The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-01-27
UNCONSIDERED TRIPLES

WHut uOHtptucE ONtS W tnt tOuSiu-
crate Interest of the Central YER
mont Railroad English as She Is
Taught In the Schools Montpelier
Man Who Founded a City-Old Time
Wits and Local Suggestions.
Say, what dye think o that ask
ed the Man with a Crouch; "the' Cen
trail Vermont won't allow the Consol-
idated Lighting Company to put up a
handsome illustrated sign for the city
on their land at the Junction"
WELL" said the Philosopher Its
their land"
Their land! Yes. Now they've
got everything they think they can out
of Montpelier they stand on their
thing for one of the best towns on
their line.
"They took the old Montpelier turn
pike for their roadbed. Montpelier
men gave a lot of money to help build
the road. They'd never have given it
if they'd known what it was going to
cost. Somebody lied awfully about
that. Then, after the company had
got what Montpelier money they could
they left the capital of the State on a
branch line and they seem to think
now that they're doing us favor
every time they run main line train in
here They told us more than forty
years ago they intended to run the
branch line down through Williams
town gulf, to connect with the main
line, but they haven't done it and you
know they amt going to do it,"
Probably if the Board of Trade had
asked permission to erect a sign the
company would have granted it. |
can see they didn't want to give the
privilege to private corporation"
Private corporation, nonsense! The
Consolidated Company is a public SER
vice corporation just as much as the
Central Vermont Railroad, and that
concern amt bashful about asking
privileges for itself. The trouble is
the Central can't haul any more coal
for Jim Davidsons Company on ac-
count of the way they treated the
Consolidated and now they make
Montpelier suffer when his company
offers to do public spirited thing"
"The great trouhfe is" replied the
Philosopher, that the road has fall
len into foreign ownership. 1t is own
ed by the Grand Trunk Railway Com
pany of Canada, and | understand a
majority of the shareholders are Eng
lishmen, not Canadians. They know
nothing of what Montpelier has done
for the road, nor or che local interests
along the line. They bought the road
because it would be an advantage to
them in the matter of through traffic.
They don't care anything about local
interests. They may not operate it on
the Vanderbilt principle of the pub
lie be damned but their conduct makes
a good many people believe that is the
way they feel. Why every time they
have built a new station, or abolish
ed a grade crossing, put in new
toilet room or drinking fountain they
have had to be dubbed into it by the
Public Service Commission They act
as if all they wanted to do was to run
their through trains from Montreal
and let local business and local inter-
ests go hang.
What are we going to do about
it?"
81 don't know. The Legislature re-
tains some control over the corpora
ton it has created 1t might, per-
haps rescue it from the foreign ow-
nership, with it's picayune policy and
disregard for local interests. But you
see, with a capital stock of $3,OOO,OOO
the road is carrying bonded debt or
$11 100000, and it's total liabilities per
mile are greater than those OF any
other Vermont road or any road oper-
ating in Vermont with one exception.
So when it is asked to do anything 1t
puts up the plea that it can't afford
it. Directly, through the interest on
the bonds, and indirectly, through the
value of its connections, the road is
paving the Grand Trunk we'll. If it's
would be governed by
an enlightened corporate interest 1t
might be of benefit to the Vermont
towns through which it passes in
stead of being responsible for such
a variegated assortment of cuss
words"
well, asked you once, what are
we going to dor
Build the road to Rutland. When
we can play the New York Central
against the Central Vermont we will
get some attention, and if that isn't
sufficient we can build the road to
Newport and connect with the Cana
dian Pacific"
well, what's all this got to do with
that sign?"
1--WE can get along without such a
sign, il there isn't place to put 1t,
but the railroad doesn't own all the
land around the Junction, does it? / |