Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1880-10-23
THE EVENING STAR.
DOUBLE SHEET.
....October 23, 1850.
NEW YORK LETTER.

THE GREAT soUTHw EsTERN RAILROAD WARTS
HISTORY, SETTLEMENT. AND PROBABLE FUTURE
REsuLTS-THE POLITICAL SITUATIoN-fHE GAR
FIELD CHINESE LETTBR-NICK MULLER's CON
GRRsSIoNAL FIGHT-AUGUsT BELMoST's SON
FOR CoNGRKss-THE EXTRAORDINARY SUCCESS
OF THE "TRUrH" HBwsPAPER-GEN GRANT AS
MISUNDERSTANDING MATTERS -PERsnNAL
AFFAIRS, &C.
Correspondence of The Ereaiag Star.l
NEW YORK, October g. 1880.
The most important railroad meetings that
have occurred anywhere In this country for
many years are now taking place In this city.
The point at issue is really whether a new
trunk line between New York and Omaha shall
| be established. The fight is between Wander
bilt and Gould. 1t seems to have been for
years Gould's determination to absorb the Erie
| road or get another to Chicago. Falling to get
| Erie, he seized the Toledo and Wabash system
! and built a short line from Peoria to Chicago
| to make that point. He had no sooner reached
Chicago than the battle of the giants was
begun. for in striking that point Gould dealt
severe blow at the Lake Shore road Wander
eilt put the Chicago, Burlington Quincy road
| forward to do the fighting. The Chicago g.
| Rock Island and Chicago & Alton roads got ont
Injunction after Injunction against the Wabash,
to prevent them from crossing their tracks
TIE result was that the Wabash folks have been
kept outside the Chicago city limits without a
Depot Ior over SIX months. They had to Dc
III.
| the question was whether they should call ar
hotels and residences and carry passengers and
check baggage free to the train, or sell tickets
for dollar less than the other companies. as
an iDducement to passengers to go further to
| the train. ~
The other companies protested. The Wabash
refused TO Yield. Then came the cutting OF
rates till passengers are now carried for next to
nothing. AS the G. b. and Q. folks must pay
dividends ON its stock, which is selling consid-
| erably above par they do not want to carry this
thing too far, but profess to intend to crush out
| the Wabash people. The latter company have
only the interest on their bonds to pay, and no
| dividends on their stock, but this trouble Will
| set them back so that IL Will take them two or
| three years to recover. 1t is a very bad thing
| all around. The companies meetings will be
kept up I'LL perhaps Monday evening.
But the great principle involved has already
| been settled In favor OF the WABASH road. They
| proposed that they should be allowed TO build
| road, 100 miles OF which is yet uncompleted
alorg the southern part OF Iowa to Council
Bluffs, TO connect With the Union Pacific at
omaha. The c, b: and G. proposed to circum-
vent them by building lines running parallel
| TO the Wabash, especially one from PEORIA to
| Chicago, and at other points each road threat
ened TO outgeneral the other at great expense
finally on Thursday the companies at the meet
Ing agreed to allow the Wabash people to con-
struct the line from Prairievine to Shenandoah
near Council Bluffs to be operated Jointly nv
the Wabash and c. Il. and Q. In doing this the
Vanderbilt folks gave away their entire advan-
tage for now they will have to withdraw the
Wabash into Chicago. Then, OF course win
come some day the question OF admit ag the
WABASH into the pool heights OF the Iowa sys.
TEN, from Chicago eastward.
Now, assume, from what has been done so
far, that we will within five years have new
trunk line from New York and Philadelphia to
Chicago, st. Louis and Omaha, based On the
Wabash system from Toledo to Omaha. To
! make the system and circuit perfect Jay Gould's
party have Incorporated company to build
road from Buffalo to Toledo. That gets the sys-
m f0~ IL,
lance and near TO the Lake Shore road From
Buffalo east the road now about to be built
from Binghampton to Buffalo, to connect the
Delaware and Lackawanna, settles the matter
OF possibility OF the new trunk line, for Gould
can control at any time he desires the Delaware
and Lackawanna road. Then with the New
YORK Central Erie, Pennsylvania, Baltimore
and Ohio and Wabash systems we win have five
trunk lines. The sixth will be the Chesapeake
and Ohio.
The agreement then for the present Is, as
settled tonight, that the Wabash line gets from
Chicago 10 Omaha AS to their getting into the
city OF Chicago, they must bide their time. The
prosecuting roads are willing to dissolve the In
functions If the court is, but the courts must
decide. That Is simply question OF tlme-the
decision.
1t is further agreed that one quarter of all
passengers In and out OF Chicago shall so to the
Wabash road That each company engaged Ia
cutting rates shall take up the tickets and re-
pert Them with the price at which sold. ne ne
question Of freight Is LEFT 20 arbitration for the
they set inside the city limits Of Chicago After
getting Tito the city they are to be allowed to
90 Ito the pool This has settled very serious
Question L., railroadlng satisfactorily to all con-
cefLed.
TIE POLITICAL SITUATION.
Glerailroad war Is easy to write about, bl.
Tie political situation IS not. The political
situation. per Sc, exists In these facts: The
Indiana election took the starch out Of the
democIacy: and they have been trying ever
SlBce TO get some preteXt to recover on. but
only made things worse by getting General
Hancock TO write letters On the tariff The
first straw has been the Garfield Chinese letter.
but II Is probably too late for il to do any good
Whether It Is genuine or not is yet question
Dut IL LOOKS very suspicious. Both parties are
hard at work In this state. 1t Is very well un-
oersrood that 1t VIII be the pivotal state OF the
campaign. Up to today everything has gone,
since the Ohio and Indiana election, republican
ward. Betting is 300 on Garfield to $50 $50 and
$40 on Hancock, both on the general result aud
on this state next Tuesday week The decision
regarding the nomination for mayor which
may possibly be made tonight, will be apt to
change the prospects one way or the other
because much depends upon the character of
the man nominated. There Is nothing plngent
TO say about the general drift of political affairs
tonight, because the sele ton OF mayor by the
republicans Will set things in better position.
THE CHINESE LETTER
Waldo Hutchins, congressman from the West.
chester county district came down from White
Plains this morning, vigorously enthused with
an idea that Garfield will certainly be defeated
because Of his alleged letter ON the Chinese
question. He says he talked with numbers OF
republican working men, and that they are
changing their opinions rapidly, charging that
Garfield is the enemy of well paid LABOR. He
filled the members OF the national democratic
committee full OF hope With his eXcitedly mar
rated discovery. AT the republican headauar-
tiers they ridlcule the story, and claim that they
viii yet prove that Garfield never wrote that
letter. Whether he did or not, it is probably
too late for it to have much influence here. be-
cause the protective tariff business has already
get It's york in for the republicans. With re-
gard to that letter, 1t has done great deal for
The new penny paper,-Truth which has made
amazing progress in the few months OF its eX-
15tence, and cut terribly into the circulation OF
the sun. Yesterday their new Hoe press. ca
pable of $4,000 impressions an hour, was COM
pleted and set to work. To day they print half
million copies, 100000 Of which are 10 be sent
to San Francisco, and 100000 to be distributed
by the democratic committees east of the
Rocky mountains. 1t contains fac sInte
or the alleged Garfield Chinese letter, and also
a fac smile OF the envelope Mr. Hart OF this
paper. says he showed the letter to Speaker
Randall, who identified it as Garfield's manu-
script, and also to Mr.. Aoram S. Hewitt who
compared 1t with many OF Gar1eld'S letters and
says it Is his, body and signature Mr. Hart
says he VIII produce every proof to show ex-