The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1873-03-04
Shall High Street be Disco a,;uued.

The Boston & Maine Railroad has no claims
whatever as againat the public and our citizens.
1t is of no advantage to this city. 1t has, for
all practical purposes, destroyed property from
Park street to Vaughan's bridge, on the north
erly side of Commercial street, and will event.
ually either consolidate with the Eastern Rail-
road or combine to keep up rates of fare and
freight, SO as to pay dividends that mag be most
profitable to stockholders.
The engineer of the company should have
foreseen all that they now claim as in their acdy
when they purchased their depot grounds. Ii
they made such purchase without ascertaining
whether they would have the space they want
ed, it is mistake for which the city and its cit
liens should not be forced to suffer. Yet the
value of neighborng property of our citizens
will be much deprecated and their busn ess
greatly interrupted by their being compelled to
haul up to Park or down to Maple street, if
High street should be discontinued, as the petit
TONERS request.
We are now complaining, justly, too, of the
great danger attending the crossing from Port
land bridge. But Commercial street will be
more and more filled up by the Portland & Og-
densburg and Portland & Rochester trains COM
ing IN there, every year, and the danger to tray
elers will be constantly increasing Pnblic safe
ty demands that every avenue from CONNER
cial street that can properly be had should be
kept open. Instead of reducing the number OF
avenues, they should be increased as far as
practicable. With FESTIVE horse no person
| should be compelled to go from Park to Maple
street to get rid of cars and steam engines; and
| if High street be discontinued the life OF many
| a person will be sacrificed by it through want
| of avenues for business and escapes:
High street is a broad thoroughfare across
| the city obtained at great expense and the
most convenient of any, and why should 1t be
DESTROYED to accommodate corporation having
no interest in the city; and whose principal OBJ
The widening of Maple street would be of
no practical benefit and the proposal of the
advocates of the Boston & Maine Railroad to
open new street from Danforth east of Maple
street, would not help the matter South and
Brown streets are very narrow and do not run
across the city. Brown, from Free to Congress
street, is scarcely wide enough for teams to
pass,-always INSTRUCTED by snow and ice, in
their seasons, andlno one would ever attempt to
get across the city by it Every one on Com
mercial street, in the upper part of the city,
who wanted to 60 over behring's bridge would
be obliged to go out at Park street. and then
down on York to High street, or to go out at
Maple street, and thence up York to High
street, in order TO reach the bridge. Will the
OieS aueho1ieiCo SuuJcCt tuc WuOle 10 CUlS
Inconvenience, to accommodate this railroad?
Maple street, If widened, as proposed, will
not relieve the travel on Commercial street. for
it will be constantly filled with hack teams and
express wagons on business of the railroad, and
will accommodate no Others Let any one watch
railroad depots where much business is DONE
and see whether the public at large get any ben
lit from the streets about the depots, which are
crowded with teams connected with the bust
ness of the depots Generally there is great
difficulty in the public getting through the
| crowd of teams collected around such places
Maple street to-day, without the depot and
| proposed widening, is more convenient to the
| public than it would be with the proposed i'm
| provements of the railroad company
| Our City Council should protect their fellow
citizens, and should not sacrifice their rights to
those of any corporation, whether foreign or
| domestic.
| Such request as that now made by the Bos-
| ton Il Maine Railroad for the discontinuance
| of High street, would he secuted down in any
other city; and if now granted, public necessi-
| ty nefore long will compel the relocation and
| opening of the street, without regard to ex-
| pense.
Why cannot the City Council be induced to
let things remain as they are? Years since this
| portion of High street now attempted to be dis
| continued, was deemed so necessary that its To-
cation was secured at great cost for the right of
way. Does not the same necessity now exist
and increased hundred fold?
Let us ''be wise to-day, for it is madness to
DEFER S. r. JACKSON
| JACOB G. BAKER,
| GARDNER JORDAN
| EVANS & GREENE.
| portlapd Fehr11arv 1879