Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1901-11-15
THE REFORMER
The Narrow Gauge Troubles.

The statement IN another column
about the West Dummerston grant
business in relation to the Marrow
Gauge railroad is well calculated t.
set our people to thinking. And it i
only part of the story that might b
told. It is probably within hounds tt
say that there are 200 to 300 csrload
of lumber and other freight along thu
line of the road awaiting shipment
with all that means of clos
and embarrassment and possible
disaster to the business of the
county because the company has. moi
the rolling stock to handle it. Fol
several days it has been operating with
one engine out of the three with which
it started ald that has before been
its fix at least, once within the past
year. Many of its freight cars are worn
out ard discarded from q years of ser
vice ana its road he'd is ia condition
that can only be described as nearing
the dangerous.
The little roads condition and all
it's experiences from the time the con.
tract for its cor obstruction was default
ed with the money contributed by the
towns used up, and it was compelled
to throw itself into the bards of a
foreign corporation to he con- pleted,
enforces the lesson that public money
should never be used for such a pur-
pose. The Re former coufesses that it
didn't see this as early as it ought ;
but there probably is rot man in
Windham county that does not see It
now. Experience has shown that if
properly constructed and reasonably
capitalized the road would have been
a paying venture from the beginning
and have yielded regular and fair in
come on the.real investment. 1t has
done business enough. Instead of that
the towns and people whose money
went into it have got back practically
nothing ard the property itself has in
large degree run out.
just how to account for it all, how
much of earnings has had to go into
construction for which the bonding
towns provided the money, ard how
much has gone into the Golfers of the
Central Vermont, very likely can never
be determine now No reports it has
ever been ssible to get from the Cen
trail management show anything def.
mite One, and that for the best year
of all, 1892, was never rendered at all,
and of the rest only few even go so
far as to classify receipts and eXpendi
lures. But even they, taking the ears
toeetf er, indicate something like a
balance of profit ard lrss, after charg
ing off heavy amounts for repairs.
But if we must let the past go, it is
time to get the thing into business
shape for the future The contract
with the New LONDON Northern, which
is the lessee, sublettirg to th Central
Vermont, provides that the lessee shall
keep the road Sin repair. " That
means that the rolling stock as we'll as
the road bed should be kept up, and
there ought to be some way of enforc
ing the obligation, through the Rail |
road Commission or the courts, to the |
cure of the present wretched condition. |
The lease also makes the Narrow
Gauge corporation partner with the !
lessee, in providing that one -half the I
net profits shall go to the former. Who |
knows or how has there been any |
been any met profits? Take the one
item of interest on. the bonds that |
matured several years ago, and have
been charged against the road at 6 per
cent, where such a company as the
New London Northern can get all the
money it wants at A per cent or less.
That alone represents 81, 900 year for
the towns whose money is in the en-
terprise.
Obviously what should be done is
first to compel the putting IF the road
into proper conditions as the unful.
filled contract of the New London
Northern to keep it in repair, then to
rut the Indebtedness on at least a 4
per cent basis, and then to put it 10
the power of the Narrow Gauge cor
poration, by means of an auditor of
its own, to see that it is honestly and
equith bly, dealt with in the matter of
accounts and that it gets its half of
the net profits if such there be-
!. Difficult, even impossible as this
seemed to be 10 the New London Cen
trail Vermont deal, the difficulty is
NJ multiplied by the fact that the Grard
Trunk is in as a new factor in the
case. But it is imperative that it be
1one -o--H'-sizzsrs7s 8 ~ 'aszre 7--ssss--a
Or else ID new deal by which the
lessees put the road in shape and pay
a fixed rental for IT.