The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-06-22
Objections to the P. & O. r. r. Loan,

MR.. EDIToR:-It is curious to observe OF
what sort of material the objections to the
P. & O. r. r. loan are made. Foremost
amongst these is the ''terrible cost of forcing
passage through the Notch" There are GER
tain parties on the street Of good social and
financial position, who go about declaring
with portentous solemnity and with a positive
ness which might be thought substantiated
by half score of careful surveys, that ''the
road will certainly, cost from $4,000, 900 to.
$10,000,000." When asked upon what EVIL
dence, what facts, their assertions rest, they
are obliged to confess that the only basis
therefor is their opinion, their private judg-
ment. Now these gentlemen are at liberty
to cherish whatever private opinions they
please, however groundless. But it Gel tainly
gives evidence of good deal of presumption
on their part to offer these opinions in offset
and counterpoise to the actual surveys and
explorations of six competent engineers, and
the contract entered into by responsible, sue
cessful and honorable builders. 1t is to be
recollected in this connection, that Messrs.
Fuller and Harding were not the only con-
tractors who desired to build the road. STAN
ton & Co., eminent railway constructors, OF
large experience, having been over the route
thoroughly twice, Mr.. Stanton being native
of Bartlett and well acquainted with the
whole region, made offers to do the work, on
ly little less favorable than those of the sue
cessful bidders. Who then know best what
the road will cost, these engineers, contrac-
tors. and the directors ON the one hand, or
these declamatory gentlemen on the street on
the other? Whose testimony is it the part
of wisdom to accept, abide by and act upon?
The next objection that serves as a grand
staple for the croakers over the P. & o. road
is ''the grades, the dreadful gradesp' 1t avails
nothing to tell these Jeremiahs that the Bal
timore and Ohio road has grade of 116 feet
to the mile for eleven successive miles, and is
one of the greatest freight roads in the coun-
try; nothing, that the Penn. Central has sec
tions difficult of operation as any part of the
P. & o. will be, yet its business is gigantic
nothing, that the Mt. Savage R. r. in Mary
land has grades of 140 feet to the mile; that
several roads in England have grades of 140
to $50 feet, one near Sheffield having 1876
feet to the mile; nothing, that the Lanca-
shire & Yorkshire road has a grade equally
abrupt; that the st. German r. r. in France
has a grade of nearly 100 feet to the mile, and
that in none of these cases do the specified
grades seriously affect the business or profta-
bleness of the roads. To all these facts these
gentlemen reply, rolling up their eyes in hor-
ror, go, the grades, the grades, the imprac-
ticable gradesp' .... ..e,,l ..,fl Ii.
But, thirdly, the contractors will back
down, and back out, and leave the unfinished
monster on our hands," Confronted with the
terms of the contract, that the builders are to
be paid only in proportion to the amount act
ually done, and as the work shall be approved
and accepted by the directors, that of the whole
amount coming to said builders, percentage
is to be Withheld until the road is finished !;
that thus in the event of the failure of the
contractors, the road could make terms with
other parties to even better advantage than
before; confronted also with the honorable
record Of the contractors as railway builders !;
and finally with the affirmation of the direc-
tors of the road that an honest contract has
been entered into, based upon the concurrent
judgment of six engineers and upon all the
facts and information accessible-they have
nothing to say but to repeat the utterly unsub-
stantiated formula, "The contractors will
back down; the contract is sham; it is a
mere pretense and humbng."
The next point raised by the enemies of the
P. & o. r. r. is, that the contract is not en-
dorsed by the directors in their individual ca
pacity. Why should the directors who are sim
Div agents and trustees for the peOple put their
individual endorsement upon the contracts
of the company? Do the Mayor and Alder
men vouch in their individual capacity for the
fulfllment of the city's contracts entered into
by them as agents for the city? Is not the
proposition absurd? What else is it than
cowardice and dishonesty to endeayor to ex-
cite public suspicion and odium against the
road and its managers by such insinuations
of malfeasance and abuse of trust. W