The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-03-12
Monday, March ~, 1917.
THE RAILWAY EXTENSION


interest in the bill before the legisla.
ture having as its object the extension
of the trolley line to the Gudeboard,
distance of less than a quarter Of
mile along wide and nearly level
street with no grade worth mention
ing.
The electric road has been particu-
larry we'll treated by Bennington and
has been frequently discourteous in
return Several times the board of
trade, the trustees and other citizens
have approached the street railway in
regard to this extension. Usually, as
the Banner is informed, the street
railway company has not answered
the letters. Once the company agreed
with the board OF trade to confer
ence and then the road officials failed
to attend the conference. The presi-
dent of the board of trade states that
when the. present matter was under
discussion the railway company was
courteously asked the official name
of the company and discourteously
refused to answer This is a fair
sample OF the way the company has
repeatedly treated the village ana
Board of Trade OF Bennington and II
is difficult to understand why when
Bennington has treated the road with
liberality and fairness.
The original trade made by the
original company with the village
was, as the Banner understands it. to
run UP to the Guideboard. The com.
pany got leave to shorten a little at
that end with the understanding that
the extension should be made when
1.-THE village asked TO have it done, the
!village has asked several times and
has either had no reply at all or been
told to go to blazes.
I The statements OF the street rails
way company before the legislative
committee will not bear investigation
She committee Was told that the span
over the raeeway was 2e feet. The
actual span, as measured by N. r.,
Nichols, is 10 feet. 2 inches. The
committee was told thatfit would cost
$4,000 to bridge that culvert Some Of
the citizens at the upper end Of the
village say that they viii provide
new stringers to make the bridge safe
for 5000. and Si00 would be an exor-
bitant price for the job.
BY using tpe second hand rails
that the street railway company has
stacked up at various points along its
line and putting its section gang on
the job one day week the complete
extension could be made with small
cost and would greatly accommodate
a thousand people who live at the up
per end of the village or who 80 there
habitually.
1t seems to The Banner that the
electric railroad company has stood in
its own light in the matter Il
could at least have met the complain
ing citizens and talked the matter
over Had the company done this we
are almost sure that the working men
at the upper end OF the village would
have laid the ties and track them
selves Saturday afternoons If the
company had been willing to provide
the material
1t seems too bad that so serious a
controversy should arise over so small
matter. The people interested in
the extension have been. patient and
long suffering. 1t is the duty of the
legislature to provide some tribunal
to give full hearing and fair decis-
ion on the question.
II the extension ought not to be
made the railroad company ought to
be able to show it before the public
service commission. Why all this
objection to fair trial Of the cause? -,