The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1879-12-04
Total, including track. :.


Total. including track. a.i43 e.
At that time iifty-ihree Of the seventy
oryauiZcd counties of the State were
trayersed bv one or more lines of rail-
WAY. 81 he only organized counties Of
the State tina, had no railroad lines with
fn their borders. were Barbour, Chau-
tauqua. CowIey. ELK. Greenwood. dew.
ell, Lincoln. Mcpherson, Norton. Os-
borne. Phillips. Rocks, Rush. smith,
Sumner. Wabaunsce and Wilson. Since
tina. time tho Central Brunch has been
extended through or into Osborne,
smith. Phillips and Jewell counties: the
At. Il ST. has been extended through
or INTO Cowlev, sumner. GREENWOOD,
Elk and Mcpherson counties: the saint
Louis and San Francisco road las push
ed into Wilson County: and the L., L..
a e.. road has been extended into Chau-
tadqua. So that at the present time
only six OF the organized counties OF
Kansas are without any railroad lines,
viz: Barbour. Lincoln, Norton, hooks.
Rush and Wabaunsee. Two counties OF
the State. Atchison and Crawford. have
| five different lines Of railway within
their limits, six, l.eayenworth, Chero-
kee, Douglas. johnson, Labetie aud
Wyandottc. have each four lines eight,
Bourbon. Cloud, Davis, Franklin, Jefier
son. Miami. shawnee and Washington,
nave each three lines: and nineteen
Others have each two lines, 50 thai
| ,h;ft, -myo kansas counties are now
penetrated by two or more lines OF rail-
| way.
Mr.. Gould and his associates now
control every railroad line in the State
except five, viz; the AtchiSon : Ne'
braska, tbs Aiel,isan, Topeka 4 Santa
Fe' the Missouri River Fort scott A
Gulf. the LcavenwOrth. Lawrence n
Galveston. and the Saint Louis a san
Francisco. The Atchison, Topeka &
Santa Fe combination controls me 81
Louis and SAN Francisco line, ana the
other three roads mentioned are all OWN
ed and controlled by Boston capitalists,
headed by Nathaniel hayer. No 'ha'
to-day every galway limo in Kansas
every foot Of our three thousand miles
of completed railway is owned and con-
,rolled by three combinations.
The Gould interest controls the Kan
sas Pacific. the Central Branch L. r.
the St. Joe 4 Denver, the Kansas Cen
tr.l tho Missouri Kanaas & Texas, ane
the Missouri Pacific roads, having al
aggregate OF nearly 800 miles of track
| within the limits of Kansas, or ovel
half the entire railway mileage OF thu
state. The Atcl,ison, Topeka Il Santa
Fe combination controls about 900 nile
of Kansas railway, and the Thayer IN
ierest about 4a0 miles. These figures
are no. exact, rs we do moi KNOW TN
mileage of some ut the eXten.lons made
this year. Hut they are sufficiently ac
clratc to illustrate the facts we desire
to present. namely that the entire rail
way mileage of Kansas is now ownc'
; and controlled by three combinations
and tha. these three Interests 90 no
materially conflict with each other or
. in other words. that they do not aflori
competing transportation facilities.
; II is quite natural, therefore, tina
publ;c interest should be intensely alb
sorbed in the sudden and startling
changes that hGvo occurred IA our raj!
way sYstnii during the past few weeks
Practically. half Of tbs railway mileage
and more than hall OF the railroad line
, of this State are now controlled by on
man. and all of our transportation line
are owned and controlled by three com
bina;ions. Such q vast power, wiser
welded, may bs Il tie-sihg. but iinWise
IL welded il viii be a curse. The rail-
roads of Kansas were built in large pro
norton. by Kansas money for the bene
: iii Of Kansas interests ana hansa
: towns. There is not county or cit,
III ,lc State that has n0t voted larg
bond subsidies. or contributed other 10
: ga, aid. to secure the railroad lines nov
s in operation through their limits. TIL
[ vast land subsidies given the State b
the General Government, and tho>
given directly f. corporations by ~
! same authority, were intended 10 bull
up the transportation lines for the benz
; tit of Kansas communities. The peopl
of this State have. therefore, direC
7 vital interest in these railways. And
!. is not only proper. but natural and
every sense Just and right. that the
should expect and demand Of the pre-:
: ent owners and managers OF these road
that in all their operations they shout
assist and protect Kansas interests an
Kansas towns.
There is a growing feeling in thi
State. that our railway corporation
have not always had that regard f.
Kansas towns and interests they shout
;. have had. and that for some inscrutabl
/ reasons they have sometimes dlscrIiiil
y ated against those interests. This fee
n ing il was that last winter found c,
: preston in a proposed law which. pra'
: tjea!lv. took the control of our railway
a out OF the hands of their managers an
f placed them under the control of stat
commissioners. Two influences alon
r defeated that measure; First, the tca
h on the part of representatives frol
: counties having no railway lines tn,
: the massage of the act referred TO woul
: preyept the building of new railway
@ and secondly. the hearty and helpfi
7. friendship OF few of the larger citi'
0 in the State. who regarded the interes
of the railroads rs identified with the
own. The Atchison county member
il they had thrown their influence int
the scale for this bill. instead OF again
III. a. they did. could have secured i
v passage bv "a large majority.
# We cite these facts because II seen
I TO Us important that the new owners
+ SO many Kansas railways should ciearl
: understand the temper of our peopi
+ and their just expectations and 81
|. mands. Kansas is a great and GROWN
). State. The owners OF the railwa,
n within her borders appreciate this FAC
:: or they would not bave invested !
IS largely in her transportation line