The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-02-27
Annexation of Cape Elizabeth.

exclamation is necessary, ohD e..It
n"m rebension of the question TO MAKE some
statement as 10 the SITUATION. C'pe Ct.ape.h
is a large. rich and prosperous Town having IN
20 100 nonnlation of 51O6 and state valuation
20 a 1881. These figures will serve as a
T ba of estimate now although the town has
Srown somewhat in both population and
wealth. 1t lies northwesterly from Portland,
stretching along and forming one SIDE of the
harbor, At a distance ranging from half a
mile to mile from the harbOr front and paral-
lei to it is a high ridge of land, forming a nat
ural division between the two parts of the
town. Between this ridge and the water lies
the long and narrow strip OF land which asks
to be set off from the rest of the town and an
nexed to Portland. On this strip are four vii
lagos the outgrowth of Portland and sustained
chiefly by the manufactures OF various Kinds
there established by Portland capital THIS
strip is estimated to contain about one nan tne
population OF the town and about fogr-sevenths
of the wealth. The character OF the people Is
determined by their occupation and location
and is essentially the same as that OF otner
manufacturing towns. There are many Tor
eigners, few real estate owners, and the proper
ty is massed into great business establishments.
On the other side of the ridge is large area,
| for the most part well adapted to agricultural
| uses and filled with population OF well TO 90
| farmers market gardeners anG we aithy retired
| business men and sea captains. The market
| for their productions is Portland and they are
| in no wise dependent for a market upon the
villages within the town. The coast Is beautl-
fully diversified and picturesque and aoounds
in fine beeches upon which ARE bnit great ho-
tells for summer resort, attracting large crowds
of visitors from all parts OF this country and
the Domlnion of Canada, who leave behind
them annually large sums OF money. Ihe
waves throw uron the shores masses OF sea
weed for the fertilizing of the soil and with SO
good market near at hand and a fertilizer to
be had for the hauling, this part OF Cape
Elizabeth is perhaps the most prosperous agrl-
| cultural community in the State
The interests, business and social, of these
| two communities are evidently diverse, they
| not even having the bonds which generally ex-
| list in similar cases of market and its supply.
| Under such circumstances there can be no
wonder that constant contentious, iealousies
and quarrels between the sections have marked
the history of the town government for many
years. The villages want and need sewers,
side walks. street lights police and graded
schools, dem ands for which the farmers, feel
ing no such need, steadily refuse. the villages
by combining for one object can by great
| effort out vote the rural portions of the town;
| but as the villagers are mostly engaged in
| manufactures which must be shut up to enable
| them to attend town meeting great expense and
| trouble is involved. There are jealouses, too,
| between the four villages which are situated at
some distance apart, adding to the difficulty OF
| combined action. So far have these wrangles
| between the two sides OF the ridges gone, that
each party is heartily sick OF the other and ex-
rent on both sides at their town meetings
When, therefore, the villages began to give
form and organization to the mutual desire to
be rid of each other, they confidently expected
the aid and alliance for that purpose of the
rural portion of the town. Early last fall the
people of the villages began to hold meetings
of consultation on the matter OF effecting
separation from the rest of the town and found
an almost unanimous popular support for the
measure Committees were appointed, petit
tons circulated and public meetings held; the
villages became thoroughly alive on the subject
and it was settled that annexation to Portland
would be preferable to the formation of a new
town. Then of course, it became necessary to
consult Portland which was at first disposed to
look little coldly on the PROPOSE ton. Our
leading men felt uncertain about its desirabili-
ty, our journals were doubtful until several
meetings were held and the matter carefully
discussed, when very general adhesion was
given to the cause of annexation Then, and
not till then, did disposition develop in the
farming portion of the town te oppose the
movement, and this disposition has led to the
vigorous action which the Legislature has wit
messed for the last few weeks, the employment
of eminent counsel before the Committee and
the use of the appliances of the professional
lobby upon individual members. A majc rty
OF the Committee was secured against the bill
and the petitioners now come before you with
the report of a very respectable minority,
cnmpanied by statement OF the facts wherein
they base their opinion.
The Lrayer of these petitioners should be
granted it seems to me, for several substantial
reasons. In the first place it will be for the ad-
vantage of that part of the town lying east of
the ridge and which seeks to be annexed. The
formation, change and abrOgation of town
lines is a matter entirely ir the hands of the
Legislature, such divisions are entirely
btrary and should be made and changed with
sole view to the interests of the parties directly
concerned. The government of one OF these
arbitrary divisions by the good old fashioned
tpyx iS siCta ant tn q
munity where individual citizens have the lei
snre and capacity to examine and understand
all the departments of town business and can
vote intelligently and directly upon questions
at issue. As communities become more COM
pact and are made up of business men, manu-
facturers, professional men and all the busy
multitude which go to make up city, the gov
eminent by town meeting becomes cumbrOus
and impracticable and the Legislature very
wisely recognizes the necessity of the case and
grants charters providing for representative
municipal government. The petitioners who
| seek here to be annexed are essentially city
population ,E,1 aiG,a., They live in c'ompactly
| naturally part of it. They have the wants of
| a cty-wants which their rural neighbors but
| partially appreciate and are slow to grant. One
OF the greatest needs for such population
and need which the State for its own good
must recognize-is the need of better school
accommodations. The foreign element form
ing the largest component part of the popula-
ton, is prolific of children who must grow up
in ignorance and the consequent vice and deg
radiation unless the State provides for their ed
ucatiOn. Under the present system this is not
at all satisfactorily done. The town cannot
even avail itself of the State aid for free high
school SO great is the Jealousy among competing
localities. The agricultural part of the town
cannot appreciate the necessity for sidewalks,
nor of sewers, which are absolutely indispensa-
BILE TO the health OF these communities. Street
lamps and police, especially on the bridges, are
| imperatively demanded. 1t is unsafe for any
| pedestrian to go across the bridges alone after
| dark, and we have constant and sickening
succession of assaults, robberies, outrages and
even urders on these unprotected thorough
fares With annexation comes the school sys
| tenn OF Portland under its intelligent and ad-
m:rable management, primary and grammar
| schools in these villages aud access for the pu-
| pill to our High School: the building of side
walks and grading of streets; good and whole
som system of sewerage; well lighted streets
| and bridges under guard Of the city poice force,
| and many other provisions for the convenience
safety and advancement of these communities
| Their business Interests 100, would receive
vast impetus from the greater security of fire
and robbery, and the certainty of more stable
punicipal government than could be afforded
by the town meeting of town divided into
warning factions mutually averse to promoting
each others interests Capital is VIGOROUSLY
timid and hesitatas to place itself under control
OF authorities whose prejudices and passions
are the paramount motives of action. The ad-
vantages of location in well known CITY, too.
are very greatto manufacturing enterprises and
those already established find great inconveu-
fences from not being in the city of Portland.
vessels bringing coal, iron and other material
Tor their mills are chartered to Portland and
object to going to the Cape side of tie harb0r
without extra compensation, especially as such
diversion from the terms of the charter marty
is likely to endanger the insurance on shjps and
cargoes SO great are these and other incon-
venences that at the time of the building of
the Rolling Mills, as am informed, it was a
serious question whether they should not be es-
tablished in Portland. Notwithstanding the inf
mite superiority and cheapness of the location
on the other side, and despite the fact that Cape
Elizabeth would exempt them from taxation
for tenn of years which Portland would not
do. Within the past year men proposing to
establish manufactures have visited the locali-
ty aud have decided not to invest, solely for the
reason that their business would lack the adj
vantage of being in the city of Portland The
petitioners claim that they have assurances
from capitalists that the waterfront will be inn
proved, wharves, docks and warehouses built,
ana an, thus vast amount of properly now lying
o o and unpreductive will be utilized for
Uoner D purposes. The communications
a %,.n ro Ld by bridge and ferry have
be- ytha o I'LL very satisfactory. and have
n.en .ne suolect OF much labor for leg-
jealous spirit of the agricultural nort Inc
town leads it to oppose all efforts for ~ vi tne
| proVement OF these means of transit WIZ
when the State was so far convinced of tbe ny,
| cessity of bridge from Ligonia Village IN
nc IN 49,