Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1891-03-18

which is not conducive either to the con
Senience, comfort or safety Of the traveiin
public.
!! The railroad mileage in every state wher,
this system Of regulating railroad rates b.
been in force. has stopped the building o
new roads and tho mileage remains station
ary. Ia the decade from 1870. to 1850
the increase in population in the state ol
iewa, vas more tnan s. per cent. From
1850 ~ 1880, tince this Law was enforced
thefncfease has been less than 10 per c ant
| With these facts before the committee
were We not jastfied in reporting adversely
| upoa this bilig
Mr.. Hsines--I would like to ask the
senator from Cumberland what the vsius
tioa of the towns iu this State In 1850 and
1890 has 10 do with the regulation Of rail-
road rates and farce.
| You might ~ well go back 20 the days OF
the food. We had nothing then, and have
| good deal now. Nobody denies the change
in the business under rallrosdire from ,hs
old system of stage coaching. When we
had stage coaches running in every dirac-
Ton. we were - likely to have large city
at Liberty as anywhere else. Railroads
practically came into this State in 1858
The natural Law Of business i. to
20 where there is transportation. I
do not deny the good facilities
that the railroads in Maine have
given US. Towns like wa,erville, Gsra.
| liner, Augusta and Lewiston have grown
and have robbed the country districts of
their populstion and wealth, from their sit
ustion near the railroads. but that does not
in any way argue and these figures have no
value at all, l submit. upon the question of
wha. is reasonable rate today. have
been meeting for four years that old srsu-
| mens of how much the railroads have done
Tor the country in building il up. say il,
is simply begging the question. We ad-
nit II over and over again. As an illus.
trat'on of this-what has built up Water
vile? Is il the fact alone that the railroad
has gone in there? That hiss been very
large par, of it; but whst has Wa.erville
done for this same rsilrosd2 We save
them five years ago $4,000 in cash
to locate their shops there--we bought
their railway shop. exempted it for 20 years
from tsIstion, wha, do they give US in
returh? Work that ten or fifteen years
ago, cost Sl24 now costs 1 cts, but they
charge US sl,25 = ton for coal from Gar
diner just as in 1871 sad Sl.25 cord for
wood from Burnham where they charged
us in 1870, 81 90. Now they have engines
with power to haul double the trains Of
hfteen years ago, and they now have ten
passengers where they formerly had one
| want TO say something about the State Of
Iowa, have been all over it. The "West"
has gone beyond them. The railroad.
they have built are not needed
today, and cannot earn dividend.
Their oppula,ion has gone West. It
has nothing 10 do with the regulation
OF rsilrosd rstes and fares. The facts
drawn from the state Of Iowa do not bear
on the case. Iowa has more railroad to
the square acre than any other state in the
Union. 1t is an agricultural state. not a
commercial city in its borders. Il is q big
farm. II was level place and The spirit
of 1870 was to build railroads everywhere.
States that have passed these laws have
not only msde it r benefit 70 the people but
10 most states the roads themselves have
received benefit. Vermont is an iostance
OF this. Ga motion by Mr.. Haines Of
keunebec, the yeas and nays were tskea
upon the acceptance of the report of the
cornmittee. resulting as follows:
fEAs-Seasrs. Cbapin, Giles. Gilmore, Harper,
annt, Msl'ett. Mehan. Moore: Na'h. Nuttins
netuhsn', ToWets, rogers, Ryder, bherman,
smith. Swanton, Warren and Wilbur. 10
NAis-Meesrs. Grindle, Haincs, poor, Stewart,
Thatcher and wadlia.-6
So the report was accepted.
On motion of Mr.. Thatcher of Penob-
scot, Senate document l55, an act 10 en-
power the county of Aroostook to aid in
the construction of railroad through said
county and to acquire and hold preferred
stock of the company building such rail
road as amended on motion by same sens-
tor, was laid upon the table.
On motion by Mr.. Moore Of Cumberland,
Adjourned.