The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-01-12
P. L. Cable and the Railroads.


lie invested largely in the Canada South al
IN, thinking it a good investment, and =
18th no thought of any active particlpa- -
ion in its management. 1t soon became
necessary to secure feeder west from :,
Toledo to connect with the Canada South =
,rn and furnish it business. as it does not g,
'un through country having much local :,
business. 1t was designed to fill gap be-
tween Chicago and Buffalo and depend on :,
through business. Mr.. Gable was active :,
and efficient, with other gentlemen IN the :,
Canada Southern interest, in securing the r
Toledo, Wabash & Western, reachingfrom
Toledo to Iowa. He was elected director,
and was offered the presidency of the road ,
but declined it. In the panic the Canada
Southern suffered as well as other roads,
and now, when it's finances and business
are at very low ebb, the owners of that
road appeal to him to take its n anagement
and try to put it on it's legs. These ap-
peals have been made to him tor
some weeks, and he declined them all. Last
week he was induced to meet the other
owners in New York, he being the largest
owner in the company, and he has finally
been prevailed on to accept the presidency
and the management of the road. Satur-
day morning he arrived home from New
York. and left again for the east the same
evening, via st. Louis. Mrs. Gable and
daughter are IN St. Louis, and are going
South for the winter. Mr.. COPYRIGHT, the
present President Of the Canada Southern,
is expected to resign this week and MIR.
: Gable to take his place 1t is pretty big
lob for man of his age and physical abil-
ity to undertake to bring order out of chaos
in the management of that road and its In
terests, and it is problem whether he can
do it. IF he succeeds it will demonstrate
first class abilities on his part.
The road is one of the highest import
ance to the West. For several years, dur
+ ing the winter season, Chicago has had no
: communication with the East, no way OF
n getting off the immense surplus OF gram
land stock which concentrates there, except
Q BY choosing between one of three railroads,
o Michigan Central, Michigan Southern, or
: Fort Wayne Generally, after the closing
) of the lakes, there has been no choice left
f the shipper The traffic thus suddenly IN
creased has demanded all the facilities OF
these several roads to get it away at all,
l. and not infrequently the most exasperatine
rs DELAYS have had to be endured. And wher
lie all these roads would keep freight moving
l. from Chicago, it would only be as far a
SC Toledo, Cleveland, Detroit, or Crestline
IL where it would be jammed into yards anC
III delayed for days. 1t was no uncommon
y thing for a thousand cars of freight to b.
&c locked up in Toledo and held for a week
80 and that at time when shippers wer'
III most anxious to reach cash market IL
II the East. And heretofore there has bee
VI another noticeable feature of this insult
cient railroad facility. So soon as the lake
70. closed up, these three roads would co mbin
in one general tariff, and raise the price {
ce freight from 60 to 100 per cent, and tn
OBJ shipper had no redress.
I'm These reasons long ago set commerce
ge and railroad men to thinking. They re
nd soned that Chicago and the great we
list lacked railroad facilities for doing the b
2 siness yearly presented, and as that bus
ge- ness was destined to yearly increase 1t b
yes came an imperative necessity to constru
our other roads. Among the first to percel
ty, the advantages of an air line road betwe
the Chicago and Buffalo, was Mr.. Zimmerma
great railroad contractor, who was kill
r wears ago on the Great Western, in Ca
ada. He predicted this exact route, to
w brother of one of the editors of this pap
(who was then a contractor with him,
49, Canada, and had he lived he would pre-
L:~ ably have been active in building it.
Ia t;l had plans for that purpose partly perfe
ed when he was suddenly cut short IN
~ career by terrible accident, 9th
profted by his ideas, and the re
m was finally chartered by
Canadian government, and the Sta
~ through which it passes. Its line is IT
Buffalo to Amherstburg, on the bet
- river, a distance of 229 miles; with an
- tension from Crosse Isle to Chicago,
- ready completed to Fayette, Sc miles,
- distance of $50 miles and lateral branc
,on,o from Crosse Isle to Toledo, 40 miles,
o Detroit. 30 miles. 1t reduces the dista
between the two cities over 30 miles.
Iooa There is fair prospect that this l
'O'' and its new president, Mr. Cable, will
hands with the Patrons Of Husbandry
oston solve the problem of cheap freights.
road was projected and built for the
purpose of breaking up the Monopoly
/ be long enjoyed by the Michigan Cen
II. of Michigan Southern, and Pittsburg,
Rev Wayne & Chicago companies. 1t
Y, at built under the personal supervision Of
! Fri owners; hence there are no Credit M
20 on Ter rings to be provided for out of S
nding inos. 1t was built on the most impr
rvous plans and hence possesses all the ad
ching tages which science has given the raj
who world in the last ten years. 1t was
He to do work, and to last hence it is he
Irsday graded, with 200 ties to the mile
red to with O-pound steel rails and fish plates
, sup equipped with the most substantial n
NOV atooI- ,onprFaotured in the nIted ~