Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-05-10

BOARD OF TRADE
Meets to Discuss Proposed Lewiston
Augusta & Camden Railroad.
Mr.. A. W. Brooks Speaks Upon Advantages il
will Bring to Augusta.

Lewiston, Augusta & Camden railroad
The new members receive at this moot,
ing were A. d. Ward, F. L. Staples, A.
NJ. Goddard and L. A. Burleigh.
A committee composed Of S. S Randall
Z. A. Price and W. H. Williams was ap-
pointed to take steps in preparing statisti-
Cal information to be published in a
geography of New England, now in pro
cess of preparation.
President Bangs then introduced Mr..
Az" Brooks, who gave very interesting
address which is given below:
Following Mr. Brooks remarks Hon. C.
A. Milliken, mayor of Augusta, made q
brief address in which he said that he
most heartily endorsed the sentiment ex-
pressed by Mr.. Brooks, and spoke in favor
of tho building of the proposed line of
railway
5. 5. Randall was the next speaker and
be said that such a road would be desir-
able, feasible and beneficial to Augusta.
and that he thought it would be a wise
plan to engage some experienced civil
engineer to go over the route and render
an estimate of the probable cost of build
ing the road
c. S. Hichborn gave information in
reference to the raising of money, sale of
bonds and methods that have been adopted
in the building of railroads in Maine. He
said that he belle, oil such line of rail
way would prove financial benefit to
this city and would be the means of de-
veloping the country to a wonderful ex-
tent through which it would extend.
H. e. Bowditch, manager of the Au-
gusta & Bath Steamboat Co, was the
next speaker, and expressed himself to be
strongly in favor Of building line of
railway from Lewiston through Augusta
to Camden. A. W. Whitney and F. l..
Staples each made remarks in
reference to the proposed line.
President Bangs then called Mr.. HIGH
born to the chair and made few very en-
thusiastic remarks which enlivened the
meeting considerably anG in which he
said that committees ought to be APP
pointed to look into this matter now be-
fore tho board.
At this juncture of the meeting it was
voted that committee of five be appointed
r., cop far ,uitb tho Crap1 TrupIy p,;Irooa
Co, and towns between Lewiston, Au-
gusta and Camden in reference to the
building of the proposed railroad A
nominating committee was then appointed
to select the above committee. as follows
A. W. Brooks, G. S. Hichborn, Nathan
Weston, \. S. Bangs and G. A. Milliken
A committee composed of e. S. HIGH
born, W. b. Gctchell and S. S. Randall was
appointed to appear before the county
commissioners and sec what arrangements
can be made for laying out a new road
from here to Manchester through Coombs'
Mills, distance of about three miles.
A vote was taken to have the nominal
ing committee inform the regular com
mittce when appointed that steps be taken
to solicit funds and make contracts for a
preliminary survey of the proposed road.
An abstract of the remarks made by
Mr.. Brooks are as follows:
Mr. President and gentlemen:
Fault finders are abroad in every com
munity. Nothing is sacred from their
malignant touch Their aim is to OPP
pose. No scheme is evolved, no project
begun, but they arc there, at the front,
ready to play the part they know SO well ;
that of the obstructionist. They have no
motive; no theory to advance; no enter
prise to inaugulatc They simply throw
around the undertakings of others the OBJ
stacles which their uncanny minds can
conjure up.
We are not free from them, We know
who they are; they are those who say,
"Augusta is good place to die in or,
Augusta is good place to get out of; or,
Augusta is ten years behind the times; or,
What has the board of trade ever done
to benefit Augusta" and stock of such
phrases that seems almost inexbaustib!e.
Now in the course of my remarks l may
give expression to some ideas which
might seem to belong to the repcrtory OF
the growler Should do this please give
me the benefit of the doubt. My position
Is simply that of honest criticism and not
at all in the nature of fault finding.
Our native city is good place to die
in; If | am over obliged to break the ties
which bind me to Augusta, l crave one
boon; may God grant that / may come
home to die. And Augusta is good
place to live in. To enumerate its ad-
yantages is to tell over again thrice told
tale. But we all grow childish as we ad-
vance in years, and the old stories are the
ones we love best to hear. What city IN
the world can boast of superioEr Rtural
advantages? One of Names foremost lit
erary men wrote of the valley Of the Ken
nebec as the Arcadia of America; and he
passed good deal of his time in Angus
tn Where is better material for the stu
dent than is to be found at the library OF
the capitol, and among the volumes oil
our own Lithgow library? Where Is JUS
tice melted out in fairer measure imam at
the training school of such men as George
Evans, Lot NJ. Morrill,, James W. Brad
bury,-the Kenncbec bar. Where can the