Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1905-02-10
BROAD GAUGE ROAD
Central Vermont Will Rebuild
BrattIebOro & Whitehall
Agreement Reached Yesterday Of Great
Importance to 6rattIeboro and West
River Valley.


Importance to 5rattleboro and West
River Valley.
After years OF discouraging conditions,
bad feeling and litigation anent the rail-
road facilities between South London
derry and Brattleboro the people Of the
West River valley now are assured Of the
service to which they are fairly entitled.
In short, the Brattleboro & Whitehall
gauge railroad between the two
towns mentioned, 80 miles in length, will
be converted into n standard gauge road
and will be operated, as 1t ought to be
, operated, so as properly TO take care Of
the business along its route. An agree
ment to this effect was reached in Brat.
teboro yesterday at a conference Of
majority Of the stockholders and directors
OF the Brattleboro q Whitehall company
with officials of the Central Vermont
Railway company, who lease and operate
/ the New London Northern system. the
New London Northern company being the
lessee and mortgage of the narrow
gauge road.
The conference was held at the request
OF the Central Vermont company, who
said they had proposition to submit.
| The stockholders consisting mainly OF the
commissioners of the towns Of London
derry, Jamaica, Townshend Newfane and
| Brattleboro, which own a majority of the
/ Brattleboro & Whitehall stock, met in the
office OF the probate court in the fore
noon, and while they were in conference
among themselves the officials of the
Central Vermont company arrived in a
! private car in which they remained, on
a side track. The stockholders knew not
/ what was coming, but they were firmly
resolved not to give up the ghost. and, as
events proved, they were not asked to
/ do so. They appointed committee, con-
ssting of T. l.. Waterman, A. +. Cud-
worth and c. c. Fits, to wait upon the
officials in their car and hear their propo-
! stion.
II was expected that the committee
would be ready to report by o'clock, but
it was after 4 o'clock when they came be-
/ fore the stockholders. The report was
something OF a surprise to the stock
holders, who had expected that the rail-
road officials would ask as much as they
/ did at a hearing year go, IL not more
! No written proposition was made, but the
officials. through the committee, made
the verbal proposition that II the Brattle-
boro & Whitehall company would not de-
fend the New London company's petition
/ for a foreclosure of its mortgage on the
narrow gauge road the Central Vermont
company would give the Brattleboro &
! Whitehall company $4,000 of the first
mortgage per cent. bonds of the Cen
| tral Vermont railroad, or $4,000 in cash,
in lieu of the annual stipend Of $500 which
| has been paid to the Brattleboro White
| hall company up to the present year;
would rebuild the Brattleboro & White
hall road on standard gauge before Dec
| l, 1906, and would maintain and operate
it in a reasonable way for the accom-
mediation of the business OF the West
| River valley.
This was in substance what the stock
holders offered to do a year ago, con-
sequently it did not take them long to
come to an agreement to accept the
proposition. They sent the committee
again to the officials, who meanwhile had
gone to c. c. Fitts's office, with instruc-
tions to see If they could get a larger
offer Of bonds or cash and to see II the
officials would agree to let them ride to
and from Brattleboro free to attend the
| annual meetings of the Brattleboro &
! Whitehall company, as has been done
heretofore, but to notify them in any
| case that the proposition was accepted.
| The officials would not increase their offer
OF bonds or cash, but they did agree to
the free transportation proposition. 1t
was all over except drawing up a formal
| agreement TO be signed by those interest
| ed.
1t should be stated that while the Brat
tleboro & Whitehall stockholders agree
not to defend the foreclosure petition
they will formally defend 1t until there
| is inserted in the decree, which will be
1 granted at the February term of the
United States court in Rutland, clause
making ii obligatory upon the Central
| Vermont company to maintain and
| operate the new Brattleboro e. Whitehall
road in reasonable way this being the
point which the Brattleboro & White
hall company has been contending for.
The Central Vermont first mortgage bonds
! stand at so in the market At par $4,000
! worth of them would yield 5000 a year
A cash gift of $4,000 could be invested at
per cent, which would yield 5000 a
year. Whether the bond OF the cash is
accepted the yield will be sufficient to
keep the Brattlebono & Whitehall or
| ganization alive.
The officials who came to Brattleboro
in the private car were Z. II. Fitzhugh of
| Montreal, third vice president of the
| Grand Trunk Railway system; G. c.
Jones, general manager; c. w. Writer'S
general counsel, ]. E. Dalrymple general
freight agent, ]. Z. Bentley, general pas
senger agent, and j. NJ. Morrison, chief
engineer OF the Central Vermont Rail-
way system, and Judge II. II. Powers
general counsel of the New London
Northern company. At the stockholders
meeting were A. T.. Cudworth of South
Londonderry, Daniel Sherwin, j. O.
Shumway and F. b. Pier of Jamaica, 10
r, Batchelder of Townshend, ]. H. Merri-
field, f. p. Wheeler, o. L. Sherman and
NJ. o. Howe OF Newfane, President c. f.
Thompson, II. p Wellman, e. c. Crosby,
]. l.. Martin, c. c. Fits and e. L. Water
man of Brattleboro. Mr.. Shumway Mr.
Batchelder, Mr. Merrifield, Mr.. Sherman
and Judge Waterman comprised a majori-
ty of the Brattleboro & Whitehall board
of directors.
1t is stated by the Central Vermont
officials that the cost of standard gaug-
ing the Brattleboro & Whitehall road
will be about 100000 One of the
reasons why the Central Vermont road
is willing to go to that expense is to be
found In the lumber deal which was
consummated in Brattleboro few weeks
ago, when Fremont II. Wright of Auburn
dale, Mass, bought the Peck timber tract
of 5000 acres in Somerset and Stratton,
bringing his holdings up to about 25 900
acres. which Is only small mart of tho