Morning journal and courier., 1882-03-18
Saturday Morning, March Is. 1882.
THE PARALLEL SCHEME

At last the Railroad committee has voted, and as was expected would be the case, the majority is against granting the charter asked for by the friends of the Parallel scheme. Considering what was brought out at the hearing on the subject it would have been surprising, to say the least, had a diff ferent result been reached.
 Among the facts that have been made more or less plain is that the names of some of the best men who have been paraded as con- nected with the scheme have been used with out their consent. The names of others were obtained only after written guarantee that they should not be called upon to pay one dollar either in subscription to stock or by way of expenses. Jared Redfeld testified, and the only persons he would name as re- sponsible promoters were Marshall Jewell, Joseph Pool and himself. But Governor Jewell we are informed on good authority has stated that he is not responsible fer the scheme and does not control it, and on the stand as & witness he declined to say whether he would or would not take any of the stock. It may also be noted that only six of the twenty corporators named went before the committee to testify.
 These and other similar facts do not give an air of solfdity to the scheme, to say the least. The impression made upon most of the disinterested persons who have carefully watched the progress of the affair IS voiced by the Hartford Times, which says: 'All the indications point to dark and shadowy hoo 0F hIS bee line, and the syndicate's object is to speculate and make money out CT it-not to build the road for the benefit of the people of Connecticut who do not call for it." The Times also says:
 This bee line is sprung upon Connecticut in most suspicious manner. It IS proposed to run it parallel with the Consolidated road from New York to New Havtn-from what point in New York is not known precisely; then it is to run easterly from New Haven, between the Shore Line and the Air Line roads, cross the Connecticut river at Essex, and pass on bee line to the Rhode Island line. Then what ? The Rhode Island people ignore the whole thing, The statement that the bee line would connect with the Rhode Island Ponagansett road is not accepted by the officers of the latter. They say that they will have nothing to do with 1t. They want no such road there as this bee line is repre- scented. They protest against it and we are assured that the Rhode Island Legislature would treat such application as the one before the Connecticut Legislature in sum- mary manner and reject it at once. Rhode Island will not treat with an unknown and suspicious power It will not grant char ter that calls for S8, ,OOO, GOO or more that is likely to fall into the hands of 3 New Jersey reconstruction company" which is authori- zed to proceed with the work on the paid up capital of $1 1000. The Pennsylvania road will not father this thing, and the New York Central will not permit its responsibility to stand behind it..
 We believe that the Legislature will endorse the judgment of the majority of the Railroad committee and refuse to grant the loose spe- cial charter asked for. This should be done, and the general railroad law should be amended, if it needs it. so that those who "mean business" will not find any obstacle in it to building as many railroads as they please in Connecticut