Connecticut western news., 1885-05-13
NEW RAILROAD.

Southern Berkshire may yet be favor ed with an east and west railroad. It is | said that the Poughkeepsie and Eastern | road will be extended to the Connecti- | cut river through Great Harrington, if the legislature gives permission. and | that the Poughkeepsie bridge will be completed, without which the road would | be useless. The preliminary work will have to begin this summer, if at all. This undertaking would be a great ben eft to manufacturers and all other con- sumers of coal in Massachusetts. The new road would connect with the Hous- atomic road, at this town, and with the Boston and Albany, the New York. New Haven and Hartford, and Connecticut River roads at Springfield, thus making the very shortest routes from the Penn sylvania coal mines to nearly every DOT tion of Massachusetts, and good routes to parts of Connecticut. That the new road would reduce tho high freights that the farmers of the HouSatonic valley complain of Is likely ly.-Berkslki1'e Courier
 Neighbor Bryan, please don't deceive yourself or delude your renders with the idea that another or additional railroad sswould be 8 great benefit to manufac- turers and other consumers of coal in Massachusetts. The people of "The Bay State" have already sunk vast sums in the Hoosac tunnel and the unfinished and abandoned Lee and Hudson and Lee and New Haven railroads, but if their losses in those enterprises do not convince them that western Massac.Ii.- sets has enough railroads let them turn their eyes in the direction of ''The Nut meg State" and study the history of the Connecticut Western railroad.
 A large proportion of the money used building the Connecticut Western road was raised by making people believe, who lived along its prop 1sed route, that they would get their coal at q wonderful reduction, some claiming that the price would be 5 ton less, soon as the road was completed. Nearly every town along the line of the road bonded themselves heavily and took stock in the road, and many individuals ill said towns also pur- chased either the stock or bonds of the road. Suffice to say 1t has not proved @ paying investment and, furthermore, the reduction in freight rates was much less than was expected, probably because the company soon discovered they could not afford to haul freight less than the act ual expense of transportation.
 
 The town of North Canaan invested $34, 900 ip the stock of the Connecticut Western road and have never received 34 cents for it and never will, for when the road was re-organized that stock was wiped out. Individuals who purchased stock also lost what they invested and the bondholders arc not much better of, for in the Hartford Courant of May 9th, Conn. Western R.R Is are quoted at 6 cents bid with no asking price or sales reported, and yet the road appears to be hauling 8 large amount of freight, ill fact transports all the freight that naturally V goes east or west through this section and the road is equipped or has facili- ties for hauling larger or almost u.l- limited amount of freight, but cannot create business in section of country that requires only a limited amount oi freight, which only goes tc show the folly of buildipe new road east and west between the Boston and Albany and the Connecticut Western road when the latter, according to it's annual report last year, did not earn it's operating expenses and improve ments to say nothing about its interest money. Possibly there may have beer year in the history of the road when it has earned it's expenses and interest money, but at one time the directors individually and collectively, advanced nearly S200, 900 to pay the interest on the bonds and tide the road along in hopes times would improve.
 A statement was recently published showing the amount that the state oi Massachusetts received last year for the rent or tolls of the Hoosac tunnel. The statement showed that the state receiy- ed one twelvth of one per cent 1-12 of l per cent) interest or income on the money it invested in the !" great bore, ? and yet the trains of several different railroad companies pass through the tunnel This experience should be a warning and should teach people to be cautious about investing money in new and unrequired railroad enterprise in