The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1883-03-27

Close.
Thursday.
-u1~-e-@--
RAILROADS..

ANt.A hNA CNNAills NdNhCu uNAN NAEhAg Ahi'NN
| of the Northern Pacific railroad track. The
break commenced about twelve miles east
| OF Ainsworth, Wyoming territory, and ex-
tends nearly to Rtzyille.
| All train men on the WABASH system are
to be uniformed, the company adopting the
same style of uniform and rules rs those on
the Pittsburg, Cincinnati Il st. Louis, An
executive committee has been appointed to
carry out the order.
Freight receipts from San Franciso at
! Portland are becoming so heavy that 1t will
be necessary for the Oregon Railway and
Navigation company toput on an extra
steamship, which is proposed.
| The st. Louis & San Francisco will issue
a circular announcing the opening OF its
White River branch between Ozark and
Sparta, Il distance of eight miles. The line
is now completed twenty-eight miles from
| Springfield, Missouri, and the work OF con-
struction toward Harrisonyllle, Arkansas,
is still progressing. Harrlsonville is 100 miles
southeast of Springfield.
Colonel James Hill, superintendent OF the
| Vandalia, who also has in force on his road
an order prohibiting train-men from coup
ling cars by hand and in requiring the use
of a stick in so doing, said this morning.
That order was issued nearly two years
ago, and since that time not one man who
obeyed IL to the letter has been injured
while making couplings, In every instance
in which man had his hand crushed 1t was
dore while dsobeying this order. The or
der issued last states that men disobeying
are made liable to dismissal from our EN-
| ploy, and il hurt while coupling by hand
they need expect no help from the COM
pany."
| A syndicate of prominent politicians and
| capitalists has been formed to build u rail
road through the northern portion OF Mexico
aud connect with the Gould and Hunting
ton system Of the southwest. Colonel n.
| X. Owen a civil engineer, is the chief foun-
der of the scheme and has already laid out
q line which will have its northern and east
ern terminal point at spot twenty miles
southeast OF the little frontier town OF Eagle
Pass. From thence it will proceed in gen
eral southwestern direction across the Next
can republic to the Pacific coast, TO the
western terminus at Topolovampo bay, in
the state of Sinaloa. The road enjoys a
good subsidy from the government, as well
as many other valuable privileges. The
syndicate is known as the Topolovampo
railroad company, and among its members
are Senator Window, j. G. Blaine, John
Price, Fred Grant, II. Prince and L. b.
Lewis.
The Chicago Tribune, commenting on
the circular of Manager Frink, urging ST.
Louis patronage of the Harrison line ol
steamships, so that weekly instead OF a
torlnightly steamer from New Orleans may
be had, SAYS:
at appears from the above that the much
talked-Of division OF business by the Misss.
sippi barge lines and via New Orleans
amounts to very little at present. There is
but one iortnightly steamer leaving New
Orleans now for Liverpool, and the bust
ness is stated to be commemorative. While
the effort of the ST. Louis freight bureau to
encourage the water route via New Orleans
is quite laudable, yet there is but little
prospect that much business will 20 via
New Orleans to Europe while lake naviga.
ton is open. The Mississippi water route
will never be able TO compete successfully
against the lake route from Chicago, but
when lake navigation is closed during the
winter months the Mississippi river route
might, with proper efforts, be made a seri'
Gus competitor to the railroad lines"
When tue Illinois Central road was pro
jected in, 1850 the state drove q sharp bar.
gain with the company by granting it Ger.
tain lands on condition thai it should pay
to the state per cent. of the gross earnings
perpetually. The result is that Illinois
now receives from the Illinois Central
company alone more than the
entire annual expenses of the state govern
ment, in addition to the incalculable adyan
tages resulting from the construction OF the
railway through the unoCCupied prairies
Last year the companys charter tax
J amounted TO $396,03G; in the last eight
years II has aggregated no less than S2,Si3,
900, This result ought to be satisfactory
but some of our legislators cry more, " anc
have started an Investigation" ofthe books
of the company, under the pretext that tn,
state has not been fairly dealt with, al
though Governor Cullom ex.oflicio director
on behalf of the state, has testified that tht
: company's report is correct. The company
however, invites the legislature to MAKE
the fullest investigation, and u special com
mittee has been sent on o little pleasure
= trip for the purpose, The proceeding sayor
of an unnecessary annoyance of the railway
: company, growing out of the common
prejudice against corporations which in
tensiies in proportion as, under wise man
agement, they prosper.
Taking into sccount the time since Gen
eral John b. Gordon turned his attention
to railroad matters, about a year ago, and
that he was financially poor man, We
think he has displayed as much sagacity
and met with as much success as any OF The
veterans who have made railroads life
long study and pursuit. In 1880 General
Gordon resigned his position of United
States senator on the threshold ofhis second
= term, and bought the franchise and road
bed oi the Georgia Western railroad, which
had been graded about thirty miles west
| from Atlanta, years ago, and abandoned by
some OF tho most famous railroad men in
the south. People grinned at each Other
and remarked that Gordon had better
stayed in the senate, and secuted the idea
that he could build the Georgia Western.
He organized his company changed the
name of the road to the Georgia Pacific
and to-day trains are running regularly
from Atlanta to Admission, Alabama, l0l
miles, and ers this wear closes the road will
be completed to Birmingham, Alabama,
170 miles from Atlanta,
But General Gordon does not rest with
one great railroad that will make Atlanta
twice as great and powerful as she Is now
He thinks railroad IL needed In Florida,
b from Jacksonville to Tampa and Key West
lie goes to the Florida legislature and OBJ.
tains liberal chartc; for the international
Railroad & Steamship company, with q
grant Of 7,0OO,000 acres OF public lands; but
the doubler smiles because the legis'
lature has granted millions of acres,
to dozens of schemes, more than the state
owns. The ink was hardly dry on the gov
ernor's signature to General Gordon's char
ter when, with hundreds of laborers, he
commenced to make the dirt fly on the In
ternational railroad.
A Gainesville, Florida, dispatch says
"Gangs of men have cleaned two miles oil
the line OF General Gordons railway from
Ocala toward Tappa, and grading has be-
gun. THIS Is the old Tropical railroad
whose contract would have expired that
day II work had not begun. Great surprise
Ia i,li here at the promptness with which
General Gordon has commenced opera.
tons"