Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-02-24

failed.
Finally the Bangor & Aroostook
Railroad Co. was organized and
was organized because of the
great and crying need. 1t built
the Bangor & Aroostook railroad, an
of which it is proud.
And, gentlemen, from the time that
railroad was built up to the present
time the interests Of the railroad and
the interest of the county has been
identical. Why you cannot help the
Bangor & Aroostook Railroad unless
you help Aroostook county, ydu can
not harm the Bangor & Artostook
Railroad unless you harm that county.
Another fact, gentlemen, that l wish
you to bear in mind, the great duty,
the great mission of the Bangor Y
Aroostook Railroad Co. is to help that
county find market for and to trans
port to that market the coarse products
of Aroostook county, the products
of the forest and the soil.
The Bangor & Aroostook Railroad
is today and for time to come must be
essentially a freight road. NO man
can deny it, and all the income which
the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad Co.
can get must come from transporting
to the markets these coarse commodl.
ties and transporting them with dis
patch And they must transport them.
too, at the lowest living rates because
these commodities can stand no other
rates and these rates are fixed not by
the railroad, nor by the people them-
selves, but by competition.
a.
tition between town and town in Aroos-
took county, it is a competition be-
| tween that whole territory and other
| territories in this country. 1t is COM
petition between Aroostook and North
ern New Hampshire; it is competition
between Aroostook and Northern Yer
mont: it is competition between Aroos-
| took and Northern New York; it is
competition between Aroostook and
Ohio; it is competition between Aroos-
took and Michigan. and last but not
least it is competition with Canada.
| Let me show you what I mean by
competition, and this by way of illus
tration: North of Aroostook county is
the great IntercOlonial which is owned,
controlled and managed by the Cana
dian government. and the Canadian
government stands behind that road
and they carry freight at rates which
would sink any railroad in the State
of Maine and as a result of carrying
freight at these rates for the year 1892,
1893. 1894. there was a deficit in the
operation of that road of $780, 900.
Well. do you say, what is going to be-
come of the road? Why, the Canadian
government took new stock in it to the
amount of 81, 1860. 900; there was deficit
at that time of s464.000.
That railroad is trying to get the
products of Canada into markets
which our people should reach and
when they fall behind in freight rates
the Canadian government stands be-
hind it. But when we fall behind in
freight rates does anybody stand be-
hind us? No, gentlemen, we are
brought here and it is said you must
stand the 2-cent mileage. Is that the
way you are going to treat Maine rail-
roads which are competing with Cana
dian railroads?
Now, gentlemen, the products of
Aroostook county cannot be carried 10
market as they We're once. The old
way was to take a cargo and
carry it to the port in Maine
or perhaps to the provinces
then perhaps to ship it to some sea-
port in the United States and then sell
it and when it was sold distribute it.
But. gentlemen. if the competition of
modern times is to be met, freight
must be carried in cargo lots and that,
too, quickly. The Aroostook Railroad
|
carload here and carload there and
turns it over to the Maine Central, the
Maine Central takes it to the Boston &;
Maine and the Boston & Maine distri.
butes it over its populated and con-
suming sections or else it pushes it
further along and distributes it to the
network of railroads beyond.
And l say to this committee that I'M
der the able and careful management
of railroads in Maine today, more il
being done for the development of
Maine than at any other time in its
history. And. gentlemen, we are stand
| ing all the burdens we can stand. ]
make a conservative statement and a
statement wholly within bounds when
l say that if for the freight which went
out of ATooStook county in the year
1893, we could have had the rates for
tho years 1892, 1898 and 1894. the Ban
gor & Aroostook treasury would have
been richer by $4,000 and the treas
ures of connecting roads by $4,000 adj
ditional.
Now gentlemen, during all this time.
from the time the railroad was built
up to the present time, we have main
tanned n freight service we have
striven and striven earnestly to help
the people of AroOstook county get
their products to market SO that they
might meet the competition and get
them there by quick despatch and az
a low rate and want to repeat again
that any shipper if he will stand UP
here and tell you will say that that
competition is relentless, it is fierce, it
is nevcr-endng At the same time we
have maintained that freight service,
~. have maintain a passenger service
Which we had hoped was a bon to
the people of AroOstOOk county and
which we know, gentlement was Of in
estImable value to the development of
that territory, and that passenger ser
Vice has been maintained at loss. But
ycu say why have you maintained 1t if
there has been loss?
Why, gentlemen, If you VAN. man
10 90 M into ArOOstook county and