Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-03-23

tainsd that clerical intimidator is no bet
ter before the law than any other, is himself
| a Catholic.
Cheap Transportation.
A meeting of the Boston Board of Trade
was held on Tuesday, at which were
read two important papers on the
subject Of competition in railway
transportation from the West. One was
by Mr.. VIM. II. Lincoln, of the firm of
Thayer Il Lincoln. In this, Mr.. Lincoln
urged that to secure the means of an in
creased European trade, Boston must have
an independent line to the West, and also
be put in closer and cheaper communica-
tion with the coal fields of Pennsylvania, in
order that the manufacturers of New Eng
land may hold their ground, and make
Boston distributing centre of their pro-
ducts to the whole country. He said
1t is for the interest of Boston and the
| State, to-day, to have an independent
through line to the West, and our posi-
tion will nerer be secured till we have it.
We need, to-day, a line of steamers to Lon
don, another to Germany, and the time is
coming when We shall have them Steam
lines pave the way for the establishment
of business for sailing vessels We never
should have loaded hundred vessels last
year with grain but for the influence exerted
by our steam lines to Europe. Our future
growth and our importance as a commercial
city, depends upon the extension of our
business with Europe, and this in turn de-
pends upon the continuance and extension of
our facilities for inland transportation.
With equal rates to the West our future
growth will be as marked and rapid as
that of the past three years but if the rail-
ways upon which we now rely should make
any undue discrimination in favor of other
ports, our business would leave US, and we
would lose as rapidly as we hive gained
Our entire grain business depends upon hav-
ing equivalent rates with New York. There
is work to be done and competition to be
met. The tice has commenced to flow in
this direction. Upon the business men of
Boston, to-day, is laid the responsibility of
deciding whether the tide shall flow on with
increased velocity and in wider channels.
Gen. VIM. L. Burt next called the atten-
tion Of the Board to the new Western route
which could be opened from Boston to Lake
Ontario by the Hoosac Tunnel line
lie stated that the organization of the Bos-
ton, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway
was made by Boston men, with Boston eapi-
tai, under the laws of the State of New
York This corporation now asks to be rec
ognized by the State of Massachusetts, with
sufficient authority to complete the line from
Boston to Lake Ontario, at Oswego and
Fair Haven. The length of this road was
256 miles. BY building thirty miles of new
road from the State read TO Schenectady. a
part of the line 10 Lake Ontario which
Could be finished the coming summer, an in
dependent through line over the Erie Rail-
way to all its connections West would be OBJ
tanned. lie showed that by continuing the
construction of their road through the Mo-
hawk Valley to the easterly end Of Lake On
tario, they would have at Oswego an inde-
pendent connection by the Lake Ontario
Shore railroad. the Great Western of Cana
da, and the Michigan Central, to Chicago,
and said this line of road from Boston to
Chicago was shorter in distance than from
New York TO Chicago by the New
York Central and Michigan Southern. This
line at Lake Ontario also would control the
rates Of freight from the lakes to tide-water.
as it would have the shortest distance and
the lowest grades. lie said that the rates
of freight for grain from Chicago, Milwaukee
and the upper lakes to Oswego were but five
and six cents per bushel, and from that point
to tide-water in Boston harbOr it could be
Transported so cheaply that no through rail
line from Chicago could possibly compete
with it. He said that the gentlemen associ
ated in this enterprise were men of wealth
and experience. and most of them citizens of
Boston. They were willing and ready to
furnish all the money necessary TO open this
line. They insisted the State should not pay
out any more money on the Tunnel, and
that taxation for the Tunnel should stop ;
that the roads using the Tunnel should main
tain it. and it should be opened to all rail-
roads on equal terms.
We must confess to surprise that the
capitalists of Boston should be thinking of
putting money into a new railroad route to
the West, when a small portion of the |
money it would cost would build the Caugh-
nswaga Ship Canal, and give cheaper
freights from Chicago to Boston than could |
possibly be secured in any other way. With |
the grain trade Of the Northwest turned |
into Lake Champlain, Boston could not pos
sibly be deprived of its share of that trade. The
opening of the mouths of the Mississippi. by |
the Eads jetties, to deep draught vessels, will
soon be turning down the Mississippi a
large share of the breadstuffS of the North
west which now seek the St. Lawrence |
route Both New York and Boston will |
greatly feel the change unless they take
active measures to hold their own. The |
cool. water st. Lawrence and Lake Champ
lain route will give them line absolutely |
superior TO all competition by rail or
river and it Is the only line
whose intrinsic advantages must at once set
tie all questions of rivalry, in its favor. The
railroads from Lake Champlain to Boston
have also tremendous interest At stake in
this matter, though they somehow do not
seem to see it. The ship canal i their sure
salvation. Now that the Central Vermont
has relinquished the Ogiensburs road, it can
have no interest ut variance with the canal,
and the knowledge that the managers of the
road had taken hold of the canal project,
with a determination to carry it through,
would do more to rai>e confidence in the
road and its securities than anything that
could happen to them. Build the canal and
both onr railroad lines 10 Boston would at
once have all that they could do. with double
racks, at paying rates. and Boston would en-
ter on new life of active growth and pros
pcritv.