The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1891-09-24
Shorter Transportation Routes


Farmers to man are determined t.
be nas'ets Of our agricultural product
AMI safes, write, j o. Batrat As ,5u
speak II good VOID for Us ua8 and then I'd
low mt to inquire, What means ti.e la,,
proposed combine between the Canafiaf
Pae tc and The Grand Iiauk. inelulu.
the Bos on & Maine RsilmHsf Aeebrdir.
to recent reports. tits pool II the Nauder
bit dynasty, constituting "a tfanse5uuuoul
tal trust, the greatest yet known on tic
globe The cviden, object Is 70 control
the Western produce. London beng @
isetor III the deal 1t is for tie interes, #
all the Western industries agriculture Is.
peclnlly, to open competing hoe. Oh The
shortest route to Europe 1t seems to tic
contrary. thai the railroad terminals are
10 be New York. Boston, Portland and
Halifax; the cardinal point being New
York, where most Of the grand moguls
live. These city depots, connecting with
steamers for the old world, by yirture Of
their localities neCesstate Il detour at div
erse angles, with long stretches from Mon.
treal to this interlnking chain Of trans
po;tation, the las, being zlgzag one to
Halifax Now VIVA We Western farmers
want to know is, whether there is not Il
shorter route to Europe from the twin
cities and Duluth that will abrdee time
aud cost: Judging from the lay OF tue
land We can secure such If some conpet-
ing line or lines be continued on 10 Que
bee and thence direct to the mos. feasible
harbor on the coast Of Maine, mixing that
the steamer departure for Europe We
of the West don't care II snap about spec
isl routes, provided We get there in sea-
son to take advantage Of the stern mar
kets and g,in the most by saving In tray-
ell. AS near as can calculate, such u
rou,e via Quebec is nearer London for
ocean travel by at least 800 miles. This
then is very essential economy for the
West to consider. Is such route yet
open: If not it should be deliberately consid.
cred by our people. We would like TO
know, too, what harbor on the coast Of
Maine will best serve our purpose;"
The above article appeared i'll the Union
Advocate of last week, with the following
comments upon the same from the pen Of
citizen of Somerset county Il want
you TO publish the above communication
from Mr. J. o. Barrett, which appear
ed in the St. Paul MINI. Glole, i'll re.
gard to n shorter route by rail from the
twin cities to the Atlsntic on the coast of
Maine, and also my answer to the same
which is as follows: The distance from
the twin cities by wav Of Quebec to Bel.
fast ON the coast of Maine is thirteen hun.
bred miles, four hundred and eighty miles
nearer Europe than New York, and the
| twin sisters nre two hundred miles nearer
Belfast than New York. Europe hy this
route is seven hundred miles nearer than
| by tn way of New York. One hundred
and thirty miles complete this route for
freight and pass engers from ocean to
ocean by way Of the twin cities 1.-The
harhors on the coast Of Maine are Belfast,
Northport, II lcklnud, Thomaston, Waldo.
boro, Wiscasset, Boo,hhtY, and Bath on
the X onnebec, all open ports with II to
10 feet of water in these harbors ut low
water. Freight from the twin cities to
the coast can he carried for 10 cent, per
hundred The fourteen thousand barrels
of four that is put up at Minneapolis daily
can be delivered in Maine for thirty cents
a barrel-now costs one dollar. Maine
wants for home consumption five hundred
thousand barrels year, New England three
millions barrels; co n, oats aud barley six
million bushels; beef, mutton. and pork TO
feed four millions of people. The cotton
west OF the Mississippi down to the Gulf
of Mexico would come this way to supply
our factories in New England. All the
above named articles are wanted IN lu-
rope, AT least one hundred thousand
miles of railroad ne, work can he reached
by one hundred and thirty miles Of rail
road built lmouSh TIE county Of Somerset
and Canada. All Of this railroad net work
is gathering freight to ship to tae coast