desired common trunk
line by the most practicable route, from
Portland to the mouth of the Great Ops
nee river. with proper connections with
H.. .tap = pNR Nd
harbor. The friends of the Portland and
Ogaensburgh road demanded the control
of the locations in the city of Portland,
determined to locate it at the western end
of the city. Having priority of charter,
and pledge of a city subscription, they
managed the enterprise, and made their
locations to subserve their own purposes.
As a local lice reaching to Conway, and
aiming to reach the Lamoille Valley, it
still commands a portion of popular sup
port. while the Portland and Rutland line
has been pressed forward as through Inc
to the west, and its friends secured al en-
| larCement of their charter as soon as the
people of Oswego gave to it their support
| As the through line to the west, it COM
mands the support of the business men of
| Portland and of the State. Its friends
have ALWAYS announced their purpose of
building it as a through line. declining to
commence work until contract of union
was perfected between Portland and Os-
wego. For this purpose charters have
been obtained, and companies formed in
New Hampshire, Vermont and New York,
and basis of union agreed upon, which
the parties will lose no time in perfecting
The Boards of Trade of Chicago and of
Buffalo, having approved the scheme, and
the several companies along the roate be-
tween Chicago and Portland having
agreed to act in concert and unite for the
formation of new line from Ohicogo to
Portland-a con vention for this purpose
was held in the city of New York, March
| Both. 1870 when it was found expedient
10 work in seperate sections until the diff
ferent portions were finished between
Chicago and Oswego, and form one com
pany, from Oswego to Portland, before
the commencement of the work.
The national character of the enter
prise commended it to the good sense of
many members of Congress, and the bill
of Mr.. Hamlin, introduced at the proper
time, has given direction to the public
opinion of the West That the principle
of government regulation should meet the
most violent opposition of monopolists
and plunderers, was to be expected, but
| for a New England newspaper to denounce
it ia a gigantic job, is alike unworthy and
unreasonable To build double track
railway, with steel rails, iron bridges and
an adequate equipment,for moving freight
at cheap rates, will require much larger
sum than the amount of the proposed
loan of credit of the government, with the
same results to the country as those se-
cured to Massachusetts by the loan of its
credit to the Boston and Albany Railroad
! It may be said that ether companies
will, with justice, demand like aid. If 80,
let them have it, on furnishing security
to the extent of the amount of the loan,
and subjecting their line to govern ment
regulation. This will relieve the West
of the burdens that now bear heavily upon
it's prosperity and double the value of
every farm. The fact that the proposed
bill of Mr.. Hamlin contemplates line to
Portland from the West, instead of Bos-
ton, should not discourage Boston enter
prise Boston shonld seek cheap trans
portetion over the Boston and Albany
Railroad, even if it should become neces-
sary to adopt the principle of government
regulation. JoHNJA.sPooR,,
Portland, Aug 3, 1871.
3" ZT-ET77 7--7--FT -E-1F . THE FTF-g qf.s- III
A BELLIGERENT STAGE COACH PAS.