The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-03-22
THE MONON RAILWAY
CONDITION OF THE PROPERTY DIS
CUssED HI PRESIDENT THOMAS.
Proposed Terminal improvements ut
Observation-Disclosures of Rail-
roads and Coal Operators.

careful inspection. The party consists of
Samuel Thomas, president, and other East
ern capitalists, who are accompanied by w.
Fl. McDoel. vice president and general man
ager; General superintendent Lowell, Chief
Engineer Hall, George w. Kretzinger, gem
eral counsel, and Judge Field, general So
lieitor- The party yesterday came in over
the indianapolis division, returning, last
night, to Chicago. President Thomas spoke
IN the most complimentary terms of the
manner General Manager McDoel had filled
his position and of the ability of his sub
ordinate officers. Since Mr.. Thomas became
president and Mr.. McDoel general man
ager. Mr.. Thomas said $1,s40,oO0 in cash
had been expended in improving the prop
erty, besides the fixed charges paid, with
out creating a floating debt. and to-day
there was no Indiana road which stood bet
ter In financial circles or had a better
standing for meeting all obligations in the
way of fixed charges, payment for sup
plies and labor. He said that go miles of
the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago had
been rebuilt in the last three years. 21,o00
tons of steel rails having been laid, hun
dreds of thousands of crossties put in, and
all important bridges rebuilt with substan-
tial iron structures, resting on firm stone
foundations, two thousand freight cars
added to its equipment, twenty-eight heavy
locomotives ana a large portion OF It's pas
senger equipment renewed The first year
the present management operated the road
e earned s., 100000 in round numbers; in
1884 1t earned $500, 006. and every week this
year has shown increased earnings over the
corresponding weeks of 1894. The road. he
said, was popular with the travelling public
a higher credit and no line running out of
Chicago had a brighter future. In Boston
and New York the credit of the company,
since the present owners came into control,
has not been for a moment questioned. A
considerable sum of the securities of the
road is still held in .sew England. The
company had spent a large sum in improv-
ms its facilities at Chicago and at Louis
vile, and expected, in the near future, TO
spend 100000 in terminal improvements at
Indianapolis; shops at Lafayette are just
turning out work. G. e. Hail, Chief engi-
neer, visited many of the best shops in the
proveinents they had introduced in building
these shops, which would, In every particu-
lar, be complete and ready for occupancy
by. June 1. All the work of building and re-
pairing the company'S equipment will be
none there. - r.
commodity for sale that her citizens do not
appreciate. / refer to the Bedford stone.
When going oyer the main line we visited
the several quarries and found most of the
old ones. in operation and q number of new
ones being opened. In 1894 there We're
of stone, and this stone went to nearly
every State in the Union Nearly every fine
Iesi3 Z limestone me tanen in ay It. Some ne of the tpsN fin nst
Buildings in Connecticut, in sight of the
great brown stone quarries of that State.
sn~entation and durability. There is not a
courthouse or municipal building in Mis-
built of the oolitic stone from the Bedford
quarries. The Vanderbilts, in all their fine
output and shipment Of the present year
bids fair to largely exceed any former year,
as this stone is now sought for where monu-
ments are to be erected, and in sight of the
sandstone quarries of Wisconsin several fine
buildings, constructed from the oolitic
He thought the business Of these quarries
was In its infancy
Regarding l. E; & W. improvements for
tons of new steel rail had already been
purchased for the Indianapolis division and
several hundred thousand crossties for the
eystem. Regarding the decision of Judge
Baker in the Indianapolis, Delphi & Chi
cago case he said It was not worry1ng The
covering the time of a generation would be
had before the company paid such an un-
nothing in it, and the less said about it the
better, although it is not troubling the
Monon people"
Railroad and Coal Combination.
A movement has been started looking to
the forming of a combination between the
roads handling the Indiana and Illinois
Goals and the operators similar to that of
the Ohio roads and coal operators. A
soh'iehiai WY - Men iesaiuins
the SITUATION says the iormatlon OF the lat
ter combination will force the Indiana and
Illinois coal interests to combine FOR self-
-.a.-.,.. ..D.. eau-u -
pfutecuon. bue lew, saiu tniS sentle-
man, understand what can be accom-
plisbed thro,ph s,,eb a combination II does
cs--s, -
not meaL nisHef prices lor coal, Out steauy,
uniform prices. 1t means doing away with
q large NUMBER OF agents, expensive offices
IN Chicago and other points. the aDo1shing
OF offices w1ch cost $1,000 to 5000 a year to
maintain, and a general cutting down of
expenses. It does away with all induce
ments to cut rates on the part OF the roads,
end all Inducements to cut the price OF
e Svs - a ar AN and sn s = $1,000 ~ II eonnagS II
of coal he is to furnish. Just as much
coal will be sold. and the competition be-
: y 3 tha Dnos h,,t III nart,as n, ~ eoaas VII
margin on the business
For several weeks the roads and tha
nnerafnrs handling fhe Indiana and yIli~
nois Goals have been at loggerheads and
All losing money. vet 1t has moi, n is
stated Increased the sale of coal ten car-
loads~ II is honed to get the combination
I'm operation by the 1t of Nav. when all
present contracts expire. and it has been
Agreed by all roads to restore rates. An
officiai of the INDIANAPOLIS e yincennes. in
sDeaking of the matter. Yesterday said.
.aIvhe Island Coal COMPANY will know inst
how many carloads thew can d;Snosa of and