Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1906-08-17

| would have been built any way; but if
| he does, lie little appreciates what it is
| to project and build Il railroad. The OK
pcri"nce Of Maine in this direction has
| shown that as a rule the building of
roads results in loss to the original
stockholders, perhaps the second set of
| stockholders, and that only a portion of
| the investment can be saved. The Ban
| gor & AroostoOk Railroad has been an
exception TO this rule.
1t is true, that up to the time that
| this road was projected and built. the
| history of railroading in Maine was not
such as to make it easy to obtain the
| funds necessary for such work.
The building of the Knox & Lincoln
| by the aid Of the towns along its line,
| of the old Somerset road, by stock sub
scribed by tie towns through which it
| ran, and later The building of the
| Washington County road. to say moth
| ing of the earlier enterprises. have ali
shown the great hazard attending such
| enterprises
| 1t is true that 50 far as this road is
concerned. the county of Aroostook
| will be reimbursed for its original ex-
penditure, and hence in :he end will
| only have contributed the interest
which it paid during the first ten
| years Of the roads existence; but at the
time the road was built it was q great
| risk for the county to contribute the
| large sum that it did to secure the con-
structiun Of this road. and there We're
| many chances that it might eventually
| lose the money that it invested. The
people of ArooStook County understood
| this. but believed that in the end the
| indirect benefit from the railroad would
| be worth more to them than the OK
penditIlre REQUIRED to secure it with the
| county of ArooStook investing its own
| funds to the amount Of three quarters
| of million. and taking upon itself all
| the attendant risks.
The aid which the State granted to
| the road in the way of exemption Of
| taxcS which was only foregoing the
possibility of taxing road which
| might never exist without the aid,
seems little indeed for the whole State
to do in securing such great advantages
| for the county Of Aroostook and for the
State as whole.
The history of the Washington Coun-
| ty road, built later on, emphasizes the
risk which the county of Aroostook
| took in the building of the Bangor &
ArOoStook road. The county of Wash
ingtOn contributed toward the building
Of the Washington County road. and
the State extended the same aid to
them as to the Bangor &; ArOoStook,
but even with all this aid, the road was
not self sustaining, and the county OF
Washington was the loser by the ven
turc, 50 far as the direct investment
was concerned; but does any one be-
lievc that the county of Washington to-
day would have the Washington Coun-
ty Railroad removed from its soil, IL
thereby it could be reimbursed for what
it contributed toward its building?
The same business reasons presented
above apply with equal force to the
case of the Somerset railroad, whose
line is now in process of construction
north to Moosehead Lake The State
has seen in this extension the means
of opening up the great north country
of the upper Kennebec. Astounding in
Water-DOwerS and other natural re-
resources.
This then is the business truth of the
! matter that the Democracy has made
an issue between parties in the cam
paign; that they have set forth in big
type as an example of Republican fav-
oritism and graft. This charge is an
insult to the business sagacity of the
State; a petty and despicable trick to
deceive the hasty judgment of those
poorly informed in the matter in CUES
tiCn. Such chicanery must injure its
instigators alone. This method of at
lacking state institutions, State poll
cies and State expenditures. has char
acterized the whole campaign of the
Democratic party. under the leader
ship of that particularly smooth
operator Cyrus W. Davis.
Falsehood follows falsehood. ana
| when the Republican press has by fact
and figure and complete exposition