The Portland daily press., 1899-04-19
CONGRESSMAN BOUTELLE AND THE
FITCHBURG RAILROAD.


Tho New York Herald of Sunday devot.
ed q page To an effort to disoredit Con-
gresham Boutelle of Maine In sub
stance 1t was alleged that Congressman
Boutelle at the last session of Congress
had tackled on to the naval appropriation
bill and secured its passage, an amend
ment giving the Fitchburg Railroad
Company certa in valuable docking faoili-
ties in the Boston navy yard practically
for nothing, when they were worth
millions, and it was insin uated that the
congressman had been influenced to do
this by subscriptions to the stock of his
paper by two of the Fitohburg directors
The story was told with much elabora-
ton, but this is what it amounts to-
Now bright men. even though they may
be wicked, do not resort to disreputable
methods for obtaining legislation until
there is necessity or q seeming necss-
sity for them; and when they do resort'to
them they take some pains to cover their
tracks. All the men connected with this
transaction were bright and able men.
They were presidents and directors of
ton, and congressman. Assume that
some of them might have been unscrupu-
lous enough to resort to improper methods
10 get what they were asking for, IL
proper methods had failed or seemed like
ly TO fail. They would certainly have
waited until that contingency had arisen.
In this case it never did arise. The meas
t,re which thav xvere iuferastad N had tho
approval of nearly all the naval experts
and business men who had examined it
The Secretary of the Navy endorsed 1T,
so did the Chief of the bureau of yards
and docks, so did Rear Admiral Belknap,
chairman of the commission that investi-
gated the matter. SO did all the naval
committee except one man. Mr.. Amos
Cummings of New York, who, there is
strong reason to suspect, opposed it be-
cause the improved facilities 1t meant for
the Fitchburg railroad might mean some
loss of commercial prestige to New York
CITY. This being SO, what temptation
was there for the Fitchburg Railroad
Company to resort to disrsp utable meth
DDS? All the committee but one man
were in favor Of the bill on it's merits.
What need to offer them inducementss
Mr.. Cummings was the only man that
there was any temptation to approach
with improper Inducements, and he docs
not pretend that the remotest suggestion
of anything of the kind was made to him.
But let us assume that the merits of the
measure had failed to appeal to the COM
mittee, and that the men interested in
the project were INSCRIPTIONS enough to
make it for the personal advantage of the
mem bers of the committee to support it.
Would they deliberately have
put themselves on record as resort
ing to such methodist Yet ifl
the imputation Of the Herald be
true, that Congressman Boutelle was in
duced to support this bill by the advant-
age that might accrue to him
self through the purchase of stock
in his paper by the persons
interested in the measure, this is Just
what they did do in this case. The own
ership of stock in the Wing is matter
of public record and the purchasers must
have known 1t would bs when they
bought 1t. In the face Of this knowledge,
had the purpose of buying it been the dis
reputable one that the Herald insinuates, |
would not both the purchasers and the
seller have hesitated. and sought
some other means Of accomplishing their
object which could have been readily
concealedf There were plenty of them.
The stock could have been bought in the
,,arna Of ofher r,arSoua or N Daad not ha q
been bought at all, cash contribution
which never could have been traced an
swsring every purpose. II 1t be assumed
that every body Implicated BY the Herald
ar ticls was wicked and INSCRIPTIONS
enough to attempt what is LEGGED, in or
der > TO believe that they did 1t in
$he way the Herald insinuates it must