The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1886-09-04
The OTHER SIDE.
THE KANSAS CITY COMPANY AND
BROADWAY STREET.
Mr.. Newman Erb States His Case
The Powerful Leverage the
Line Has.


Oh v last night, aud was seen shorty
afterwards at the Peabody Hotel by
a repIest sentative OF the APPEAL In
answer to question about the shops,
he said be had been engaged for some
time in perfecting arrangements to
have them located here, but ives
s,oppt d Thursday by Gen. Nettlet IN,
who expressed tho opinion thai the
company would be too muth ham
p,red by the city government to make
1t advantsg Gus.
president Hidden Sc ms to hsve
iorsoit,n a contract he made with us
IN 1884," Mr.. Erb said. "An agree
ment WIS made then, by wh;ch We
were given certain privileges and were
given Ave years 10 taks advantage OF
them, the company, on its part,
obligalinS itse to do certain work in
the way OF paving. Amoog other
things, the company wss gwen the
right to lay a track on Broadway, a
similar privilege was extended 10 the
Memphis, Selma and Brunswick,
which constructed its track After
wards we acquired half interest
in it and have never sought to take
alvant ,ge OF our independent right
until few days ago. That fact seems
to have escaped Pr, sident Hadden's
memory. Ii seems to me he might
have sent for SUPERINTENDENT livau
or requested a conference with Gen.
Net Teton, who WAS in the city several
dave. We were not treating Broad
way a right OF way, but as a strt CT
We were simply taking advantags o
the privilege given Us by the U ty
Council in 1881 because We needed
the track in our business and becau
the right was ab lut 10 expire by Inn
italion. We have done everything
we uld for the benefit of the city,
not because we loved Memphis ept-
| eli ,lly, but for the reason tlat II has
been to our interest to build it IL 9.
| We named the first lice the Kansas
CITY, Springfield and Memphis, ali our
o'ganiz atoms in Tennessee, Mississippi
A. d Alabama, parts Of the line o
Birmingham had the name OF Msm-
phs somewhere in the tit Q and the
whole line was known rs the Kansas
CITY, Memphis and Birmingham. The
word Memphis he'd place in the
name of t1e company Organized 10
build a bridge over the river at tbs
point, and We intended to build shops
here, ss have s lid, and to make this
tbs headquarters of the system ca t oil
t1e Mississippi" =,
Tie Kansas City, SprinRfi sd and
Memphis Railroad Company 8 ens to
have the whip hand in the grain and
provision businf IS in the SouthUe t.
The { flowing, from the Chicsgo Times,
is of absorb ng intere 10 Memphis
dealers. The tempest in a tsapo
on the cut ing of provision ,ates ou OF
Caicago to NJ, mphis and Southees'' IN
points has about su' SIDED, ard tie
40 cement OF the int,r stsd rod f,
whereby the rate is being male -
cents per 100 pourd', Is teipg sdhsted
to. The ruytlon has had one OF c +,
and tina, to call attention 10 the f,"'
that so far 40 the Southern States IRA
concerned, Chicago cannot CONT etc
with Klns,s City for the supply 4
either coarse Grain or picking hous ;
produc 8, and unjust yield to the intv
table and withdraw from competlt on,
Memphis has come the distr bu ins
point for this class of a TIC g.
and iha opening Of the Kansas
City, Springfield and MemphIt
line, short cut OF 4S7 mi es
gave natural channel for the TIA 8
portstion of provisions ADD gain iron
Kaneas City to Memphis In any al
tempt to compete, Chicago is 1T tn'
di,advantage of just the amouot o
freight charges between Ksntas Oily
and Chicago, or, in other worde, praiI
and provisions are laid down at Mem
phis by the Kansas City aud MemphiI
line vt the same rate, or less than TIL
cost of the haul from Kansas City Il
Chicago. AS market IA e5 OF me All
and grain at Kansas Ci y are at
figure le4s than the cost of the hau
from Kansas Ci y 10 Chicago, the lat
ter point is out OF the race, st. Loui
is affected, although to a less degree
being nearer the point of dietribu ion
but 1t is at a disadvantage, owing t
the Southwestern Railway Association
lines not being willing to sacrifice ih
the earnings acciuing from local rae
between Kansas Guy and ct. Louis
for the sake of dividing the through
business with the Mempbi, line
While Chicago is losing in this direC
tea there is tendency tower,
an equalization of the loss II
one direction by the gain II
another. The statistics Of the South
we tern Railway Association demon
strate that, as the east b und m we
ment falls off the west bound increase
almost in equal proportion. Thus, b,
reason OF railway development in tn
Southwest, Chicago loses its Commsn
OF the coarse products, live stock an
grain seeking the newer outlets, sn
gains as q distributing point for tn
higher classes Of freight, merchandise
etc. A prominent railroad manager
speaking Of the above facts, remarke
tnat ths same tendency to diver
G are freight existed in the Nortt
west, where The Lake Superior lime
wers now taking the larger share {
the grain from thai section, aud wit
the comp elton OF the Salt Ste. Mari
: route this diversion wou d not be cor
fined TO the season OF navigation.
The Kansas City competition IS be
ing fetin another and rather une1
pectsd direction, and the central tra6
and trunk lines are the sufferers
is ess-rted that the Kauses City
. sprlngf Id aud Memphis, which cor
meets wi h the Chesapeake and Oni
! system at Memphis, Is pIorating wit
that road on stuff destined for Rict
mond and the Southern Atlsnti
States, and thst the rates made by tbi
: route are from.3 to cents lower tina
via Baltimore, NolfIlk, or the coai
routes. There Is no meeting this n
duction unless the Southwestern raj
way lines would tgree 10 prorMe wit
the Central traffic reads, which The
would hardly do under sny ciicun
stances, a. they would rGiee a how
from local shippers at once and b
forced to Teduc4 local tariffs in pro
portion. Altogether, the Kansas Cit
rinOfield and Mamnhia il "A diHtui |