The Portland daily press., 1897-04-01

to the iuCoine anu SUBSTANTIAL advance
ment of tho value of Maine Central
shares? What is it.that has made th
Maine POLAND Springs known as house
hold word througEout American The
announcement TO the world at large by
the use of printers ink, by their enter.
prising managenent Of the, attractions
and benefits to be found in visiting the
one, and beingEcarried by the other int
| rhe,most delightful hunting, fishing, and
health -glVlh gAseetions Of our good old
state.
Unwise conservatism says that money
expended in such "a manner is woeful
waste. Practical experience has taught
| the speaker THAT there is no investment
made by railroads, hotels resorts, and
| business enterprises which produces im :
mediAtely such large returns for the
money expended. II such results obta II
III private business enterprises, or with
semi-p public interests, -suoh AS transpor-
tation lines-why should not the same
result aeornes, If adopted by the state and
its attractive cities and townsS If your
light is hid under busbel measure,
darkness reigns. Your profits are few
and far between. Rather let your light
SO shine, like taat of the Belknap Motor
Co., that all the world will seek your
domain, leaving behind their wealth
and kind rsmem ORANGES, because of en-
joyment given and health restored.
| Let this state Board Of Trade insist,
| through It's constituent mem Bership and
local boards, that their towns and cities,
| in some way, make known to the world
at larga the opportunities for business,
pleasure and rest which exist within
| theiE borders AS to the state, it's apprO-
priations shonld he liberal, because for
every dollar thus expended ten will ulti-
mately be returned. Finally. and as to
| one of the most Important questions as
| applied TO the interest of all our people,
| and which relates to the unwise conser-
vatism which has characterized US in our
| treatment of interests which surely con-
| Issue. Our slogan should be "Good
| Roads, Good RnRds,' from now on, until
| our represen tatives, both general and
| local, are induced to see that it is for the
| permanent interest of their several com
| nuniIies, both materially and financially
| IN the course of years, to reverse the
policy which has SO long unwisely pre-
vailed under the system which has here
| tofore obtained, whereby annual appro-
priations are made sufficient to perform
only that which is absolutely necessary,
| resulting in d patch work policy, which
| from time ilnmemorial has been in vogue
in the spending of one year s : appropria-
| tion q timed by taxation. to be repeated
the lilo wing year. and SO on perpetuallY
| WLbis UksC SACpptiOA III d l6W C1tlGS,
where permanent work is beginning to
be appreciated The expenditures OF one
year on our highways are Casually before
| the year is half Over) washed into the
| waterways or low lands. and the entire
amount of money thus unwisely spent is
| lost, to be repeated the following season,
like turning water into sieve to disap-
pear as fast as it is applied. Such action
| is tho acme of folly as compared with the
foresight of the great Napoleon, who
built the magnificent roads of France,
which are today the admiration of all the
world. Such roads draw tourists and
visitors from all parts of the earth, who
tarry long in such localities, leaving
their money there. because of the enjoy
ment derived in travelling over suoh
| highways The material benefit to local
populations where good roads prevail as
against the common quagmire conditions
now most prominently in evidence
| throughout our state, is almost incom :
putable. The actual cost for the main
| tenance of streets, sidewalks and bridges
within the city of Portland alone during
the past twenty-five years, has beent
| 81, Sl5s 1929, an enormous sum, out O.
all proportion to what " ould have been
required under the wisdom of foresight
| For it is estimated by competent authori
| ty that at least so per cent of this entire
| amount without question more, eco per
! cent would be nearer the ootreot sum-
| has been expended in temporary repairs
| from season to season. A very largo
| percentage of this could have been
savsd to the city could it have been put
| into permanent work. Now then,
| what is the remedy?
First, the repeal by our prospective
wise Legislators of the unwlse law, where
| by cities, il not other communities were
prohibited from borrowing money forNany
yIonto in ovc Of =
of their valuation. Such law was I'M
doubtedly deemed an evidence of wisdom.
| S uoh wisdom has cost the city of Port
land, in its corporate capacity, hundreds
of thousands of dollars within the last
twenty five years, more than would have
otherwise Obtaine5 had the law permitted
us to take advantage OF our opportunity.
With the right to do so, our city could
have issued long time low interest bear
ing bonds for such amounts as would
have enabled it to carry forward perma-
nent work on their Streets rather than
the temporary makeshift patchwork
which has been washed into the sewers
the first heavy storm after the outlay was
made, requiring Immediately an expen-
diture of an equal amount oftentimes
for repairs, to be in turn, lost in the
same manner. Hence, permanent work
and good roads throughout our STATE
would be an evidence of wise progressive
ness, where the contrary has shown our
unwise conservatism, to such an extent
that, in looking backward on estimates
shown, it seems more like she folly of
extravaganza than tie wisdom of
economy which should always prevail in
the state, not because of the present gem
Grafton alone, but because Of all the
benefits to futurity, which should be
Obliged to assume it's share of the
burden Instituted for it's benefit, as
well as that of previous generations.
The State Board of Trade, which has
already done SO much for Maine, has the
power to dissolve unwise conservatism.
and create wise progressiveDess. Ii it
will secure what it may, our grand old
state might. could she he personified by
an ideal disqualification of wisdom, re-
iterate the sentiment once rendered Dy
the incompatible poet, Burns, to his
patron and friend:
"The monarch may forget the crown
which on his head an hour hath been,
The bridegroom may forget the bride
which was made his welded wife
yester e'en,
This Inither may forget the child whiob
smiles SO sweetly ON her knee,
But ] IL remember thee, my friend, and
all that thou has done for me.'