The Portland daily press., 1872-05-15
4a HYDE PARK, VT, Nav 10. 1879

| then, either before or after their own survey
had been made of grades, ''curves," ''snow
embargoes," "slides,'' ''ice on the rails, y
floods from the mountains" and a thousand
other impracticabilities that, all on a sudden
and subsequently, were found to exist! The
Vermont Central knew then, as well as il
knows now, that these are all bug-bears. So
long as that corporation hoped to turn this rail
road to its own account, to handle and use aud
manage it for its own interest, no serious diff.
culties, either physical or economical, stood in
the way. What circumstances led to its extra.
ordinary change of sentiment, or rather change
of front, will now be set forth. .-
Montpelier, seeing the interest taken by the
| Central by Portland and st. Johnsbury, con-
cluded the road "would be built anyway" and
procrastinated, put off, and finally declined to
raise her part of the flu nds. On this account,
matters stood at dead lock for some time, the
other parties in interest being profoundly stir
red up at her detection. Meantime, the people
here, in the Lamoille Valley, who had no rail-
road facilities at all, seeing how matters stood,
conferred with st. Johnsbury about extending
the line west through this country to Swan
ton and Lake Champlain, and thereby short
CHING tI6 uIStduCC SOlHc luiiCO "
Montreal and the West. Montpelier, having
repudiated her part of the contract the St.
Johnsbury people said to the Isamoille Valley,
"Raise $4,000 per mile, and you shall have
the road" Prior to this, an interview was had
with the Vermont Central management, which,
disgusted with the unhandsome conduct of
Montpelier, consented fully to making of this
pledge to the Lamoille by st. Johnsbury; in
other words, released ST. Johnsbury from the
implied obligation to hold to the Montpelier
road. The Vermont Central doubtless did not
suppose Lamoille could raise the money, and
that its effort to do So would spur up Montepe-
lier to its duty. Lamoille set at work, and, to
the astonishment of everybody, did raise the
money! Upon this, Montpelier, thoroughly
frightened, sought to undo her work. Com
mittees met the st. Johnsbury people at Bos-
ton and elsewhere, and made every effort to in
duce them to break faith with the Lamoille
Valley Montpelier offered to build the whole
distance to the st. Johnsbury road, and pay
the bills, and some of the wealthiest citizens of
the place offered to give their personal security
that this should be done, if only st. Johnsbury
would let the Lamoille Valley slide. But st.
Johnsbury could not be hired to break her
pledge. The Lamoille Valley road was heavy
undertaking, but the conditions named had
been fulfilled and st. Johnsbury stood to her
promises like rock.
Montpelier's next effort was to get the books
of the Montpelier and st. Johnsbury railroad
reopened. They had been opened duly. Mont
pelier had subscribed nothing. st Johnsbury
accordingly, took the stock and closed the
books. Montpelier, now that the Lamoille
Valley diversion threatened, appeared upon the
ground, backed by the Vermont Central, and
wanted a chance to subscribe to the Montpelier
and st. Johnsbury stock. To get the manag-
ing share she would have subscribed million
dollars if necessary. 1t was too late. She could
not be accommodated. She had forfeited every
claim to further Indulgence. Under the cir
cumstances, she was not to be allowed to set
her heel upon the necks of her less-favored
neighbors in the Lamoille Valley, and kill off
the fruit of their work. There were loud
threats of recourse to law. They were never
carried into execution. Itwould not be pleas
ant to pay costs and lose the case too. s
In the meantime the project of an iudepend-
ent line from Portland to Lake Champlain had
been gaining strength and taking form all
along the line Boston became aroused. The
Vermont Central bondholders, an association of
Boston capitalists, and who, of course, care
more for Boston than for any other community
in the world, beganto bestir themselves to head
off this threatening rival Having failed to Sc
cure connection with the Portland road at West
Danyille; or, in other words, by the Montpelier
line, and finding that they must concede some
thing To tho Tarnoilla ValIav fhav
proposed buildings branch, further west to con-
meet their line with the Portland road, or from
Waterbury to Morrisville. This, they argued,
would pacify the most important part of the
Lamoille Valley, and would. be.a virtual fulfil
ment of the pledges of st. Johnsbury; it would
also effect what the Vermont Central has from
first to last, and above all, desired, to wit, cut
off the Portland railroad from independent
connection with Lake rChamplain, and from
prospective connections with Montreal and the
West st. Johnsbury declined to accede to
this. Her pledges to the Lamoille Valley and
Franklin County were to be kept in full So
this fell through, although the Central would
build the branch at their own expense.
The Central made yet third effort
1t offered to build, at its own cost, branch
from Cambridge, the Portland road,
to Georgia Bridge, on its own line. Observe
the proposition was not to build from Cambridge
to Burlington o, no! The Vermont Central
didn't want the Portland road to touch Lake
Champlain at any point All its propositions
and all its arrangements have had in view
making the Portland road its subordinate, and
a pensioner upon its bounty. This proposition,
like the Others was rejected, because its accept
would compel St Johnsbury to break faith
with us in the Lamolle Valley and our neigh
bors west in Franklin county. st. Johnsbury,
in all these trials saved her honor untaruished.
Standing to her pledges, she got shorter route
and a better route inevery regard. Montpeler's
detection proved to be the best thing for st.
Johnsbury, and will prove great gain to the
whole line. 1t led to the choice of an inde-
pendent road from Casco Bay to Lake Cham
piam' and thence to Montreal and the West.
FROM TINS point onward, from the time it
became evident that its purposes could not be |
carried out, the hostility of the Vermont Cen |
tral to the Portland Railroad began to ba |
manifested. In the language of its own recent |
exponent and advocate, its "former faa,;r, - |
friendship vanished" and it began to act j., a.,
spirit, as confessed, that interests beforo |
mutual had become rival" If the Portland
road would not be handmade to their road IL |
should not be at all, has been the temper
manifested To cut Portland off from Ogdens-
burg, the ultimate point of destination, it leased
the "Old Ogdensburg" line, a move as matters
are issuing, proving utterly abortive for the
purpose intended. 1t hoped to cut Portland off
from Montreal likewise, and the great railway
system thence westward, now entering upon
construction. Its hope has turned to ashes on
its lips. And now, forgetful of the past, with
the most audacious disregard of its own record
as respects the Notch route, it is pouring out
through every medium at s-~command, a
torrent OF abuse and misstatement upon
the head of its own offspring. Do the
managers of that railroad imagine that
the people of Portland have no memories9
Have not your people heard the controller
of that railroad demonstrate with all
the eloquence of persuasive statement,
the Notch route to be the route of all
routes? Did he not advise, urge, and beg the
city of Portland to put itslmoney into it? Did
he not vouch for it early and late? Did he not