Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1873-08-20

sley, Grant and Bailey. engineers formerly en-
ployei, whose place Is now supplied hys very
AmiAble acquaintance Of ours, Mr.. Asa Cum
mings Michel. formerly On the Atlantic and 81
Lawrence railroad and more recently partner in
the Apothec.ry business with Mr. Henry T. Cum
mings on Congress street. We has lately adyer-
tisei letting in Vermont Mr.. Michell's de-
scription Of the line surveyed by him shows him
to be master In his profession for he has
succeeded in finding route where others have
deemed 1t all but impraticable.
For the sake Of the climax. il is pity
he had not known that before reaching
the dignity he mentions, | had for Eve
years been turner, workins With my own
hands and eating ny bread in the sweat Of
my face. That was some coming down from
being the chief engineer Ofa road longer
and much more expensive than this whole
line in Vermont, but no worse for me than
for many another in the disastrous times
Of 81. II would be much more pleasant to
think Of, if, besides my place, l had not
lost $4,000 besides. l believe that even
that was all right, for it left me depend.
cnt on my own hands, and il l am proud
of any success in my life it is that have
succeeded as farmer; for | did succeed and
graduated from the Professivn with high
honors. Please excuse the egotism and
let us return. The abeye extract was
written as Artemas Ward would say ''sar-
kas,ikal," the design being to throw dis
credit upon any statement or estimate
which | might make as an engineer. lie
did know that l had been an engineer for
l / successive years that had also been
chief engineer of road through the
mountains of Kuntucky, IA much more
difficult country ts build through than this,
there being no less than seven tunnels
through rock upon the forty miles of road
through the mountain, but he quietly ig-
nors all this. He insinuates that Lnsley,
Grant aud Bailey are not here because
they cannot find practicable line, ani then
does he not almost ask the people of Port.
land, is it probable that this fellow who
was only an apothecary hOre three or four
years ago has found what they could not I
In view of the fact that the cars are daily
running over this line deemed so impracti.
cable, and that it cost only Que half pei
mile what he gives as the average cost Of
the road through the whole State, may
not say with Gratiano, "a second Daniel
come to judgement, Jew, thank thee for
teaching me that word"
After demolishing me he proceeds as
follows:
"From the line oe New Hampshire to
Swanton across the State of Vermont is
appar,stly less than so miles on an alr
line, and yet it requires many miles more
of located line to get over the Green
Mountains and through the Lamoille Val.
ley to the line Of the Vermont Central
Railroad, at cost greater than upon any
line of equal length in the State of Yer.
mont. The average cost of the lines in
that State as originally built at the low
price of former years, was atthe rate Of
SAL. S64 per mile. Calling theline 10 mile:
as you fix it, and the cost $4,000 per
milo 81, 400, 900 are called for to build
this line across the State of Vermont
When you have reached Swanton you
strike the consolidated line of the Cen.
trail and Vermont and Canada Railroad,
bitter rival" "TC
reach Ogdensburgh from Swanton it is IA
miles from Rouse's Point, and ll8 milei
from thence to Ogdensburgh, q distance
of 1872 miles over existing lines. How
this 132 miles is to be overcome you do
not undertake to say. But suppose you
can make terms with the Vermont and
Canada line and reach Rouse's Point from
SwantcR, how are you to get from Rouse's
Point to Ogdersourgh ? There are two
ways open to you; buy the old line or
build new one. You cannot buy the
old line without paying the market price
and becoming responsible for the payment
Of its Indebtedness. This would make the
cost Of that line 5,75l ,l35,-balfofit, OF
50, ,979, 900 an eight per cent. bearing SC.
curity and 100000 of it Of seven Per
cent"
One more extract will suffice. Like the
scorpion the sting of this lies in the tail
"How stands the account?
Cost Of the line Sl5, ,S21 1886
Available resources 1889, 800
Balance to be raised on bonds Sl2, 43S,0
What would prudent business men say
to such security at this time upon de-
clining and exhausted market? Does moi
j the Increment to put the line in Vermont
under contract look like another 'Obdens
Jurgh s,oimdle, from ,oh,ch some of ou'
people suffered in former gears? Yel
the people of Vermont it is said, beliept
that Portland is so full Of money that all
further sums required TO carry the lin.
through are to come from Portland"
The italics in the extract are mine
Comment upon it is unnecessary. and
have, perhaps, occupied too much tint
and space with the article already. Blu
many, while knowing the obstacles 20,
fought against here, are unaware Of th'
tremendous war wagcd against the roat
on another field, and do not realize th'
innortanca of TIA victory nainad Th,