The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-01-31

Albany via the Lake Shore and MICHIGAN
Southern and the New York Central and
Hudson River railways. Now. with the
enormous volume of business between Chi
cago, the great depot Of the west, and New
York city, the great seaboard port Of
America, IL seems as II a saving of 224
miles IN distance, and a saving of six hours
IN time by express trains would warrant an
outlay sufficient TO accomplish the con-
struction of such railway.
The plan would be to build double track
line with the ultimate view Of making it a
4-track road, having maximum grades not
TO exceed twentY-sx feet to the mile. with
no divergence from a straight line executing
IN cases where such line would strike a
stream OF considerable size longitudinaliy,
ana then the line would be thrown on one
side TO avoid the bed of the stream.
OBJECTIONS NET.
OF course the first objection to be in
stantly urged is the enormous cost of such a
ROAD, and, secondly, that it would entirely
ignore localities Of Importance. In reply to
these objections will say that, although no
surveys have been made of this line. vet I
believe that the same capital Represented bv
the road, Cleveland to New York via
buffalo and Albany, would be ample to
construct this line. Secondly, that this
line would by its greatly reduced dis
lance command all of the through
business between Cleveland and Cat
cago, the great west, and the southwest to
great extent, and would therefore ba able
to ignore local business for the present, and
that on a line 50 pre-eminent in It's capacity
local business of magnitude would grow
with rapldity along its route. Cleveland
would be the western initial point, as all
lines between there and the west would feed
IL, ana another line between Chicago and
Cleveland Is lot required, az least for the
present.
1t may be said that the lines west Of
Cleveland would not surrender their bust
ness at Cleveland to this new road. but the
position Of such road would be 50 strong
that no line could for any length of time
hold out against it.
If in place of building the Nickel Plate
and the West Shore railways capitalists had
put the same money into scheme like this
they would to-day have as good an invest
ment as any in the United States. It is not
necessary to go into statistics showing the
volume Of business that this line might
command; the steady and tremendous
growth of the west assures it all the bust
ness it could do. 1t would be the most mag
niticent achievement that has ever been
consummated on American soil and would
be the greatest railway in the world.
SURE TO BE BUILT SOME DAY.
This article is merely the writing out of a
scheme that has been the study of the writer
for the past fifteen years, and it is his belief
that it is only a question of time as to when
the same will attract capital to its accom-
plishment. The city Of Cleveland would
reap large benefits from the construction Of
this line and would become without doubt
the largest railway center Outside of Chi
cago) on this continent.
Cleveland should and can afford to take
this matter earnestly IN hand and at least
furnish the money TO have a survey made
on the line herein described and estimates
furnished which would be necessary to en-
list capital. 1t is the belief of this writer
that the men interested in the Lake Shore
and New York Central railways are more
vitality interested in the construction of
this line than any other body of men, for if
controlled by any other company it would
take largely from their earnings and would
become the dictator to them Of rates, while
If they built and controlled it they could
defy all competition between the west and
east, could put all their through business
upon it and devote their existing lines to To-
cal business, which is rapidly growing to
dimensions that require all of their facil-
tiles.
The time is surely coming when this
scheme will take form and get itself under
way, and although it may not be within
the life time of this writer it nevertheless is
in the future certainty.
Trulv YOffrs