The Somerset reporter., 1891-06-25

are fully convinced 1t will he for the gen
eral good and therefore will help all lines
Of bt sness transportation facilities are
important fsc.t = in all kinds u business
inclu ing asree IRE.
Ar, business nan making an uureason-
able quest Of far-cr, IN asking them to
bear their part Of # the ready money
necessary to be put ilta. this projecti We
think not. Business men by putting $40
11u into shoe factory building aud
plant ID years ago from which they have
never received cent interest. and by
Building wooden mill here at very
lsrge expenditure Of cash and In various
other expenditures succeeded In iucreas-
ing the population of the town in the last
decade l22j about 30 per cent. They are
willing as far as they are able to make
other Investments in manufacturing pro
perty. II has got to be done. We even
have TO struggle to keep our present IN
dustries here. We shall have to work
brain as well as invest cash to keep our
town upon the up grade. 1t Is nothing
more than reasonable TO ask our farmer
friends to help us to the extent Of this
small assessment upon their property in
common with the whole property Of the
town, to insure the success Of 8 project
that can but be great benefit to every
interest Of the town.
The theory has been advanced that the
road would damage the hotels and the
livery business. This we do not coucede,
but were II TO cause slight falling of
In these two lines OF business it ought not
to be allowed to weigh against the gener-
a. good Of all.
As to the hotel business. With this
road opened people may not stay quite so
long on an average, at our hotels as they
do now, but more will come and the in
crease in number will make up. A few
travelling men who stay all night here
under the present arrangement may go
along to Bingham, but the excellence of
our hotels will cause others who have
been obliged to plan their trips so as to
stop at some other place, to make their
plans to stop with ed" or Bob oftener
than they do now, when the trains will
allow them to do 50 Increased facil ties
of travel must increase travel and travel
ers must be fed and lodged at hotels
Sportsmeu who 90 into Somerset wilds to
fish and shoot now give US the go-by
entirely. With this road many of them
would make the best hotels In Maine head
quarters and stopping places each way.
Then again this direct communication
with up-river towns ought to make
Skowhegan more desirable for summer
resort and thereby increase the hotel bust.
n..gl in ntIr rit and
months,
As regards livery stables. 1t is barely
possible that the rad might curtall the
routes of some commercial men who take
teams here, but If there should be slight
loss of business in this way, IL would be
made up In some other direction. Rail
roads do not decrease the business of
horses or the value of horse flesh Quite
the contrary is the historical fact
The terInnu, fad" still, apparently.
troubles some of our people. There was
time when Skowhegan derived great
benefit from being the terminus Of the
rail, but that time was more than one de
oade ago. large part of the Juice of
that lemon was extracted when the Som
erset road was built from Oakland to
North Anson, another contingent when a
road was built to Hartland, another when
the Canadian Pacific cut OFF Moose River
trade with its large lumber supply busi-
ness and the last drop of terminus Juice
was scientifically sucked out when the
Somerset road was extended to Embden,
Scion and Bingham and we have the |
collapsed and broken skin and juiceless
pulp, only, left by which to remember the |
once fair fruit, the railroad terminus. |
The corpse is with us yet and we have
already allowed it to remain much too
long above ground. NJ jnday next will be
a good time to give it decent and fitting
burial
Other towns in Maine are taking hold
Of railroad projects. Camden with less
than half the valuation of Skowhegan
almost unanimously voted $25 900 to aid |
the road from Rockland to that place |
The town of Patten with less than one
tenth of the valuation of Skowhegan
pluckily voted SO 1000. The towns of
Aroostook County have voted to author.
ze the County to aid the Bangor and
Aroostook railroad 500. 900, and the
towns of Washington County voted to
authorize that County to aid the Shore
line $3.50, 900, and the valuation of each
of those counties aside from the wild
lands Is but triile over three times the
valuation of Skowhegan. These towns
and counties are not afraid to make in
vcstments In railroads and the invest
ments will pay them too. 1t surely ought
not to be said that Skowhegan has not
the courage, the pluck, the sand to In
vest one-tenth the proportionate amount
that other towns invest, for the good of
the town and the good of the county. III
such is the fact the spectacle we present
to the business world will not be very
to us and to our town.
The Quebec Central railroad company
have voted to build its subsidized line
down to Lake Megantc and strike the
Canadian Pacific there, instead of at
Moose River. In that case they will
probably push down through the Car
rabasset valley, striking the Somerset
road at North Arson, thence it may be |
pushed on to the sea. Again the Somer-
set line may be extended from Bingham
up river and across to Gre.nville, and
there connect with the Canadian Pacific |
and the Bangor and Piscataquis. In
either OF these events or both of them,
the Link" becomes specially and vitality
Important to Skowhegan.
Some of our friends point with horror
to the towns that invested In bonds of
the Somerset road and hold up the warn
ing finger thereat. These towns went In
to this very heavily, much more so than
towns can do now. There is now a con.
restriction-5 per cent of val
uation-and Skowhegan is asked for less
than one-tenth of this per cent. There
IS no reasonable comparison In the &C
ton Of these other Somerset towns.
They are not within row of apple trees
of being parallel cases.
Now for the plan. The cost of the
road including buildings complete and
land damage is estimated at $95 900. The
Maine Central Railroad Company have
made an offer which now remains open to
lease the road when completed according
TO certain specifications and pay an an
nual rental of $1,000, therefor, and to
guarantee the payment OF principal and
interest upon $75 900 in per cent bonds
Of the road that shall mature in 40 years.
These bonds are expected to sell at par
and are expected to build the road leav
Ing the land damage, estimated with
some small incidental expenses at $ls,-
900 or $4,000. Before 1t is safe to start
on the construction it is necessary TO have
500 900 guaranteed beyond question, The
town Is asked to agree to pay Sl5 900 of
this II needed, and individuals will be re-
qured to subscribe stock to the amount
of $5 900 more. The legislative charter
is now in the hands of the original cor
porators named therein, but these cor
porators stand ready to turn it over to
the stockholders as soon as the company