The Portland daily press., 1878-11-05
CITY AFFAIRS.
Regular Monthly Meeting of the City
Council.

All tne members were present Win the eX-
ception of Messrs. Maxey and Haseltine, who
are away. The Mayor presided.
Orders PasSed-That the committee on
valu .tion of Zeal estate be directed to complete
their work and file their fnal report on or b.
fore the first day of January next If prsct-
cable, but at longest by the first dav of Febru.
airy next; that in addition to the $2500 already
appropriated, sum not exceeding $1,000 is
hereby appropriated out of the contingent fund
for the payment of said committee and all in
cidental expenses of SAID valuation, and
further, that so much of the order of January
10, 1873, as authorizes said committee to en-
ploy clerk is hereby repealed; that the City
Treasurer be and he hereby is authorized to
give deed with the usual covenant OF war
ranty to W. f. Batchrlder for lot of land on
Congress street, No. S53 sold to said Bttchel-
der for the sum of $450-lot 40x70 feet; and
also deed to Mrs. - Scott for lot of land on
Portland street. sold to her for $500 dot No.
25); That the City Civil Engineer De and he is
hereby directed to fix grade for Fletcher and
Orchard streets, (if not already fxed); that
the sewer assessments made to the F. & r r.
r. Co., on the Sc wer on Elm street. be aoated in
consideration Of bill of cement dram pipe deliv-
cred to the city by said company for $32;
that the assessments made on the sewers built
during the present year and reported Oct 9TH,
A. D., 1878, be and the same are hereby adopt
ed, and the same are hereby certified to the
standing com mittee on public bu ldIngs be and
they HEREBY are directed to take into considera-
ton the expediency of removing the powder
house to some suitable site less dangerous than
the present. on land of the city beyond the
Kerosene Works, and report as soon as practi-
Gable; that the joint standing committee on
laying out new streets be and they hereby are
directed to take into consideration the expe-
diency of widening West street from the West
ern Promenade eastery towards Pine street;
that the joint standing committee on laying
out new streets be and they hereby are directed
to take into consideration the expediency of
laying out and extending Gilman ST. from it's
present terminus to the Western Promenade;
that the committee on drains and sewers in
certain exceptional cases where justice requires
are hereby authorized to make such attachments
10 sewer assessments on the sewers constructed
the present year and extend the time of pay
ment as may St EN- just and equitable and Ger
THY their action TO the City TIE asurer.
Petitions Presented and Referred-Of John
Tracy and ais tor oil lamp on Tate sreet
between Danforth aud York streets; OF
Twitchell, Champlin & Co, for damage by
bydrant Oh Commercial street; of J. B Brown
q ais that Marston street be accepted ana laid
out; of j. G. Coolidge & ais for cross walk at
the junction of Spring aud Emery streets; of
A. w. Lougfelow for abatement of taxes for
the year of 1878 on the Lonefellow PROPERTY on
North aid East Com merclal streets on Munjoy
d.
damage to horse and carriage by defect 10
front of the new school house on Pine street;
of Thomas Shanahan for pay for filing fl Ats in
Back Cove; of j. p Hutchinson to erect wooden
building GU North street; of Rdfus Rand for
permit to build addition to his stable on
Franklin street; of Peter Reagan to erect
wooden building on north side Commercial
street.
The latter three petitions were referred to
ha
er.
Order Referred. - That the City Civil
EDglueer b. aud he hereby is directed to fix
grade for Douglass street.
A report from the City Solicitor and City
Civil Engineer in regard to the boundary line
of the south side of City farm was read and
accepted. In the lower board it was laid upon
the table.
The opinion of tie Engineer is that the
fence of which mention before has been m ade
is not on land owned by the city.
A communication from the City Civil Eagi-
neer giving the description of boundary line be-
tween the city and the town of Desiring was
presented and ordered placed on file.
A report from the City Civil Engineer in re-
gard to the line of Turner street was read and
referred.
A communication from the City Marshal re-.
porting to the Board that Off Ter Seth Sterling
verbally resigned bis position on the police
force October 18th, was read and accepted
r B. Whitcomb was appointed and confirm.
ed as special policeman without pay at Con-
gress Hail.
Petitions of several parties to be appointed
inspectors of night soil, were laid upon the ia
ble
All matters coming from the lower Board
were disposed of in concurrence except as
shown by che report of the doings of that board
COMMON COUNCIL.
The following members were absent: Messrs
Thurston, Hamilton, Tobin, Jordan, Dyer,
Haskell and Robinson. President Chapman
presided.
An order was passed to remove two trees
from Elias Norwood's property on Lowell
street.
An order was referred with power that the
committee on street lamps cause an oil lamp to
be placed at the corner of Franklin and Fox
streets.
Councilman SWEET of Ward presented the
lOuOWluS OTutT WHICH WAS pdSS6Qs
That special Com mittee of three on the part
of the Common Council with such as the board
of Mayor and Aldermen may join, be appointed
to confer with the receiver and other officers OF
the P. & r. r. r. touching the cty's interest
therein; to ascertain what steps have been TAX
en- and what are advisable to take to best sub
serve the cIty's interest in SAID railroad: and to
report at their earliest COVE nience.
Ia the discussion of this matter Mr.. SWEET
stated that he Understood IN at the P. & r. r.
R.. are transporting freight from Boston at as
low rate as five cents per 100 pounds, or $1(
per Car load. On this freight the P. & R. R
r. pto.rate with the Lowell railroad i. e. eact
road takes per centage equal to the number Of
miles it hauls the freight. From Boston 10
Portland, via the P. & R. r. r., the distance
is lao miles. OF that lao miles the P. & r. R.
R. operate 81 miles. So that its proportion q
the amount received for transportation is 50
10th Of the THROUGH rate. Out of this proper
ton it pays as mileage to foreign railroads
for the use of their cars, 1.04 for each Car o.
freight hauled; besides which it pays tfs
Grand Trunk railroad 20 cents per ton, as ter
from Portland. Now, taking the liberal esti
maIe Guab edCn Car IL naul5 is a TUU car anC
that it receives on an average SIS per car, VI
figure as follows: 1t gets as 1t proportion
of the tn rough rate 80 140ths of $40, or $3.7t
aud fraction. From that amount it pay,
$1.04 carriage, and So per Car to the Grant
Trunk road for terminal facilities, leaving thu
net eceipts on each car but &c cents. Nov
the best railroad statistcans tell US that on al
railroads of less than 100 miles in length, thu
average cost of transportation is about tive
cents per ton per mile. That would give fo
the cost of transportation over the P. & R.
railroad ST. Oh for each car This, compared
with the net receipts (66 cents) leaves net los
of 80 cents for every car of freight it hauls
As the city of Portland guarantees the bonds
of the P. & R. railroad, it entails loss to tn,
city of 50 so for every train of % cars trans
ported. Now, it seems to me it is about time
this was stopped The P. & R. railroad hal
for years been riding the city Of Portland q
the "Old mao of the sea" did "Snbad, thu
Sailor" and we are powerless as he was t
shake it eff. 1t is. today, sucking the lifs
blood out of the resources of this city, and il
continually crying for more Under the cir
cumstances an investigation is imperatively de
manded.