The Portland daily press., 1872-03-30
To the Editor of the Press i:

To the Editor of the Press:
The indications now are that the voters of
Portland will refuse to permit the credit of the
city to be loaned to the Portland and Ogdens-
burg Railroad Company, to enable them to
continue their road through the White Noun
tain notch to connect with the west division at
the Vermont line. 1t is said that in that case
the road cannot be completed, and that these
disastrous results will follow.
l. This city will lose $714,OO of stock SUBJ
scribed to the road and accrued interest.
2. This city will fail to secure an additional
and more desired Railway communication with
the great Lakes and with the West, and the
tradeand business which such communication
will bring.
3. The R. R. Co. will fail to keep the pledges
they have made to the people of Northern Yer
mont, who have expended so much in building
road across their State, in the expectation Of
an outlet to Portland and the sea board.
On the other hand prudence urges that So,
10000 is very large sum- that to borrow it
will impair the city's credit; that the cOntin-
gency OF having it to pay is not improbable, and
that the burden of such a debt will increase
taxation, depreciate property, repel business,
and doom the city to rapid decline
Now let us see if all these good ends may not
be accomplished at one-fifth of the proposed
expense, and the danger OF SO great calamities
be averted. -
1. For her investment of nearly 100000 the
city has a road from tide water to North Con-
way, over favorable route with easy grades,
and all things considered advantageously built
subject to mortgage of $S00,000, which road is
justifable, and with the best possible connec-
tions may ultimately pay;-but which, if bur-
dened with the enormous expenditures involved
in building through the White Mountains and
the wilderness of New Hampshire, can hardly
be made to psy. The thing to do to make this
part of the road pay is to refuse to make inn
foah and
possible make connections with roads through
Uidbte, and more pOpulous parts of the State at
a less cost, and at cost to be borne chiefly by
the people accommodated by it. Are such con-
nections possible?
2. BY bnlding from the P & o. r. R. at Cor
nish Qeaving the road to North Conway as a
branch for the mountain trunk the main trunk
line up the valley of the Ossipee to Plymouth or
to Meredith n. III. each a distance of 43 miles, a
connection can belmade'at Meredith OF Plym
outh with the Boston, Concord and Montreal
railroad and so through the line in process of con-
struction from Wells river to Montpelier Vt.
with the Vermont Central, and SO with Bur-
lington, Swanton and Ogdensburg. By this
route via Plymouth, Swanton and Ogdensburg
are actually nearer to Portland, than by the
Portland and Ogdensburg by seUen miles,
8 A connection is made with st. Johnsbury
and with the Western division of the Portland
and Ogdensburg railroad via the Boston, Con-
cord and Montreal and by the Connecticut and
operation. The distance from Cornish to st
Johnsbury by the proposed notch route is about
105 miles, by these roads already built and run
ming, except from Meredith to Cornish, about
106 miles. But the first route is through a
mountain pass 1900 feet above the level of the
sea and through an unsettled wilderness, that
cannot afford dollar to help build the road.
The second route is through valleys and towns
that will supply the means to build at least
half of the road to complete the connection.
If it be urged that it is proposed To use rival
roads controlled by Boston capital and discrim-
mating in favor of Boston, let it be remembered
too that the projected line of the P. & o. r. r.
is tapped by Boston railroads four times before
it reaches Lake Champlain, and that, when il
reaches there, it depends upon the good will OF
the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain railway,
a road leased to the Vermont Central railroad
and managed by Boston interests for a con.
nection with Ogdensburg and that too for dis
lance of 1872 miles.
Judge Fowler of Bristol, N. H., President
of the New Hampshire Central railroad, stated
in a speech made in Portland last summer, that
densburg to Cornish up the Osspee Valley ter
miles to the State line, the New Hampshire
people would build thence to the Boston, Con
cord & Montreal railway. But as this offer was
coupled with the condition that the line should
| defect southwark to Meredith instead of goinl
west to Plymouth, it is not expected that SC
much of the line would be undertaken in New
Hampshire. But can there be any doubt tina
if this deviation was made and heartily entered
| upon by the P. & o. directors, that the enter
| prise would itself command the necessary CAPT
| tai for its establishment without calling on the
city at all for aid, or if it was desirable to have
such aid to the extent of a guaranty of half
million dollars, the city would vote it almos
I without opposition MOSES GOULD