The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-11-23

where it shall go and how il shall cross the
streets, am not sufficiently familiar with
them 70 speak at this time. / know the rail-,
ROAD would be as anxious to have overhead
crossings as the city would be- So far as
am concerned, do not, and presume MI.
Wescott would not object to any reasonable
conditions which might be imposed by the
BOARD In reference to the details, will
not lake your time in touching upon them
al all the great question Is whether it is for
tue interest 81 tie city. / submit that the
mere fact that this railroad company is will
. rog 70 come here and build this, expensive
more than 100000 before they get through,
Is demonstration that the officers Of the
ROAD Delieve tnat the public interest requires
y, and That It Is going to benefit that part of
t,e Guy 81 Tortland: There is not parti-
Gle OF old business that would go over that
piece OF road. 1t is not to be built for any
business the Rochester road has now. Ev-
cry dollar Of it is, and must be, new bust
ness. ~ \ Is IKE the extension of the horse
ffa a down 70 the Union Station. 1t is
loI entlrely new business that will go in and
out OF that part of the city 1t is impossi-
pie 10 conceive that these directors are will
ing to put In 100000 to build a road
'nass tyo oa admit that they at
velope a business which does not exist
The TACT that this road has not been built
before arises from the fact that the city of
Portland has not grown so fast as the people
ttSS a ~ would many years ago. More
than twenty years ago the marginal road
was laid out to accomplish the very purpose
lhat tnese gentlemen seek to accomplish to-
gay, and for no other purpose except to put a
pelt road around the city The city of Port
land to-day Is the only city of its size in the
country except Boston that has not a belt
road, ana They run them right through their
parks. fou will find them in Buffalo and
Philadelphia aud you would hardly know
t tnat they run through there More than
81
was laid out around TO st. John street for the
very purpose of securing this belt road Tor
the city Of Portland. What are the advan
ts Of the road? Any gentleman knows
c cna. any increase OF business In the
OF merchandise coming in by carloads
cannot be accommodated on CONNER
clai street That street today is crowded
ana business y done there with great incon-
venience This road about here will, to a
certain extent, relieve that street, and it GER
talnly Will provide relief in the growth of
future business. More than that, it will
give the people on Back Cove what they
nave NOT today-an opportunity to get car
loads OF merchandise in and out of their
manufactures. The only way a man on
Back Cove can now get a carload of mer-
chandlse In there from the West is to have
~ taken around Fish Point over the Portland
| q Rochester road, or on the Maine Central
70 Woodfords, and over the Portland &
Rochester. and every railroad man knows
| the cost of doing that is equal to Sending the
| car to brunswick and you can't make it any
Tess. IL is thls small margin of two dollars
car, more or less, which may turn the man
away who is selecting place Of business. I
| submit that so far as this section of the city
Is concerned, they have a right to receive all
the railroad facilities which any company is
| ready and willing to furnish them.
| Now, so far as private property Is con-
cerned, II the poor house is to be treated as
an INSTITUTION, and 1t is the purpose of the
city to maintain that institution there al
ways as poor farm, must admit it would
| weigh heavily against any proposition the
railroad might make for improving its facil-
tiles. But when 1t is looked at simply as a
piece OF property, as was spoken of by Mr.
Burgess, submit without hesitation that If
Mr.. Deerlng or Mr.. Fessenden will look at it
Simply as piece OF property TO be sold for
the highest price, they ought to pray TO
heaven that the railroad will 20 through their
land. There has been paid through my Of-
nee hundred thousand dollars for lands
that were not worth over five cents a foot
until the railroads looked at them
and then they were worth fifty and
we paid fifty for them. Lands
| which the city sold for three cents foot
have been sold for fifty cents foot as soon
houses In this city which l have held for
| Others for years in the very best parts of the
city that II l could put item down where the
| poor farm is and have railroad go through
there would do 1t in minute. The city Of
PORTLAND never can sell its farm, if it wants
10, at SO good price as 1t can if it call on a
| Jury and let them say what it is worth to a
railroad company. Mr.. Deering can never
realize the benefit of this contract in dollars
ana Genus SO thoroughly and completely as
ne can by presenting to jury the advantages
winch that park is to this land which
his railroad company expects to take
Right here wish to say word about the
Park: Ihere is no man in the city of Port
fnu oil aff l..
fy, the city moreTthan L do. There is no man
who appreciates more than do the generos-
lty OF the gentlemen who gave that park to
the city. But the contract these people made
was In writing, and nobody ever supposed il
was intended to benefit that PROPERTY in
Deering. When they made that gift of the
park they knew the Marginal Way led right
through 1t, that 1t was laid out b. the City of
Portland In 1868 for the purpose of building
a ra lroad over it. When they give it to the
CITY they kew it was there, and do not be-
lleye any man ever suspected that the city of
Portland, by accepting the park, intended to
commit itself so that 1t could not build the
railroad and have such facilities as the growth
OF the city. might require. No man can give
these gentlemen more hearty thanks than
do, and hope il the Portland Il Rochester
railroad takes their land they will get good
price for it.
What is the meaning of this dredging in
Back Coveb What is the use of it if YOU are
not going to get there with your railroads?
You have got none there now that can 90
anything NJ Wescott will not claim that
the Portland d Rochester road can do bust
ness there to justify the improvements the
United States Is putting in there. The
Grand Trunk has no interest in doing it. and
what IS the benefit If you are not going to
allow the railroads to get in there and i'm
prove 1t? Senator Blair, when asked where
Back Cove was for which there was this APP
preparation, said it was cove in some one
morse village down in Maine; ami l see that
some person, In speaking Of DR.. Hill, said
tnat ne was. now settled as pastor in a
qulet town In Maine Laughter. My friend
at my right here says that | have been told
tat was practicing lawyer in the country,
Renewed laughter.l Now it may be that
II was the intention of the Congress
private money as Mr. Blair said, but do not
believe 1t, and do not believe any gentle
man here so understands it. | believe that
when you come to look at it carefully from
the standpoint OF the whole city, you will
conclude that these great improvements that
the city and the United States have com
menced in Back Cove are with the expecta
ton that there will be business there and
you cannot get the business there unless YOU
allow the railroads TO comein.
Jude Symonds replied briefly stating. in
substance, that the city already had a belt
road In the roads as now existing; that this
proposed road through the park would be no
part OF belt road, for, with the present
tendency OF pOpuiaIt0n, IN few years il will
be through the heat If the city.
Alderman Hobbs then stated that several
of the correspondents in the newspapers had
advised the aldermen to 60 slow. He be-
leved it good plan to do so, and he would
therefore move that the petition be laid on
the table and that this hearing be adjourned
until the first Monday evening of JANUARY
next. The motion was carried, and the hear
ing then adjourned.
Still Others demonstrate.
The following additional names were ad-
ded to the list of remonstrants yesterday in
the Portland & Rochester matter:
J. M, Conway Thomas M. Jordan. .--ss
Edward II. Thomas w. l.. Corey. N--~
,;eorge A. Thomas, W. f. Chandler
W. w. Thomas, DIR. q. Ring,
f. q. Messer, McGowan & Younp
ID. II. Chandler, r. II. Knight
ii. w. Gage, VIVA. Swett
John ): Lynch. Charles Ii. Lamson,
W. ID. Little, X. II. Hinkley,
Charles Payson, III. b. Shurtleif
IL. p. StOr,r, p. j. Larrahee
Charles Edwards, Thomas j, Lille
q. ": Hall, j. I'm c, Cobb
Geo. H, Hunt & Co., FIJI Cobb
4. f. ii msted, w. j. Knowlton
Somers Brothers, Franklin G. Payson
Z. D.. Merrill, Henry Payson.
Randolph h. Boynton, Charles Staples Jr..
g. 2. Mitchell, Maurice West,
j. M Jordan, &c. c. Chapman.
George L. Bird.
SUBURBAN NEWS.