Evening journal., 1913-11-22
NEW MEMS or YESTERDAY
When a Railroad SuppIanted
Water Transportation
By Holland.

my own experience as railroad
man has taught me that railroad con
struction and development in the United
States perfectly exeinplify the law Of
evolution,
This remark was made to me by the
late Serena Scranton. who was at the
time president OF a railfcad company
whose line connected New Haven and
New London, Conn. Il is now very
important link in the New Haven Rail
road Companys system which connects
Boston and New York
Mr.. Scranton and we're riding from
Boston to New Haeen one June evening
in 1871 lie had taken the pupils of
military school at New Haven ON an ex-
cursion to Boston. This excursion was
due to a cordial invitation by the late
General Benham, who was distinguished
as an engineer in the Civil War, and
who was in charge Of the fortifcations in
Boston harbor for some years after the
close Of the war.
encc rs president of the little railroad,
which then connected New Haven and
New London, was great enough TO Sc
cure free transportation for the military
lpupils from New Haven 60 Boston and
back.
1t was on the return in the late after
noon that President Scranton chatted
with me for an hour or two reminiscent
lly about railroad development
lie was of ailroad family. His
brother was for some years president of
the New York and New Haven Railroad,
another brother was influential in found
ing the City OF Scranton, Pennsylvania.
and one who was near OF kin the. late G..
s. Bushell, was the man who persuaded
the secretary of the navy in President
Lincolns cabnet,, q Connecticut man.
Gideon Welles, to give Eriekson's Moni-
tor a trial test
II don't know what the future of the
little road OF which ] am president will
be, he said. II am certain it is TO have
a very important relation to railroad de-
yelopnlent in New England
"As / look back | recall that the
earliest railway construction, at least in
New England and in New Jersey. was
'planned simply to supplement water
transportation.
"Oyer there on Long Island they have
built a railroad from Long Island city
10 Greenport, at the eastern extremity
of the island. They never would have
done that if il haa not been for the fact
that il would supplement water trans
portatiOn between Boston and New
York.
Boston and Connecticut capital built
two railroads stretching from Boston to
q point on the Thames river president
Scranton meant Allyn's Point. which is
now identified as Che place where the
Yale and Harvard crews take up camp
in summer prior TO their yearly boat
racesl
"lrom ALVIN 5 Point to Greenport.
Long Island, is twenty-five miles or
thereabout. James Gordon Bennett, the
owner OF the Ne& York Herald. very
earnestly recommended the construction
of railroad along the north shore of
Long Island 20 Greenport lie pointed
lout the great advantage to New York.
He said that excepting for short ferry
lof twenty-five miles there could be all
Trail communication between Boston and
New York il this Long Island railroad
were built.
swell, it was built and it wasn't
worth a copper TO the men who pat
their money in its stock although it did
make practically all-rail communication
between New York and Boston possible.
"After it was built the reason for Mr..
Benefits long advocacy of it became
apparent. He had a printing office set
up in a baggage car and compositors
placed before the cases IN that way
European papers and dispatches which
first reached the United States at Boston
were instantly transferred TO the rail
road, taken across the ferry of twenty
five miles and ut Greenport turned over
to Mr.. BENEFITS compositors in the
baggage car. He had an editor in that
car. That man speedily arranged the
copy end the compositors put it in type
so that the forms were all ready for use
in the Herald Office when the trains
reached New York.
81 don't think. however. that in the
early years of this Long Island line IL
was of any special advantage to anyone
Excepting Mr.. Bennett and the New
York Herald.
81 have been told that the railroad
across the State of New Jersey from
Camden on the Delaware river to Am
hoy, opposite Staten Island, was built
solely for the purpose of supplementing
steamboat travel between New York
land Philadelphia. That was the old
lCamdon and Ambov road -