Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1907-08-21


would be the substitution Of other men and
other plans for and ours, and of the at
tempt 70 introduce a highway trolley system
In place of what we now propose.
To say that no such scheme could be
financed Is idle In view Of the widespread
similar development thas is taking place else
where and In the presence OF the strong con-
viction that exists throughout the whole Of
Hancock county that railway connection Of
some kind between Ellsworth and the island
is essential to its development aud growth.
and Of the desire there is throughout the
county to obtain 1t. Denial OF this desire, or
Of the enterprises possibility II urged on by
strong local interests and not undertaken as
an investment merely. can only be made in
ignorance Of the facts.
great power plant Is now being developed
at Ellsworth by outside capital from which
such trolley systems electricity could be
obtained at a low rate; there would be no
cost for right Of way along the highroad; and
the construction expense for sucha line COM
pared with ours would be but slight. That it
would be wasteful of power in operation, ex-
pensive in repair, slow in communication,
and valueless II the railroad itself should
presently be extended to Bar Harbor would
by NO means be sufficient In my Judgment to
prevent its being built. And we should In
any case be threatened with 1t until either it
was built or the Maine Central took our
burden up and came in with steam, seeking a
terminal here instead Of at the Ferry.
circular has been lately sent about among
the summer residents at Bar Harbor by people
who have placed themselves in opposition to
our undertaking without apparently having
made any serious attempt to find out what it
contemplated. That it would affect ..the free
dom heretofore enjoyed in driving" is abso-
iutely untrue; II would be true however IL q
highway trolley system should be built. re-
placing ours. This Is point to which the
greatest consideration has been given in the
plans which we have made; there are practi-
cal1y no grade crossings in them, on the is
land; and the road nowhere skirts the driving
roads and rarely would be even visible from
them.
That the railroad II built would tend to
bring in undesirable and dangerous charac-
tiers" who now are prevented from coming by
the presence Of the pleasant eight-mile trip
across the bay, seems to need no answer.
That existing residential property will be In
iured by the line which we have planned do
not think is true In any case. and 1t certainly
has been our earnest endeavor to prevent it.
II. on the contrary. any other road is built
than such one as we have planned, whether
trolley line along the high-road or an ex-
tension Of the Maine Central railroad oper-
ated rs 1t would naturally be by steam, the
injury to residential property would surely
be great one and it is precisely this injury
which we are now endeavoring to provide
against.
That it Is a step toward the use Of steam
upon the island is manifestly untrue. as the
twenty year contract which we have in view
with the power company at Ellsworth is
alone enough to show. The importance Of
securing electricity in place of steam as the
future source of transportation energy n the
island is q matter which we have steadily
held in view from the commencement.
That 1t would operate in any way to bring
'the deadly automobile" to the island seems
to me a most unfounded fear. In enabling
people who come down to the island by auto
mobile to leave their machines behind at
some near point along our line and to reach
them readily again, and in giving rapid COM
munication on the island to people living
here, its effect would be precisely the oppo-
site OF this in my opinion, Otherwise the
two things are absolutely remote and the cool
discussion of the railway situation ought not
to be complicated by the Introduction of an
other matter wholly foreign to II.
Finally, that improved railway connection
planned as we have planned 1t and carried
out with the care that we are taxing to pre-
serve the natural beauty of the island and to
avoid all injury to residential property and
the interests of summer residen-s, would ruin
Bar Harbor as a summer resort, hardly seems
to call for any serious answer. There are
none among the summer residents at Bar
Harbor, however, whose interests, both prop
erty and personal, are greater in the preser-
walton OF all that makes 1t desirable and de-
lightfui summer home than those who have
undertaken to secure for 1t such connection
with the main land as will permanently serve
its need and save il in the future from the
grave injury that an ill-considered, or even
any ordinary railway line would surely cause.
In view OF this and of the thought which
they have given it, would it not be well for
others who also have Al heart the permanent
interests of Bar Harbor and the region CEN
tering here to weigh the matter well and to
wait at least for the transit company's state
ment Of completed plans and its survey OF
route before assuming any attitude of opposi-
ton toward a carefully thought-out attempt
which has at least the merit of having been
undertaken for the general goodf
The Ellsworth and Bar Harbor men who
we're applicants at the last legislature for
a charter for an electric road from Els
worth to Bar Harbor, have also taken a
hand in the letter writing. They have
addressed the following letter to the Mt.
Desert Transit Co.;
ELLSWORTH, Aug. 8.
Mt. Desert Transit Co., Bar Harbor, Maine.
conference.-the undersigned were charter
members of corporation called Ellsworth &
Mount Desert r. X. Co. and with others, citi-
zens Of this county, petitioned the last legis-
lature for q charter to enable us TO build an
electric street railway from Ellsworth to Bar
Harbor and other points on Mt. Desest island
shortly afterward your corporation also came
before the legislature asking similar rights
from it, and your representatives asked us to
withdraw our request for charter upon your
vtats~art NJ intention to proceed to build