Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1912-12-25
MEL.LE:lI STATES
lis POSITION
New Haven Head Makes Denial
Of Charges Against Hin
FIASCO OF The GRAND TRU...K

Declares He Had No Part In 1t, Per-
sonaIiy or OfficiaiIy--Says Agitation
Against Railway Is Harmful, At
fecting Employees as Well as Weak
and Evil Minded Persons
Boston, Dec. %. President
Charles S. Mellen of the New York
New Haven and Hartford railroad is
sued lengthy statement replying to
his critics throughout the country
The statement goes into detail on
nearly all the subjects which he and
his road have been severely criticized
for.
Mr.. Mellen said he had nothing to
do either personally or officially with
the abandonment of the Grand Trunk
project into Providence. q never
took single step, personally or Off
cially, to cause or promote or hasten
that decision" he says.
In regard to the agitation against
him and his road Mellen says: THE
agitation to mislead the people start
ed with my refusal to pay an abnorm-
al price for a privately held block of
Boston and Maine shares"
He also declares that the New Ha-
ven never bought trolley line for the
nf
The most deplorable of all the re-
suits attending the present organized
campaign of misrepresentation
against the New Haven road is it's de-
moralizing effect upon our employees
and upon the weak and evil minded
in the community" he adds.
He further says: 1--WE have been
obliged for several weeks to have our
tracks patrolled and, in spite of the
most unusual precautions, have been
unable to prevent two notable at
tempts and several minor ones al
train wrecking. The number of at
tempts to secure newspaper notoriety
by loosening spikes and reporting
them to discredit the road has been
most deplorable. No road in this
country could go through such fire
of publicity and have SO little found
against it.
Some of the most important fea-
lures of Mellen's statement follow:
When the Grand Trunk proposed tc
come into Providence and occupy the
New Haven company's rails and ter
minals, | would have been unfaithfu
to my trust had l not protested.
The passenger rates on the New
Haven railroad today average lower
than they were when | took charge
Of the property nine years ago, an
no passenger rate on the Boston an
Maine has been increased since
took charge.
The most widely spread and deeply
rooted SANDER against the New Haven
management and myself personally is
that | agreed in writing never to buy
any more traction properties in Mas
sachusetts, and later broke this agree
ment. No such promise, or agree
ment, was ever made.
The New Haven railroad is accused
Of having promised identification fol-
Boston and breaking that promise
The New Haven said to the public
through that commission commerce
and industry that if it were permit
ted to merge the properties (BostoT
and Maine and New Haven) and &C
on with it plans as contemplated, il
would agree that within five years il
would electrify the railroads within
the metropolitan district of Boston,
The commission refused to recon-
men legislation for the unifcation o.
the properties. All plans for electri-
fication since submitted, except fol-
the Boston and Providence line, have
been rejected by the legislature
! New England's railroad system
must forever fight in the railroad
world for it's own existence and the
existence of the Industrial New Eng.