New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-05-10
TO GET MAINE LUMBER
4 Dam an st. John RiUer and Rail
road to AIIegash Region.

rareor Me Nav (SpeciaD.-A great indus
trial enterprise, in which Senator Redheid PROCTOR,
of Vermont and other prominent Americans ana
Canadians are interested, is projected on the 81
John River at Fort Kent the most northerly town
in Maine but whether not it is to succeed de-
ponds upon the attitude of the Canadian Parma
ment at Ottawa, for the plan involves the coh-
struction of an immense dam from the Name
shore TO New-B Brunswick. and. being obJected 10
by certain provincial lumber manufacturers mas
now become an international question
The Maine Legislature last winter passed Bill
incorporating the st. John Dam Company, Out the
New brunswick LEGISLATURE voted the bill down,
81 to Z and the matter must now re passed upon
by the Dominion Parliament
The people of Northern New-BrunsWick favor
the bill. for the building of the big dam ana lhe
mills that would cluster around 1t would pIoVlae
them with steady employment; but the owners OF
+1,e svrniIIs at Fredericton and St John oppose
the measure. knowing that were the dam 10 De
built with mills at least 1oooooO0 feet CT loss
cut along the upper reaches OF the 81 JoIlh' ooti
in New Brunswick and in Maine, would be manu-
featured in the new Yankee mills near Fort Kent.
Me instead of being driven down the river as
now in fact. they see in this great project the
Doom of the lumber trade OF st. John their prln-
cipaI port and largest city.
As a matter of fact and right. the logs cut on
. the upper ST. John should be manufactured in
! Maine instead of going by a long and expensive
route to foreign mills For many years St John
has thrived upon the business Of saving Maine
logs but. If the Ottawa ParnamSnI SilouIu
defeat the bill pending, the New-BrunsW1ck
CITY cannot much longer enjoy this advantage
Within a year a new railroad has been bullt 10
Fort Kent on the upper St John. connecting with
the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad, and thus
arording an outlet TO the port of Bangor for the
vast timber resources of Northern Maine NILS
are being built there IN the heart Of the forest,
where the sound of the lumberman's axe has
never yet been heard, and. besides the logs from
the newly developed Fish River region. those from
/ tz-a. fare hay
driven q great expense to Fredericton and ST
| John mills viii be brought to Fort Kent for
| nanufac ture and the lumber slipped over the
American railroads
Another question that has enlisted the attention
of both the American and British governments is
whether or not the dam that has for sixty years
been maintained at the foot Of Chamberlain Lake.
on the Alegash River system, is not in violation
OF the third article of the Webster-Ashbnrton
Treaty. The Allegash is tributary OF the St-
John but 10y means of the dam at Chamberlain
! Lake the water is brought TO a sufficient height
10 cause flow through the Teos Canal, between
TeIos Lake and the East Branch of the Penobscot.
so that logs cut in that region may instead Of
being sent by a roundabout route TO New-Bruns-
wick mills, be diverted TO the Penobscot and
brought directly to Bangor.
For sixty years the dam and the canal have
been in existence, and hundreds of millions of
feet of logs have been brought through the canal
from Ailegash waters to the Penobscot, while lat
tery endless chain arrangement has been in
use for the purpose. Not until few weeks
ago however, when a corporation known as the
East Branch Improvement Company was CHAR
tered by the Maine Legislature did the Canadians
discover that there had been any violation of the
| treaty between Great Britain and the United
States The New Brunswick Legislature. the St
/ John Board of Trade, various other bodies and
/ the New-Brunswick lumber interests generally
/ filed strenuous protests with the British Ambas-
sador in Washington. who called the attention Of
the State Department TO the matter and Secretary
, Hay has to the Governor OF Maine VoIumi-
collection of documents relating TO the mat
ter. 1t is complained that the new Bangor cor
poTation proposes 10 raise the height OF the dam
; at Chamberlain Lake, thus further diVerUng from
( their natural flow the waters that belong 10 the
st. John TO the serious injury Of the numbering
John at OF many millions OF logs for
manufacture and OF sufficient pitch of water for
driving and manufacturing purposes
AS matter OF fact, the bill recently passed by
the Maine Legislature expressly forbids any rails
ing OF the Chamberlain Lake dam, that the
alarm Of the New-Brunswick has been need
less. But now they protesting that the
Aliegash system is a violation of the Webster
Ashburron Treaty. and. should the matter be fol-
lowed up. interesting complications are likely to
Here again. however the Americans are certain
win. even should the dam Chamberlain Lake
be out and the waters of the Aliegash allowed
TO run unvexed down the ST John for the Bangor
Iumbermen have decided that the logs and lun-
Der of the Anegash be transported more ad-
vantageously by rail than by water and the rail-
road Is soon TO DO built This railroad will be by