The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1873-02-17
The Portland & Bath Charter.

The following communication from well
known railroad operator, who is a director in
the Portland & Bath Railroad, is of interest,
as giving his veraion of the soc lied 'hank
movement by which the control of the char
ter was apparently put into hands represent
ing the interests of 4 particular railroad
That there was a "fank movement in which
the B. & NJ. was out-generaled, appears from
the letter itself-tLe only point of fact trav
ersed being the assumption that it was in the
interest of any other road. We may also, in
this connection, state that another director OF
the inchoate P. & B. says that five of the nine
directors are Knox & Lincoln men. the
friends of the Boston & Maine stoutly assert
that they are satisfied with the result, IN
which case no one need shed any Tears Oh
their &C count. The public are not specially
interested in the victory or defeat OF any par
ticular road. provided that the enterprise IS in
the hands of men who mean to secure the
building of the road, and the present manag-
err, insisr that they are in earnest about it
and that there are powerful interests, which
propose to push its construction, entirely dis
connected from either of the Boston Dads.
although they will welcome aid from either.
1t is little remarkable, if they really mean
business, that there is no director from Port
land, a city greatly interested in the proposed
road. We may fairly say that the whole ope-
ration, even with the explanation of 'Direc-
tor" looks little queer, and we shall watch
Its development with much interest. The
result of the annual meeting of the Maine
help to elucidate the matter, especially if GER
tain rumored combinations with view to a
change of its management should prove sue
eessful: ..-.l
r BDDEFoRp, Feb 10, 1873.
To the Editor Of the Press: -'G-
Your comments to-day upon the meeting of
the corpOrators of the Portland & Bath Rail-
road are without foundation in fact. There was
an attempt to tie the charter to the interests of
the b. & N. road, to the exclusion of the East
ern Railroad. That attempt was defeated. If
you or your readers desire to know more, ask
the President of the B. & M. road if he did not
state just prior to the assembling Of the Legis-
lature, that his company did not propose to put
3 single dollar into roads east of Portland. The
fact il that the Boston g. Maine road is not ex-
cluded from the proposed shore line, provided
they Will JOIN In building the road. Neither OF
the Boston roads have or can have such a con-
troll of the charter as to hold it adversely from
parties who desire to build. 1t may he that
parties in the interest of the B. & M. Railroad
prefer to have it understood that the road is to
be excluded from the proposed shore line. Just
what the position the of B. & NJ. road has been
toward the Portland & Bath charter the public
do not know, but the corporators-or major-
ty of then-of the Portland & Bath Railroad
DO know. and if the directors of the B. s. NJ
have any complaint to make over their own sig
natures, the facts will be given to the public.
As it liz, here is no flank movement about
it, and the result is adverse to the Maine Gem
trail. The Maine Central managers did not
cease to oppose the Bath charter, until they
were defeated. The charter is in the control Of
its friends and the friends of the proposed road,
friends who petitoned for it and have worked
for it, friends who understand the plots and
schemes of the Maine Contra, and of the Bos-
ton & Maine as WELL Now let the directors of
of the b. & NJ road propose to join in building the
shore line, and every director of the Portland
and Bath company will join, but not otherwise.
Meantime the public should understand that
there are other interests to build the Bath and
Portland road than those seen in the COMPETE
ton OF the Boston roads, and whether the
Eastern, Boston & Maine or both will join them
and build the line remains to be SEEN They
certainly have the opportunity.
SRI A DIRECTOR.