The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1893-01-06
NATTER AND INTELLECT
Progress of the Worlds Fair City
in Both Directions.
Elevated Roads Being Tsuilt-DihicuIties
Arising from Local Conditions-A Club
That IL becoming the intellectual
Center for the Worlds Fair.
ESPECIAL Correspondence.l

things IN big city is tile elevated ra a
road.
Chicago is in the experimental stage,
at present, with regard to elevated
railroads.
In New York you have big city
strung out on long and comparative
" narrow island grouped about one
main thoroughfare. All travel is con-
commodities almost every body. Its pat
ronage is absolutely secured.
Chicago is built on a different plan.
Starting from central point south and
east of the junction of the two branches
of the river it spreads in every direc-
ton except to the east, where it is
bounded by Lake Michigan. Broad
prairies surround it on all sides. Orig
inally it spread chiefly north and south
along the shore Of the lake, but Of late
years it has been growing westward
out into the prairies and is approaching
an almost square form. Its diameter
east and west is almost as large as
north and south, considering what is
properly the city, that is, the well
settled portion, not considering the
legal boundaries of the city, which ex-
tend many miles beyond. For Chicago
is magnificent city and a city of mag
nificent distances. You can travel TWEEN
ty-five miles in a straight line without
getting beyond the city limits.
Chicago, then, is a squarely built
city. Everything converges towards a
center from all directions. This fact
accounts, in part, for the tall build
ings for which the city has become
known. Where the city is long and
narrow, business has better oppor-
tunity to spread, for almost everybody
passes the same way and there is no
need of accommodating persons COM
ing from all directions. This neces-
sity. however, exists in Chicago and
the result is the crowding together of
business in small section and the
erection of sl1yscrapers.
The square, fiat form of the city has
an important bearing upon elevated
roads. 1t makes them necessarily eX
periments. There could not be, in any
direction. such Il condition as exists in
New York where everything is crowd
ed around one main artery. 1t was
necessary to start at a central point
and confine the road to a certain por-
ton of the city.
The south side comes nearest to the
conditions in New York. 1t is long
and narrow. stretching to the south be
tween Lake Michigan and.,the south
branch OF the Chicago river 1t is
grouped about two principal thorough
fares, State street and Wabash avenue,
and the elevated road runs in the alley
be:ween these two. There was not so
much risk attending this enterprise.
The cable lines were overcrowded.
Although the service on them was up
to their capacity they were unable to
take care of the traffic. There was
enough travel to insure large patron
are to this road. which is known as the
Alley l.
The road has been in operation
several months IL is fully launched
upon the world, it has had its trials
and troubles, among them strike of
the engineers, and is now firmly
established. 1t is well patronized,
well managed, and affords comfortable
transportation, although it lands its pas
sengers at Congress street, which is
somewhat outside of the business dis
triet proper. But even this road, al
though more favorably situated than
any other eould be under the peculiar
local conditions, is still struggling for
better opportunities. 1t is reaching
out all over the South side, south of
Thirty-ninth street, in order to enter
other districts. The South side spreads
ont the fartheS south you get, and
there are horse ears and cable cars and
surface railroads, one of which, at
least, gives good suburban service,
while the others only preten to
make an effort to accommodate
local traffic. Still all these lines
absorb good share of the traffic.
There is little doubt that the elevated
road would get good part of it. But
In order to so il will have TO build
quite a network of feeders. And an
elevated road is an expensive thing,
peciaily as the surface roads got their
rights of way, in most cases. when Chi
cago was small and had no idea that she
would ever grow so big as she did.
These roads got rich because, as a GER
tain board of trade man puts it, they
were too lazy to move.
I While the South side alley road is
trying to extend its system into all the
settlements IN the southern part of the
city, two other roads are preparing to
be born. One of them, the Lake street
1,nc I, a.in
and considering its weight has been
tossed about in a remarkably lively
fashion. For it is Il heavy, clumsy
structure. The South side road is
graceful, light, airy by comparison.
There is one solid, central pier and
the track is laid across it, making a
neat-looking structure, almost too
light, one would think, to stand the
great strain upon it, but amply
strong enough, as one feels when he
gets aboard train and feels how
solid is the work. The Lake street
road is built upon the plan of using as
much metal as possible. 1t reaches
clear across the street, the big pillars
on which the roadbed rests are wide.
large, ungainly-loolling things, solid
looking. top. and not broken anywhere
to interrupt the heavy, massive appear
ance. The roadbed darkens the street
so that if one is in company with a
lady on entering the street it seems
that the time has come TO take a kiss,
on the principle that the signal for
kissing is when the train enters tun-
mel
This road was projected and first
financed by Chicago's boss gambler and
political wire puller. He had the
pull in the city council to get the
franchise and beginning was made