Part 3

As stated above, the Fitchburg Railroad Company was authorized to build a road from Boston to Fitchburg, a distance of fifty miles, in spite of the strenuous opposition of the managers and attorneys of the Western Line. The intelligent legislator of 1866, who has passed over the Fitchburg Railroad, and observed the numerous trains of passenger and freight cars which daily follow each other over its double line of track, can but smile at the language of Mr Mills, a senator from Hampden, a little more than twenty years ago "Sir," said this zealous legislator, who, in his style and logic forcibly remind us of Mr. Bird, of Walpole, "a six horse stage coach and a few baggage wagons will draw all the freight from Fitchburg to Boston."

It is hardly necessary to give details of the history of the Vermont and Massachusetts Road, and the struggles of its projectors against hostile legislation, and the intensified opposition of the Western line. Suffice it to say that this second section of the Tunnel Line, extending from Fitchburg to Greenfield, was commenced and finished, in spite of all opposition, without a dollar of that aid which Mr. Kinnicut said the State would have to furnish in order to be just and consistent. Its stock, which could be bought for $9 a share, ten years ago, now commands upwards of $40. Its gross receipts, last year, were $390,085.79, and its net income, $91,229.85. Its debt has been reduced from upwards of a million to one half that sum, and this year it has paid its first dividend.

The Troy and Greenfield Road was chartered in 1848, the same old elements of opposition being combined against, and fighting it at every step. The managers of the Western road clamorously declared that if this competing line were chartered, it would greatly diminish the security of the Commonwealth, for its investment in their road, and that if the State should be compelled to sell its stock after the granting of such charter, she would lose a hundred and seventy thousand dollars; while, at the same time, they affected to deride the Vermont and Massachusetts as a "pauper road," and the region it traversed as a "God-forsaken country!"

In 1858, the Western end of the Tunnel Line, extending from the Western base of the Hoosac Mountain to Troy, had been completed through the enterprise of the citizens of that thriving city and those of North Adams. The Vermont and Massachusetts was finished, and only thirty-seven miles of rail were needed to complete the direct connection of Boston with the Great West. Then was the time and opportunity for the State to have continued the same liberal policy which it had adopted toward the Western road, and to have extended her helping hand to the struggling corporation, which had undertaken the noble enterprise of piercing the barrier which was interposed between them and their "promised land." But their appeals for aid were met with sneers and derision; the work was bitterly opposed at every stage of its progress; the arts of demagogues, the cunning of lawyers, the fears of the timid, the credulity of the ignorant, and every conceivable influence which the well-filled treasury of the Western road could purchase were enlisted and combined against it. But, at last, perseverance and a good cause prevailed, and in 1854, the Legislature authorized a loan of the State credit to the amount of two millions of dollars, to the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, "for the purpose of enabling said company to construct a tunnel and railroad under and through the Hoosac Mountain, in some place between the 'Great Bend,' in Deerfield river, and the town of Florida, at the base of the Hoosac Mountain on the East, and the base of the Western side of the mountain, near the East end of the village of North Adams, on the West." But this loan was modified and restricted by such conditions, artfully introduced by the foes of the enterprise, that the work still languished, and its friends almost despaired even of ultimate success. The enabling act of 1857, would have greatly relieved them, but it was vetoed by Gov. Gardner. At the beginning of 1860, only $230,000 of the two millions had been advanced.

In the Legislature of that year, the original act was modified so that the balance of the loan might be divided between the road from Greenfield and the Tunnel, for the construction of both parts of the work simultaneously. Provision was at the same time made for the appointment, annually, by the Governor, of a state engineer, to examine the work, make monthly estimates, and impose such requirements upon the company and contractors as he and the Governor and Council might deem expedient. In the summer of 1860, Colonel Ezra Lincoln of Boston, was appointed State engineer, and resigning in the following autumn, on account of illness, was succeeded by C. L. Stevenson, Esq.

In the meantime the company had contracted with Messrs. Haupt and Cartwright to construct the road and tunnel. The first named gentleman was one of the most eminent and experienced engineers in the country. Under the administration of the State engineers, Messrs Lincoln and Stevenson, the existing location was approved, and certain prices were established, upon the basis of which contracts were made for labor and material, and rapid progress was made with the work. Upon the accession of Governor Andrew in 1851, Mr. Stevenson was summarily removed, and Mr. William S. Whitwell appointed in his place. This gentleman at once proceeded to change the entire basis of work as established by his predecessors, reduced the prices under which extensive contracts had already been made, and cut down the estimates, so as to compel an entire suspension of the work. More than a thousand laborers and mechanics were discharged. Mr. Haupt states that at the time of this suspension, "the graduation of the whole line could have been completed in a few weeks. The iron and nearly all the ties and bridge material had been delivered; but little remained to be done except finishing the bridge and laying the track."

After a warm and protracted discussion of the subject in the Legislature of 1862, an act was passed, providing that the State should take possession of the road, tunnel, and all the property of the Troy and Greenfield Company. A commission was also authorized to examine the work, ascertain the feasibility of completing it, and report to the next Legislature. The commissioners appointed under this act, by Governor Andrew, were Messrs. J. W. Brooks and Alexander Holmes, of Massachusetts, and Mr. S. M. Felton, of Pennsylvania, two of them being eminent civil engineers, and all three gentlemen of large experience in railroad affairs. They entered upon the duties of their commission at once, and having dispatched Mr. Storrow to Europe to examine the tunnels there, proceeded to take possession of the road and property of the Company, which was surrendered to them in September of the same year.

The elaborate and exhaustive report of the Commissioners was submitted to the Legislature in the latter part of February, 1863. The closing paragraph expresses their "opinion that the work should be undertaken by the Commonwealth, and completed as early as it can be, with due regard to economy." The result of another discussion in the Legislature was the adoption of the recommendation of the Commissioners, and the responsibility of completing the tunnel and road was assumed by the State, in April of 1863, operations having been suspended nearly three years.

Since that time, the work has been conducted by the Commissioners, under the immediate superintendence of Mr. Thomas Doane, chief engineer, in such manner and with such progress as to give very general satisfaction to the friends of the enterprise, and promise its completion within a reasonable time. A very considerable portion of the labor and expenditures, since the operations were resumed, have been applied to preparing buildings and machinery, to the construction of a dam across the Deerfield river, in order to secure power to operate the tunneling apparatus, and to an enlargement and an alteration of the grade of the Eastern end of the tunnel, which had been excavated by Haupt and Cartwright.

But before proceeding to consider the present condition and prospects of the Tunnel, it is necessary to revert to the legislation of 1862 and 1863, in order to note the tactics of its enemies, who had by no means been idle, nor had in any degree relaxed their opposition. In fact, it was through this opposition that the act of 1862 was effected, the bill being a substitute for that reported by the committee, and generally regarded as a compromise between the friends and foes of the enterprise, though the latter believed they had, at last achieved a triumph, and exultingly whispered that the great Hoosac Tunnel scheme had received its death blow. They certainly did play their game with boldness and skill. While the contractors, Messrs. Haupt & Co., had actually applied all their private means, to the extent of more than $200,000, to carry on the work, it was asserted that they were swindling the State and pocketing its funds to the tune of $300,000. They proclaimed that they were in favor of the Tunnel, and only desired to take the work from the hands of swindling contractors and the control of a bankrupt and irresponsible corporation, in order that it might be assumed and prosecuted by the Commonwealth; but they were secretly confident, and not without reason, that a board of commissioners would be appointed who would report against the prosecution of the work by the State. Of the three gentlemen appointed, not one had expressed an opinion in favor of the enterprise, and Mr. Brooks, the president, was known to be opposed to it. Both of the two resident members were from localities where the prevailing sentiment was against the Tunnel. But this adroitness of the opposition was baffled, and its confident hope disappointed by the integrity and fairness of Mr. Brooks and his associates. The latter had no prejudices to conquer, and Mr. Brooks had not applied himself many weeks to the duties of his commission, before he was convinced of the feasibility of the work, and satisfied that the State ought to assume and complete it. When their report was made to the Legislature in 1863, the old opposition manifested itself with more intensity than ever, and the same honest gentlemen, who, the year before, were so friendly to the enterprise, and only wanted to transfer it from the hands of rapacious contractors and a bankrupt corporation, to the fostering care of the Commonwealth, threw off their masks, resorted to their old tricks and arts, and renewed their old clamor, against the "Tunnel swindle;" yet, vainly, as the result proved.

The name of Mr. F. W. Bird, of Walpole, has been once or twice mentioned in this article, and not improperly, since he has gained that equivocal notoriety in connection with the Hoosac Tunnel, which attaches to the enemies of all great and noble undertakings. This gentleman has informed the public, that in 1847 and 1848, when he was in the Legislature, he "voted for everything that the friends of the Tunnel asked for." This action cannot have greatly embarrassed Mr. Bird during his subsequent career, since the only thing asked for by the friends of the Tunnel, during those two years, was the charter, granted in 1848. Mr. Bird further informs the public, that "in 1862, we were overruled by the committee, but we defeated them before the Legislature. In 1863, we were defeated, and the Legislature sanctioned the resumption of the work." Mr. Bird also boasts that, while a member of the Executive Council, he "did resist the assumption by the chairman of the commission, of irresponsible control over the work, and did something to prevent the building of the road from Greenfield to the mountain."

In 1862, Hon. W. D. Swan represented the opposition to the Tunnel in the Senate. Mr. Bird, in a communication to the Boston Journal of Nov. 3, 1862, says:--

"The Tunnel fight was organized and directed by three members of the Third House.

The Tunnel matter came before the Senate late in the session, when many important questions demanded the attention of the Senate and rendered it very difficult for them to make personal investigations.

As to Mr. Swan, he very frankly declared that the whole subject was so new to him that he must rely upon us for his materials.

His published speeches upon the Tunnel, upon which his fame as a practical legislator is based by his friends, were written substantially by one of us beforehand, and afterward revised by all of us for the press.

We furnished every fact, made every calculation, prepared every table and arranged _every point and every argument logically and rhetorically_."

One of the arguments which Mr. Bird confesses he and his associates "arranged," is expressed in the following extract from Mr. Swan's speech:--

"I am aware, sir, that it may be said: 'You are going to stop a great enterprise.' No I am not. I have no such intention. I am in favor of the Hoosac Tunnel. If Massachusetts has granted her aid for the accomplishment of any great purpose, I am for going through with it. I am for going through with the Tunnel; but I am for going through with it understandingly; and if Massachusetts is to do the work, let us know that we are to obtain something like an equivalent for our expenditure.

We say, then, to the corporation, we will send intelligent commissioners to examine the road and tunnel, and if the report to us, or our successors, next year, is favorable to this great enterprise, we will go on with it; we will bore a a hole through the mountain, we will arch it, lay the track, and give you ten years in which to redeem the property."

But it is not necessary to quote further from Mr. Bird himself; he has been well known for years as an agent of the Western Railroad Company, and the leader of the combined elements of opposition to the Tunnel. He is a man of ability, bold, and adroit in his management, but entirely unscrupulous in the choice of means to effect his objects. As a lobby member, as newspaper correspondent, as pamphleteer, as councilor, and in the numerous other characters which his Protean genius has enabled him to assume, he has, by fair means and foul, diligently adhered to his boastful promise that he "should not desist from opposition till the work is stopped;" and he has lately reiterated his purpose of keeping that pledge, "with the help of God." Those who know Mr. Bird well, entertain no doubt that he will continue to do his best to stop the work, whether with or without the Divine assistance, and that he will literally fulfill his promise, since the work will, undoubtedly, be "stopped" when it is finished.

One other gentleman has been associated with Mr. Bird, as a leader of the opposition to the Tunnel enterprise, who, perhaps, deserves a passing notice in this article, Mr. D. L. Harris, President of the Connecticut River Railroad. He has less ability than Mr. Bird, but much more practical knowledge of railroad engineering and management. It has apparently been a part of the duty assigned him, to furnish Mr. Bird with the texts for his pamphlets and newspaper articles, and to supply such information, from time to time, as that gentleman's inexperience and ignorance required. He has also emulated the example of his associate by contributing to the anti-tunnel literature of the newspapers. While a member of the House, a few years since, he had the bad taste, in the course of discussion, to quote from one of his own anonymous articles. Upon being accused of being the author of his quotation, he roundly denied the charge, but was convicted by the production of his own manuscript. His seat was vacant during the remainder of that session. Whether this desertion of his post was occasioned by a conviction in the minds of anti-tunnel men and the Western Railroad managers that the exposure had impaired the influence of their agent, or whether he was impelled to retire by the stings of that remorse which a certain class of men experience only when they have been detected in a falsehood, the writer of this paper is unable to determine.

The Boston Advertiser of October 5, 1865, contains an article over Mr. Bird's signature, which was soon after published in the form of a pamphlet, and profusely distributed throughout the State, having for a title, "The Hoosac Tunnel: its Condition and Prospects." It appears, that a few weeks previous, Mr. Bird and Mr. Harris visited the Tunnel locality, and this pamphlet purports to be the result of Mr. Bird's "observations." It has been extensively read, and has, doubtless, inspired the minds of many timid and ignorant persons, with honest doubts of the practicability or expediency of ever completing the Tunnel. It is considered "smart" by those who mistake denunciation and abuse for wit, and baseless assumption for truth. To those who are familiar with the history of the Tunnel, and who understand its present condition, it is more remarkable for misrepresentation and disingenuousness, than even any previous effort of its author.

He introduces his subject by stating that the commissioners, "since they commenced operations, have had unlimited and irresponsible power, and that, for all failures and blunders, they, and they alone, are responsible;" yet, within a month from the penning of this assertion, Mr. Bird boasted that _he_ did something, while a member of the Council, to prevent the building of the road from Greenfield to the mountain.

The obstacles encountered at the West end of the Tunnel, which had been foreseen and understood from the beginning, by the friends of the enterprise, appear to have first engaged the observation of our inspector, and are represented as a startling and recent discovery. The well known effect of water upon the soft material in this locality is described as "rock demoralized" into "porridge," and this "porridge" is represented as a difficulty of such serious nature that "the managers are at their wits' ends."

Mr. James Laurie, an eminent civil engineer, employed by the commissioners to make a survey, in his able report in January of 1863, says "the portions of the Hoosac Tunnel embraced between the Western entrance and the present shaft, a distance of 3008 feet, will, from all indications, be the most troublesome and expensive. The material consists of gravel, clay, sand, detached beds of quartzose sandstone, some of which is partly decomposed, and limestone. The whole formation is full of springs. _However bad the material may prove_, this part, under proper management, can be completed long before the rest of the Tunnel." Mr. Bird says, "Common men, and some uncommon men, too, look upon these difficulties as insuperable." Those who can, for a moment, weigh the opinion of the accomplished and experienced engineer, Mr. Laurie, with that of Mr. F. W. Bird, of Walpole, may relieve their doubts by referring to Mr. Storrow's report on the European tunnels, in a very large proportion of which the most formidable kind of "porridge" was encountered and subdued.

Mr. Bird observed the Western shaft. The work at the Western face of this shaft was suspended on account of imminent danger of "porridge" and our observer's most important criticism here, is that they were, at the time of his visit, advancing on the Eastern face of the shaft, at the rate of only "thirteen feet weekly," that is fifty-two _feet per month_. Mr. Storrow says the average progress in the European tunnels was about thirty _feet per month_.

The Central shaft was visited, and Mr. Bird does not appear to have observed anything which demanded an expression of his disapproval. The work was progressing at the rate of twenty-two feet a month, and the pumps gave a gallon and a half of water per minute. In constructing the Kilsey Tunnel, in England, Mr. Storrow says that during a considerable portion of nine months, the water pumped out was two thousand gallons a minute.

Mr. Bird's report of progress at the East end was certainly very encouraging the heading having been advanced successfully during the two months preceding his visit, at the rate of sixty-five feet per month, and the work was being pushed with vigor and activity.

The dam across the Deerfield next claimed the observation of the inspector, who appears to have regarded it with much surprise, both on account of its cost and because it was thrown across a fitful mountain torrent, so feeble at the time of Mr. Bird's visit, that it was only allowed to run by night, for the reason, as he "guessed," that "if it was allowed to run by day, under the hot sun, it would all evaporate before it reached Shelburne Falls!" This _guess_ is associated in the same paragraph with an assertion that "there was not then in the river, and had not been for some weeks, and has not been since, (unless they have had heavy rains,) water enough to give under a thirty feet head, twenty, or even a ten-horse power, for twenty-four hours a day." It is as well established a fact that the Deerfield river was never known to be so low as at one time during last year, as it is that wells all over the State were dry last autumn, which were never dry before. Yet, at the time of Mr. Bird's visit, when the river was lowest, Mr. Doane, the chief engineer, states that the water was running at the rate of "thirty-four cubic feet per second. On a head of thirty feet this gives, theoretically, one hundred and sixteen, and, practically, eighty-seven horse power." The intelligent reader will not be at much loss to decide whether he will rely upon the guesses, observations and loose assertions of Mr. Bird, or the record and word of the careful and skillful engineer. Mr. Bird says, "it is discreditable that the precise quantity of water has not, so far as we know, been ascertained by actual measurement." Such measurement had been made, and Mr. Bird _might_ have known it if he had taken pains to inquire of Mr. Doane or Mr. Hill.

The testimony of Messrs. Lamson & Goodnow, of Shelburne Falls, as to the power and reliability of the Deerfield river, is that "this is the first season we have been at all troubled on account of the scarcity of water, but not as Mr. Bird stated it. We have not been compelled to stop our mills _except one half day_, and we employ four hundred men on cutlery."

The same gentlemen (Messrs. Lamson & Goodnow) state that the Deerfield and North rivers furnish water enough, at Shelburne Falls, for one thousand horse power. The North river is a small stream, and deducting its contribution together with that of the brooks which find their way into the Deerfield between Shelburne Falls and the mountain, at the high estimate of two hundred horse power, and there remains to the Deerfield alone a force of eight hundred horse power, which is the estimate made by the commissioners. The measurements made by Mr. Doane and his assistants confirm their accuracy. Yet Mr. Bird who boasts of "an intimate acquaintance of over thirty years with water power," asserts that for such a privilege, "ten thousand dollars would be an extravagant price!" Would he sell even the puddle which works his paper mill at Walpole, and which, we presume, has afforded all his knowledge of water power, for half that amount?