The Portland daily press., 1896-06-06

mercial Traffic.
The Importance of the Grand Trunk |
to the city of Portland and to the state
of Maine can hardly be over-estlmated. |
Years ago, the late Hon. John A. Poor, |
the great railroad pioneer of New Eng |
land. saw the Importance to the state and |
the country of direct railroad line to |
the west by the way Of Montreal. From |
his plan, grew the Atlantic & ST. Law
renee railroad, one salt of the memoir
able ride he took in the winter from |
Portland to Montreal along the line of the |
proposed road. The Atlantic & st. |
Lawrence was soon leased to the Grand |
Trunk and direct connection obtained |
with Chicago and the West by way of
that great international line.
And the Grand Trunk has become OF |
all the more Importance recently because
of the progressive management inaugu-
rated by the present president of the
road, Sir Charles Rivers Wilson, and the
general manager, Mr.. Charles M. Hays.
Portland is to the Grand Trunk winter
outlet. Its magnificent harbor untouched
by ice, is its sole recourse aftsr the close
OF the st. Lawrence to navigation in the
fall. Other ports may be uncertain,
storm-swept, fog barred, but Portland is
always open, always accessible. Last
win ter, no steamer loading at this port
was detained single hour, except in tho
case of the Scotsman and that detention
was due to the great floods that swept
away bridges on every lipe. Today it is
proposed to make Portland a great sum-
mer port to enable the Grand Trunk by
direct connection to rival other direct
lines from the West, making Portland |
through the Grand Trunk CLOSE rival to |
Newport N ews and to Norfolk and |
through it, to relieve to some extent the |
great pressure ON New York itself. GEN.
eral Manager Hays proposed to the peo-
pie of Portland the building of an eleva-
tor with capacity of one million bushels |
of grain, ana his leadership will be fol- |
lowed by the best men of Portland, the |
elevator will be built, and builded, Por t.
land will have its directs summer as well |
as winter line of steamers.
Perhaps the average man who leaves
Portland for western tour, does
cial Importance of this great railroad sys-
tenn to the city of Portland and through
the city OF Portland to the state of Maine
With him the question is rather, "What
nm I to see along this line? What espec-
ial advantages does 1t offer to me over
other lines going westward?" The man
who leaves New England for the west, if
he goes along the line OF the Grand
Trunk. passes through bits of France,
through bits of England, for there is a
new France and a new England in Cam
ada. From Portland to Bryant's Pond
along the line of the Gran d Trunk, the
scenery is continually changing, con-
stantly charming. 1t gives one good
idea of the New England he is leaving,
this succession Of villages, and almost
as sud denly as in the Rocky Mountains,
the scene changes from almost level
gTsdnd to creeks and canons, to over
hanging cliffs and to cloudtopped peaks,
SO too, along the Grand Trunk, you pass
almost in an instant from the land Of
hills to the land of mountains. You have
caught distant view of many noun
tain top, or there suddenly faces you an
abrupt peak that stands out into your
pathway with, "Halt, Halt, 'it cries to
your train. "Halt'' it cried to John NJ
Poor, but he found a wsy around it and
the railroad follows the track of this pion-
eer. and from that moment Until you pass
out at Richmond into New France, the
way is constantly among mountains.
Gorham nesting down on a bit of level
land, not under this shadow of a noun
tain but of many mountains, Gorham,
the starting point for many beautiful
mountain tour, gives you as you halt for
a moment, a magnificent view of the
cloud-topped Mt. Washington and then
of the clustering peaks that make up the
White Hills. Through the mountains
there is no time for anything but sight
seeing. From the rear of your Pullman
you watch the splend id scenery through
which you are passing and hardly at
Island Pond are prepared to give the few
moments necessary for dinner. You
DON'T care to embarrass yourself with
names. You hardly have time to note
one point of interest but another Is say
ing, Look at me-" and every moment
What time you spend in this mountain
land Is filled with pleasure.
', And then you plunge into New Franco
hlohmond, just beyond, gives you the
,Gea that you have entered q new land
Mnas would a Canadian Frenchman
think OF the great ranches of tine West
10 hlm the ranch extending over thous-
amos OF acres would be simply prepafa-
tory purgatory. He has no idea what !
ever or hooking aiune. Ais farm, made
through divisions and sub divisions OF
family life, is long, narrow, so narrow
as almost to Justify th.a CIR I,a+
standing in the centre of his farm, he
can carry OH a confidential conversation |
with hls next neighbor, standing in the
center Of his farm; ana beyond, eli the !
long narrow farms meet in short in a |
practically continuous village of which
the cross-topped church which with the
stora make The social center
Having left Portland in the earlv |
morning, the late afternoon finds yonr
train nearing Montreal. You are catch |
ing your tifsf glimpse of tho St. Law