Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1872-02-26
Remarks Of A. J. W. Stevens, ESQ, OF
Parkman

| Railroad Company.
! Mr.. SPEAKER AND GENTLEMEN-I confess
to feeling of pure selfshness in approach
ing the discussion of this bill. This selfish
ness consists entirely in q desire for protec-
tion for myself and for the people whom |
have the honor to represent. claim no
credit for magnanimity in this matter, but
whose suffrage placed me upon this floor. Be
it understood then that / speak for myself
and my constituents.
The gentleman from Bangor (Mr Brown
talks most pathetically about "bleeding" the
Bangor and Piscataquis railroad in the city
of Bangor, which he in part represents. I
bear no i'll will to the Bangor and Piscataquis
railroad, nor towards the citizens of Bangor.
l, years ago, learned that the city of Bangor is
capable of taking care of herself; and have
no doubt but the corporators of the Bangor
and Piscataquis railroad possess full share
of the shrewdness of that respectable and in
f1uential city.
As county, we, the people of Piscataquis,
have no direct railroad communication with
any portion of this globe, except Bangor. We
have great abundance of mineral wealth, lum-
Der, and agricultural resources. We ask for
some communication with the outside world. Is
this what the opponents of this bill denoninate
"bleeding?" 1t certainly is SO, and this is all
there IS to that charge. We wish to save
from fifty to sixty-five miles of travel, when
ever we visit Augusta or Portland--and this
is bleeding" Bangor, is it? We wish to
save 81 on every ton of freight which we
send to Boston, or to any point west of New
portland this, too, is bleeding" Bangor.
We wish to manufacture thousands of mil
lions of lumber upon our own streams and at
our own mills, and save the expense of driv-
ing, boomage, and incidental losses. Give US
means of transporting manufactured lumber
to market, and we save all this expense, and
give employment to our own men. But this
will "bleed" Bangor! Much has been said
in this discussion, about the poverty of Piscat-
aquis. To this charge we plead guilty. This,
then, is contest between the rich city of
Bangor and the poor county of Piscataquis.
And now, from the depth Of this alleged pow
erty and degradation, we ask you to try this
question fairly. At your hands, we ask for
the feasible means to improve our condition
Allow us the means to save within our own
borders the expense of manufacture and q
very large item of expense of transporting
to market, our shingles, clapboards, laths,
frames, slate, iron, and farm produce. We
wish to "bleed" no city or corporation, but
we solicit to be allowed to save little of our
own blood. Slate of the best quality. and
which is demanded in all Of our cities, is, to.
day, cheaper in Brownville than cedar shin
giles. Give us this road, and we save in
transit to market 81 per ton. Is this request
unreasonable? This sum saved upon all the
slate and potatoes which we send abroad will
do something to raise us from the condition
of poverty here charged upon us. One word,
in this place, in regard to this matter of
bleeding" the Bangor and Piscataquis rail-
road. When the Piscataquis Central rail-
road shall be completed under the charter
which we solicit, from Dexter to Dover, all
ofthe towns in my vicinity will still have to
patronize (and we shall be happy to do so)
the Bangor and Piscataquis railroad on the
whole length of line above Dover, at which
point we shall pass on to the Piscataquis Gen.
trail railroad. Thus thousands upon thous-
ands Of bushels of potatoes from all the re-
gion between Dover and Greenville, all of
the slate from the Monson quarries, and mil
lions of short lumber, will, as a matter of
course, pass over the western portion Of the
Bangor and Piscataquis railroad. In this
way, verify believe, that more business will
be given to the Bangor and riscataquis rail-
road than all that she willlose by completing
this new link between Dexter and Dover.
And call you this 'bleeding" the Bangor
and Piscataquis road? This is the true pros
pect, which we present to that road.
1t has been repeatedly asserted, in this de-
bate, that the State made very large graturity
to the b. & T. Railroad on condition that that
road should run to rownville. No man has
attempted to challenge this statement Under
this contract gentlemen have opened quarres
and erected mills in Brownville. The gen.
tleman who opened this discussion, [Mr.
Briggs of Brownvillel although too modest
to allude to the fact himself, invested large
portion of his property, say from $25, 900 to
$50, 900, in mills and other property in Brown
vile, in expectation of speedy and easy
transit by railroad. But the B. & p. Railroad,
like its bible prototype, ''passed by on the
other side" leaving Brownville with all of her
forests, mineral and agricultural wealth, five
miles out in the cold! And now, this migrate
Brownville joins in the imploring cry of all
Of her sister towns, for charter for road
to connect her with the markets of the world.
o! cruel Brownville! How dare you thus put
in jeopardy the life blood of the kind.hearted
city of Bangor And now, one word about
parallel roads. If we were soliciting char
ter for a parallel road, we should find abun-
dant precedent for the granting Of our request
in the action of this Legislature. In charter
ing the Lewiston and Auburn road, you have
established this precedent. You had no com.
FUNCTIONS Of conscience, no scruples as to
'bleeding" the NJ. c. Railroad, which had
just completed line for the special accomo-
dation of those cities. You have no scruples
-
is to be parallel to this terribly abused B. &
p. road, but the difference twixt tweedledee
and tweedledum" in this case is, that the
business of Bangor is to be augmented. All
right: nobody objects. The charter of that
road is right and proper. And now, you
propose to charter'still another road, precisely
parallel to the NJ. C. road. You have no tears
to shed over the bleeding of road which has
done more to accommodate the citizens and
augment the business of Maine than any other
institution has or can do. No fear of bleeding
troubles the tender hearts of gentlemen in this
case. But when we propose to build road
which is to cross the B. z. road at right angles,
which is to give market transit to untold
millions of industrial products; give employ
ment to thousands of laborers and save every
man, or woman, who lives west of Guilford,
sixty -one miles of travel to get to this Capt.
tai, then comes up this bugbear Of parallel
roads. Gentlemen, consistency 10 jewel.
But, we are told that the granting Of this
charter will depopulate the State. In<ny ig-
norance, had supposed that depopulation
results from the want of railroads, rather
than from their existence. II this be not so,
then have studied political ECONOMY n no