The Portland daily press., 1897-02-01
WITH THE LEeIsLAT oRs.
Maine Railroad History Recalled BY the
Opposition to the EngeI bin-Proposeo
Changes in the Statutes-Augusta Gossip.
Especial TO THE PREss.i

Ing contest OYER tno i2nEoi
Railroad bill recalls great deal OF the
iailroad history of Maine for Darius
Alien, whose estate is now opposing the
proposed legislation, WAS one OF the
prime movers in the consideration of
various Maine railways into one large
company to be known as the Maine Cen
trail. That was way back in the late
COS. the final steps in the consolidation
of the various lines being taken in 1870
when by lease mostly for the term of o93
wears the Portland and Kennebec Rail
road company, the Belfast and Moose
head Lake Railroad, the Androscoggin
Railroad and the Leeds and Pennington
Railroad passed into the hands of the
Maine Central Railroad Company. The
Maine Central was then in operation
from Bangor to Danville junction. 1t
was the oldest of the railroads interested
in the consolidation and it's track. like
the first track of the Grand Trunk had a
gauge of I'VE feet six inches. The Port
land and Kennebec road was of almost
equal impoI lance. Its tracks, of stand
ard gauge, extended to Augusta, by way
Of Brunswick and the Kennohec valley.
and then. by means of lease OF the
Kennebeo and Somerset road, went on up
the valley to Watsrville, where 1t crossed
the Maine Central and continued to
Skowhegan The Portland and kenne-
bee also operated the branch line from
Brunswick to Bath, SO that it controlled
In all 109 miles of hallway. The Belfast
and Moosehead Lake. now the Belfast
branch of the Maize Central, was then
being built. The lease of this road, I'M
like that of the others, was for 30 years.
II Is this fact that causes some of the
people interested in the Belfast line to
take lively interest in the Engel bill
because they ask what will be the effect
of the powers it gives the larger road
when the lease of the Belfast and Moose-
head lake has expired. The Androscog-
gin road extended at the time of the lease
f,om Brunswick to Leeds Junction; but
"A 8 the Androscoggin road had already
leased the Leeds and Harrington, it
really extended as Que road from Bruins
wick to that village and it also con-
LTOll6u d UEduOu lhCO OAty VI A<oW 10
ton to what is now known as the lower
Maine Central station. After The An
droscoggin road had bean leased to the
Maine Central the lease of the Leeds and
Farmipgton was changed from one Of 90
years to one of $685. like the Others. Ut
course 900 year lease was another way
of saying consolidation. As soon as the
consolidation was effected, the gauge OF
ho Mainn CanEraf wHS changed to the
new standard and the line extended from
Danville junction to Cumberland juno
tim, where it joined the Portland and
Is lebec and came to be known in time
by It's present familiar apellatlon OF
s'she back route" At the time OF tile
lease, Darius Alden's name heads the
list OF the directors of the Portland and
Kennebec His associates We're John b:
Brown of Portland, Philander Coburn of
Skowhegan, Ii. n. Jose of Portland,
tieorge NJ. Patten of Bath, Richard ID.
Rice Of Augusta, William ID. Sewall OF
Bath, George F. Shepley OF Portland and
N, Nj. Whitehouse of Gardiner. Judge
Rice was the president and Levi Lincoln
the superintendent.
To the younger generation of Maine
men, who have grown up in the days OF
the greater Maine Central, it is hard to
realize that only a quarter or century
ago, it was impossi Bile to go from Port
land TO Bangor without changing cars
and that stages were still climbing LIN
coin county hills on the way from Bath
to RuckIand. In the report OF the railroad
commi sioners for 1870, the change Of the
.auga vi the Maine Central making 1t
ossible to run cars from Boston to Ban
g,r IS eferIed to almost in the light OF
ii triumph IF modern railway bu1!dln2.
But all this leasing and consolidating
was not accomplished without bitter
CT, Inv. -oa ny
there were Shoss who feared that large
corp ors ton would be a menace to their
business interests and SO lively did the
hattie become that the term 1.-THE ten
thieves, was applied to the leading spir-
its3iu the enterprise by some OF their ex-
cited supporters. Time, however, showed
the wisdom of the movement How the
uaine Central has continued TO grow
by the lease of the Knox and Lincoln,
tae portl and amp Ogdensburg, the Faro
pean and North, American, the Dexter
and Newport, the Coos road and others
and how the Maine Central itself passed
un;ier the oontr 81 If the Boston and
Maine forms another chapter il itsShis-
tori. In all these enterprises prior to his
death about 1890, Mr.. Alden participate
Ell. He was large owner in the road
and always a director after tie consolida-
ton. So the appearance OF Mr. Little
field as counsel Tor the Alien estate in
opposition to tire roads psf measure mas
a peculiar Significance. Mr.. Littlefield's
client is Mr. Charles Il. Alden, son Of
the late Darius Alden. and in the return
bv the State treasurer he is credited with
2,976 shares of stock which be holds AS
trustee. The total number Of shares re-
turned is 40, 1854. An Augusta man who
is conversant with railroad matters said
yefterday that he believed after Mr. Alden
had arrived here and examined the pro-
rosed legislation. he would abandon bis
opposition to the measure.
CHANGES IN THE Statutes.
There are new laws and changes In old
laws, and among the bills reported to
the legislature By the committees are
numter making alterations in that ven
cradle collection of public laws COM
monty referred to as K. S., the Revised
Statutel of the State Of Maine.
One of these bills is very short. 1t says
that Section AZ, Chapter $40, Of the Re-
vised Statutes is repealed. This section
is cue OF which the ordinary mortal
has no knowledge. Under it man who
has served sentence III a State prison