Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1878-07-26
The Grand Trunk and It's future.

When the people of our village re-
fleet that in twenty-five years our
stirring community has increased
IRON about half-a-dozen secluded ha-
Jitdnts, shut out from all comman!ca-
ton with the world, except by rough
aud almost impossible roads, to a
thriving village Of over one thousand
inhabitants, with an enterprise not
exccled by any community Of like
numbers in New England; and when
they reflect further, that all this is in
spired by the enterprise and the i'm
inense business OF the G. L. Ry. Co.,
,nuch of which has been in our midst,
employing many of our citizens and
disbGrsing large amounts Of money |
which goes iRt0 and eRliyens every
branch of business incident to the |
community-they naturally feel sensi- |
tive to any thing which interrupts the
traffic on the road which is the very
life current of our community. And
to rejecting mind who has seen that
as matter Of fact, the community is
with the railroad, and was not with
out it, the dependence of the latter
upon the former is quite apparent.
And, the matual interests Of each
are SO iuterlaccd with each other that
40 disturbance can occur to the one,
without affecting the other. 1t is also
quite apparent that the number of
men employed here, the rates of trans
portation, the amount of money paid
out here, as well as the number of
strangers who come here to do bust
ness, are dependent upon the amount
of business done by the road, which,
in its turn is equally dependent upon
its facilities for doing business, and
its means of connections with long
traffic, and especially with Chicago
the great centre Of the West.
Our people therefore regard with
great satisfaction, tue news from Gen
eral Manager Hiekson, whose enter
prise they have learned to admire, and
who has succeeded in obtaining the
wherewithal to build line to replace
the Michigan Central. This leads us
to refer for q moment to the effect up
on US as well as upon our sister COM
munities of Vanderbilt's pveposterous
pooling system. The people have
been patronizingy told by him that
the interests Of trade as well as of the
roads, required the imposition of such
terms as the roads in their wisdom
and self-constltuted generosity should
sec fit to impose upon trade. This
would simply amount TO combina-
tion of the roads To accomplish hinge
monopoly. And, when he says that
the people have been so long accus-
toned to cheap rates that they would
not submit to unreasonable ones, it
reminds Us Of the argument of the
wolf. who said that the sheep had
been so long protected from their
ravages by the watchful care of the
shepherds, thai the wolves had become
SO long accustomed to leave the sheep
alone, that such care might then with
safety be removed.
The people OF this country are look
lag with alarm upon the dangerous
tendency of monied monopolies, and
when this king Of terrors 50 unolush-
ingly asserted its power, it was nata-
rally looked upon with fear and dis
trust. The G. T. Ry. which has al
ways acted upon the theory of open
competition could not of course be
TO
bilL failing in this scheme, set about,
with the use of his money! cutting
Oft the communication of the Grand
Trunk between Detroit and Chicago.
ty the purchase and the acquisition of
the control of all available lines be-
tween those places, distance of u
little less than three hundred miles,
thus imposing such rates for carriage
that distance, as to turn the current
of trade which would otherwise pass
through our midst, bringing its Incl
dental benefits TO rs, entirely around
our section of the country besides
imposing higher rates for the carriage
over the latter routes on the receivers
at the seaport, thus gripping the bust
ness on our routes, depriving our peo-
pie of the benefits flowing from that
traffic, which would naturally come
this way, and burdening the receivers
at the seaport towns with oppressive
rates. Under this system, of course
the patrons of the roads OF the rail
way king must necessarily pay the
natural cost Of transportation and the
enormous Sums expended to place
those western strands in the hands oil
the great monopolist. Therefore, as
we said in the beginning, our people
hail with great satisfaction the near
prospect OF being with our eastern
markets again connected by a neal
continuous route with the focus Of
the great western routes at Chicago In
such a manner as to make the re-es
Establishment of that communication
secure beyond the influence of the vi,
cious rractises Of man possessing
the cunning of an unprineipled mon
opolist, and sufficient money to make
its schemes terribly dangerous to oui
Aaatcrn frodn anI eo ,,;,;o,,. -. "a.