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 M r. 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 councillor, 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 Eailroad. 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.