The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-07-20
The Portland & ogdensburg Lease.

The questi8f-of accepting the Maine Gen.
tEa4f'ss offer for the Portland & Ogdensburg
railroad naturally resolves itself into two
questions:
First, Are the terms of the offer such as it
is wise for the owners of the Portland &
Ogdensburg to accept?
Second, Are sufficient guarantees afforded
that these terms will be fulfilled?
Consideration of the first question involves
a consideration of the returns tho property
proposed to be leased is at present making
to its owners, and the prospect for the fu-
ture. provided it remains as now,-and con-
tinuance of its present management is the
only alternative, so far as has yet appeared,
to its operation by the Maine Central. In
dollars and cents the owners are at present
getting no returns whatever on their invest
ment, but indirectly the road is supposed to
be of some benefit to them. That is to say,
the road is an advantage to the business men
Of Portland. and In this way yields some re-
turns to its owners. Now the Maine Gen.
trial proposes to take this road, pay to its
owners $4,000 year in cash for its use, and
at the same time guarantee that by no act Of
theirs shall the indirect advantages which
accrue to the business men of Portland from
1t be lost. This is the Maine Centraps offer.
1t means that the city shall get annually for
500 years $4,000 year for property that it
Is now getting nothing for. Can the city do
better than this? II there is reasonable
prospect that it can, then it should reject
this offer. But is there any such reasona-
BILE prospect? There of course is possibility
that something may turn up to enable this
road to yield better returns than it has been
giving under its present management; and
there is possibility that somebody may
make better offer for it than the Maine
Central has done; but can anybody give any
reason for believing that either of these
things will happen? The road ever since it
was built has been practically under its
present management. The receiver who
manages 1t to-day is the same gentleman
who managed 1t as president. There is no
reason to doubt that he has made all out of
the road that was possible under the circum-
stances. But he has not succeeded in light.
ening its load Of debt, nor has he been able
to increase the returns of the road so as to
give any ground for hope even that without
a radical change Of its relations it will ever
be able to take care of itself and return any,
thing to its owners. Indeed the latest reports
Of the receiver indicate that it is growing
worse instead Of better. There is nothing,
therefore, in the history Of the past of this
road to encourage anything bu. the most
melancholy anticipations for the future If 1t
Is allowed to continue to exist under present
conditions.
Now is there any prospect that anybody
will make a better offer for 1t than the
Maine Central has made? 1t has been wide
ly known for long time that the owners
would be glad to dispose of it. The road has
been practically in the market for years.
Has anybody made an offer for it but the
Maine Central? If so it has never been
made public. After the first offer of the
Maine Central was rejected its owners
waited in vain for offers from somebody else.
The Canadian Pacific cannot make an offer
for 1t IL it would. Its charter forbids it to
lease or purchase lines in the United States.
So Ear as can be seen. therefore, the alterna-
tive Of the rejection of the present offer of the
Maine Central is the continuance of the road
under its present conditions and management
with gradual accumulation of debt and a
consequent dwindling of the city's interest.
Is 1t not wiser to accept the Maine CentraPs
offer than to accept this alternative? In the
light Of our experience in the past the answer
would seem to be obvious.
The second question to consider is, Are the
guarantees that the terms shall be fulfilled
sufficient. Now the guarantees that the own
ers get for the fulilment of the terms are
not all contained in the lease. Some Of the
strongest Oh them come from the character,
the situation and the self interest of the
lessee. There is guarantee in the lease
that in operating the 0gdensburs the Maine
Central shall not discriminate against PORT
land, There is some doubt about the suffi-
cheney of that guarantee. Judge Symonds
gives 1t one construction and Mr.. Drummond
another. Mr.. Drummond says however that
the Maine Central doubtless intended what
Judge Symonds thinks the city should ask,
and If this be so there can be no objection to
altering the language so as to preclude the
possibility of misconstruction. But to our
mind the Maine Central is under a stronger
bond not to discriminate against Portland
than any written agreement on that point
can put it under, namely self-interest.
The Maine Central leases the the Portland
q Ogdensburg railroad for the purpose of
making money out of it. 1t expects to make
II earn the rental it agrees to pay for it and
something more. 1t would be utterly impos-
sible, it seems to us. to make it do that
II a policy should be adopted inimical to