The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-03-04
The Railroad Extension Question,

| A generation or more ago the people of
Portland and Deering were the unwilling
witnesses Of one of the grossest outrages
upon private property end upon public
rights that was ever committed the loca-
ton of the Portland and Rochester Railroad
from Woodford's into the city over improved
lands and across most frequented highways
instead of over the flats in Back Cove.
OF that outrage the people of Portland and
Deering were unwilling witnesses. They
had no part init. They could not prevent it.
1t was done ont of the pure spite and malice
OF the man who then controlled the powers
conferred by the charter of the Portland and
Rochester Railroad. Now who has reaped
ana Is reaping the curse necessarily to fol-
low such wrong and outrage? The public
OF Portland? Let the villages along the
railroad line from Portland to Woodford's
with every one of their streets crossed by
the railroad trains answer. Let those who
drive for pleasure or business along the
shell road with trains at all hours behind
them or In front of them answer. Are no t
the public reaping now the fruits. the har-
vest, of the wickedness that was done a gen.
Grafton ago?
With horses frightened by trains on line
Of railroad parallel to the main line of car
rage travel all the way to Woodford's 1, with a
crossing at Green street rapidly getting to be
so dangerous as that on which the city has
spent and is spending every year thousands
OF dollars to avoid at Cape Elizabeth bridge,
and with all this done needlessly and with
no advantage to the railroad, which would
be better off crossing the flats than crossing
fields and highways. who will say that the
folly and wrong of the men of one genera
tion has not heavily burdened the succeed
ing.
Now the voters of Portland today. not as
unwilling witnesses, but as actual particl-
pants. are asked to do another greater
wrong ia wrong to the greatest benefacters
the city of Portland has ever had and the
consequence Of which in this generation will
fall heavily upon them, destroying their most
beautiful and most highly valued lands,
but the consequence of which will
fall finally upon every citizen of
Portland, destroying the Park. cutting off
any possible extension of it towards its ma
tural limits at the Sacearappa road, reducing
more than one half the value of lands be-
bs to the city. worth at least $15O,OOO,
ofglne he city to enormous expense at
,ubjectffs ding irreparable damage in
crossings, aEas>
many other ways provide further ia
And all for what2 1s. more than II
,iiities for a railroad which has lantern
leeds now. To chase another jack rot
If the Portland & Rochester Railroads, a.
part so promising as either |
me of the many others by which 1t has al
eady succeeded in extracting millions from
he city treasury, withost one dollar of re-
urn, or compensation. or equivalent.
The Portland s. Rochester railroad
has drunk the life blood OF the city
of Portland for generation. IL has alb
sorbed millions of municipal money. Why
give 1t our Park, the summer pleasure
ground Of the citizens Of Portland, and lands
Of the city Of great and rapidly increasing
value?
Why allow il to make us ashamed in cur
oe, OF our treatmenU vs-.a--------y'-v-
have contributed most to the permanent i'm
provement of the city2