Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1878-12-20
Why Greatest and Best.

We see some enEiOns mOrtals object to
the Chicago s Northwestern Railway being
called the greatest and best line in the
country. What means greatest? Is it
more length Of line, miles operated and
business transported? What means best?
Every one knows he reply. That this line
is greatest, few facts will demonstrste.
1t Openates neatly tWenty-onel hundred
miles Of road e, 2,078 to be exact) and reach
es nearly every important point in North
ern Illinois, in Wisconsin, in Northern
Michigan, in Iowa, in Minnesota, and runs
many lines into Dakota. What other line
begins to traverse so many Statss2 None
Not one. go aE.gEAE -
A road 500 miles in length is q long one.
A thousand miles makes a great line.
What, then, should be said of one 2, 100
miles long? Just think Of it-If it was
laid eastward from New York it would
reach more than tRo-thirds Of the way
across the Atlantic Ocean, or from the pine
clad hills of Maine to the sunny shores Of
the Gull Of Mexico. Great is 1t not? Then
for moment look at its business. 1t car
ries millions Qhink Of what millions mean)
of passengers a year, to say nothing Of the
silver and iron, and lead and lumber,
and cattle and hogs, and thousands on
on thousands of carloads Of wheat, and
oats, and corn, and horses, and sheep,
and the thousand and one other kinds Of
freight that is grown or used or handled by
the people of the great Nsrthwess, through
which it IS the great iron highway.
Take down your map and trace its routes.
Fix your eye on Chicago as S starting point.
Westward, in nearly an air line, you will
trace its California line until you reach the
Missouri river at Council Bluffs, opposite
0mahs--here is 8 single ran Of nearly 800
miles. Back to Chicago again you look
northwest and follow another of its routes
through Madison, the Capital Of Wisconsin,
through the pine woods o. that whole State
ald into Minnesota, and on to st. Paul
and MInneapolis-this is 400 miles more.
Again looking from Chicago you can trace
= line through Sparta, Wisconsin, La
Crosse, in the same State, WInOna, Owat-
onna and New Ulm, in Minnesota, and
northwestWard far into DakotA-here we
have 625 miles more of road. Again com
ing 10 Chicago We see two lines running
northWardly-one along the lake shore to
Milwaukee, and thence to Fond du Lac,
aud THE other running more inland, through
JanesVille. Watertown, etc., also to Fond
du Lac, thence north through Oshkosh,
De Pere, Green Bay and Escsnaba, to Ne
guanee, Ishpeming and Marquette-here
is another 440 miles of road. Then We
have line from Chicago to Elgin. Rock
ford aud Freeport, another from Clinton.
Iowa, to Anamosa in the same State,
another from Kenosha on Lake Michi-
gan to Rockford, IN Northern Illinois, and
after all longer lines we have many short
spans to traverse before we have found
out all Of the Chicago & Northwestern
Railway.
Is it any wonder, then, that this line is
called the great Western Trunk LineP So
Tar ahead Of anything else is it in the way
Of road bed, cars, locomotive and hotel
coaches, that even its competitors are
obliged to acknowledge that it is the best.
The passengers to or from California,
Colorado, Utah, Nebraska, the Black Hills,
Minnesota, Manitoba, the East, West,
North or South should see that they are
furnished tickets by this great line. For
get not that this alone Of all the roads west
or north of Chicago, run the WOrld-Fe-
nowned Pullman hotel car No other
western road has Pullman or any other
form of hotel car, no matter what they
claim.-The Herald.
Gil - - oL,o,l,.., 5o,-s ,,;Il