The Portland daily press., 1889-01-05
THE ROCHESTER EXTENSION.
President Wescott's Public state-
ment Examined.

the ToItiahu " hVcnester TO the Union Sta
ton have not been fully understood by the
general public of Portland and proceeds to
make a further explanation in regard to
them.
Unfortunately for Mr.. Wescott's state
ment, either as to its fullness or as to its ac-
curacy, the current opinion seems to be that
its effect is only to add to the darkness in
which this whole subject is obscured II
any citizen OF Portland will look into this
statement with view to ascertain any speci-
tic thing which the railroad will hereafter be
under obligation to do or to omit to do, as a
consideration Tor being allowed to make the
extension proposed, damaging and destruc-
tive OF other rights and interests as it is, we
think he will conclude that Mr.. Wescott's
explanation is one which itself needs to be
explained; and that the substance of it is,
that, II the railroad can be allowed, in its
own interest, to infiict permanent injury
upon tue park for the purposes for which II
was given to the city, and substantially to
destroy other large and valuable municipal
and private interests, the railroad, having
been allowed this privilege, will in the future
do what 1t pleases with its own. We fail to
find in the statement any guaranty or secur-
ity, or any pretence Of 1t, that the railroad
will hereafter do, 10 any respect, either al
Back Cove or elsewhere, anything but what
its own interests may hereafter dictate. II
is said that by the map which the railroad
company has issued and circulated through
the city, the proposed location does not fall
within the limits of the park. That map is
mere chalk which only indicates in q gen.
eral way something in regard to the vicinity
OF the proposed location, without any pre-
tence of accuracy as to lihe or measurement
emitting everything as to the present
means of connection of the Portland
q Rochester railroad with other railroads,
and everything else which it is for the inter
est of the Portland Il Rochester to omit, and
containing many things which at present
only exist in somebody's imagination, such
as union railway locations, proposed i'm.
proyements at Fish Point, etc, etc. We dc
not know whether upon that map anybody
ton falls within the limits Of
the Park, or not; but we know that the
limits of that magnificent park. when pre-
scented to the city, extended, and now ex-
tend, to the, boundary. line of the city of
Portland, and substantially to the channel
OF the Mill Pond stream, so that the old rail
road bridge across the Mill Pond is wholly
within the limits of the Park; and we know
that this proposed extension, when present
ed to the city government, did fall within
the limits of that Park. But beyond this,
whether within the limits of the Park, OF
not, it is apparent to everybody, and we be-
leve there is settled conviction in this CON-
munity, not only that such an extension
damages the Park for the purposes for
which it was designed, but also that TO do
such damage is inconsistent with the spirit
in which the Park was given to and accepted
by the city, and that it is most ungracious, to
say the least, after accepting such e gift as
that, to proceed at once to iDjure the gift II
ruin il, to degrade it from the best purposes
it was designed to serve, and at the same
time to destroy the value Of the lands Of the
donors fronting such Park, the only really
valuable interests in these lands which re-
manned to them after they had given the
Park to the city.
1t is said that the railroad does not propose
to make, nor will make, freight yard of
any part of the location. Is MI. Wescott's
statement to this effect sufficient security in
this respect for all coming time? We under
stand that width Of location of eighty feet
is asked for. This is good deal more than
would be required for traffic location, and
affords facilities for making railroad yard
of it. We believe the present yard limit of
the Portland & Rochester railroad is at
WOodford's Corner, and that a sign is placed
there to that effect, and that large part of
the location through Oakdale and out to
Woodford's is used constantly by that rail-
road as a yard Should facilities for doing
precisely the same thing at the Oaks be af-
forded to the Portland q Rochester railroad,
without any other security than the state
ment in newspaper of railroad official as
to what the railroad proposes to do?
We do not believe in destroying both pub
lie and private property in one part of the
city for the purpose of improving the value
of private property in another part of the
city. There is no large interest at present at
Back Cove that requires any more railroad
facilities for its development than it now
has, and if there were, the connection at
Woodford's can easily be made to serve SUD-
extension, without damage to anybody.
Who knows that any one of Mr.. Wescott's
proposed plans will be carried out at Back
Cove, even If this new location is made
How do we know that passenger station
will ever be erected at the foot of Preble
street? Is Dot the point of all this simply to
secure the present advantage for the rail-
road and leave everything vague and indie
finite as to what is to be done hereafter, to
be determined by railroad interests as they
shall arise? And is it not sufficient answer
to the whole TO say that there is nothing at
present which requires such wholesale de-
struction of public and private interests and
rights of property?
The proposed extension is no part of a
belt railroad, it is rather railroad right
through what will in very short time be
the center Of the business and population of
the city.
The statement of Mr.. Wescott itself shows
that the proposed improvements at Back
Cove in the way of filling, ETC., cannot be
made by the present owners, nor by the
Portland & Rochester railroad, but rest only
in the hope of being able to obtain the as
the assurance that for the next twenty
years any such assistance of outside corpora
ti0Ds can be obtained?
Does Mr.. Wescott even pretend that if this
extension is made the Portland & Rochester
will abandon its present location across the
streets which run down to Back Cove? He
says that the contemplated improvement,
when made, will enable the Portland &
Rochester to abandon such location, but
where is the assurance that it will ever be
done? The whole substance of his state
ment is that if the Portland & Rochester
can be allowedIto injure or ruin the Park and
city farm and the private property of in
dividuals, it. will enable that railroad to do
certain things, if it is disposed to do them,
and not sign from beginning to end that
any Of those improvements will be made
within any short time, and such a statement,
Of course, would be no security for the
future even if it made such assertion.
The area between the Oaks and the Deer
ing farm does not require any large amount
of filling. The moment the salt water is ex-
cluded from sthe Mill pond but slight
amount of filling would be required to make
lawn of that whole area and make it a
pleasant part of the park, and pleasant APP
proach to the highland beyond and the ad-
mirable plan of the Park, now in the city
civil engineers Office shows precisely how II
mas been intended TO complete the park in
that respect. We do not need to interfere
but in the slightest degree with the physical
features of the territory in order to make all
the surroundings of 1.-THE Park at that point
attractive.
AS to the streets over this location, to say
nothing of the increased number of railroad
tracks across Green street at grade, where
there is great amount of travel and the
horse cars have to pass, 1t will be observed
that 1t is not the injury of Grove street only
which results from the extension proposed.
although this is no slight matter, because
that is one of the streets In the vicinity of the
park, sought for by ladies and children in
driving, from the very fact that it is free
from the approach of railroad trains; but
along the whole line Of this new location as
proposed, in the near future streets must be
laid out across the location. The whole ten
dency of things at present is to increase the
demand for new streets in this suburb of the
city leading across the city farm and else
where, and at each of these streets we sup
pose there must be an overhead bridge. Now
who is to build and maintain these bridges ?
The whole territory will be very likely with
in the city of Portland before the time for
building them comes it may be this winter.
Does the Portland & Rochester propose to
build these bridges and maintain them? Is
it willing to accept the location upon the
condition and agreement that it shall here
after build and maintain overhead bridges at
all crossing of streets now located or here
after to be located? II not, here is perpet-
ua hrr da nd