The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1874-11-26
THE NEW LINK.

WhateTer may be the opinion OF cer
tain inland cities at certain times, on tn
subject of railroads, it must be admitted
after all is said and done, that the welfar
of these same cities is intimately connect
ed with, if not dependent upon thes,
same railroads, and so will be as long a.
railroads are the veins that circulate tn,
life blood Of the country.
Our neighbor, Chicago, is fortunate il
having in immediate prospect new FRIEND
and feeder, the Baltimore and Ohio Rail
road; that company having just complet
ed their track from southern point on
their Lake Erie Division to Chicago, this
being the last link in the Baltimore and
Ohio chain, between that city and tide
water.
The company has als) made extensive
improvements on the Marietta and Gin
cinnati Railroad. Their new ''cut of" "a
straight line between Athens and Park
ersburg- lessons the time between Gin
cinnati and Baltimore two hours. The
value of such an alteration is obvious to
! every business man without further COM
ment
AS this great carrier extends one of its
long arms in our direction also, an outline
of its progress and present condition may
be interesting to our readers.
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad ger
minated in 1898, and grew solely out of
the demands of local traffic in the
neighborhood of Baltimore. From that
time till the breaking out of the war, its
history is one of slow but sure and steady
growth-the growth of giant oak rath-
er than that of mushroom-in the
course Of which it extended its terminal
westward, and improved its terminal ia
cilities eastward, until it became a great
Trunk Line
The war damaged its equipment but
did not cripple its energies, nor stop its pro-
gress, evidences of which are seen along
its whole line from Baltimore to Cincin-
natl and Chicago.
The Road has in operation line OF
seven steamships, running between Bre-
men and Baltimore. These land their
passengers and baggage at Locust Point
within few feet of the cars that take
them westward, thus avoiding all the ex-
pense, delay and confusion of long ON
nibus transfer.
The first American sight that aston
ishes our German friends arc the two
immense grain elevators Of this company,
one of which, just completed, towers IT'S
feet from tide water to roof, and has Ca
pacity for 100000 bushels.
Every possible facility has been provid-
ed for the handling of other classes of
freight. By means of tracks extended
over the water, coal cars dump their con-
tents directly into the hold of the vessel
below: and in the year 1878 more than
100000 tons were thus speedily and
economically transferred
The company has also displayed excel
lent judgment in fitting their road for the
passenger traffic. Large and commodious
hotels have been established at different
points along the line These have been
erected with view to that increase OF
business in the future, which past expert
ence has given reason to expect, and are
tastefully built and carefully managed.
The Passenger Coaches of the Balti
more and Ohio Railroad are strong ant
comfortable, and by no means devoid Of
artistic adornment Such pleasant sur
roundings at once put the traveller in tn,
mode to enjoy the scenery for which this
route is so celebrated and It IS wonder
fully pleasing, an ever changing panoram;
of the beautiful, the grand, the historic
As natural consequence of the at
fractions, facilities and good management
the financial condition of the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad has steadily improved
until to-day it stands pre-eminently {
''solid" road 1t has surplus fund OF
$29,OOO,O0O, and its stock ranges from
60 to 20 per cent above par, therefore il
can readily obtain loans upon reasonable
terms in European markets, when its ri
walls cannot obtain them at any price II
supports no watered stock, and but a
small debt, and hence it finds a profit in
carrying passengers and freight at rate
which could not be remunerative to other
roads 1t extends its track, not by leas.
ing old lines upon terms which must eat
up the profits of the investment, nor by
purchasing with money obtained on wat
cred stock, or borrowed at enormous rates
of interest Such a financial policy as
this could never have made the Baltimore
anI Ohio Railroad what it is to-day, THE
Most SUCCESSFUL TRUNK LINE IN THE
COUNTRY.--.N. Louis Courier.