The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-01-13

were lacking they had to climb over the
rough oobblestones of the levee and along
some of the dingiest and most unpleasant
of the city's streets to reach street car.
There were no cable or electric cars at that
time, and transit was slow. In 1874 the
| great Eads bridge, one of the worlds en-
| gineering triumphs, was dedicated. After
that all trains from the east crossed the
| river and ran through a smoky, i'll smell
| ing tunnel to ramshackle railroad sta
ton at Twelfth street, station which
would have disgraced city of %, 600 in
| habitants.
The growth of the city soon carried
| traffic beyond the capacity of this bridge.
| Much freight was transferred on boats,
1 and still there were long delays in the
transfer of passenger trains across the
| bridge. All this the people of the city bore,
! not patiently, but because there seemed no
| refuge.
| Finally a movement for the construction
| of another bridge was started. 1t was
| built in the interest of commerce; hence
| 1t was the g Merchants bridge, and the
| Merchants Terminal company, an auxil-
| larry concern, received valuable concessions
| from the city. Several railroads agreed to
use the bridge, and it looked as though
| the monopoly Of the Eads bridge were to be
| broken. But, like many similar enter
prises, the Merchants bridge went into
| the hands of the opposition. There will
be no competition between the bridges.
| The monopoly still exists. But at least
| there is another inlet and outlet for trains,
and that is the matter of chief Importance
! to the people who are coming to the con-
| vention next June. One-half of those who
| come from tho east will cross the river on
the old Eads bridge and go through the
! tunneI-no longer smoky and unpleasant.
I But the other half will come across the
J Merchants bridge and reach the Union
! station by way of an elevated road running
down the levee to Poplar street and then
| west.
New Union Station.
The Union station which will receive
! them is not the collection of tumble down
| sheds which provoked the visitors of 1888
to profanity and in which so much valua-
BILE baggage was mislaid. The visitor of
1888 was fortunate II he managed to find
his trunk before he left the city.
The visitor of 1896 will alight from his
train in the finest railroad station in the
world. 1t was dedicated and opened Sept.
1, 1894, and it is the marvel of all who
come to St. Louis. 1t cost Sc. 500, 600, and
it covers 424, 900 square feet of ground.
The great station at Frankfort covers
8S1, 900 feet; the Boston and Maine sta
ton in Boston, 246, $50 feet; the station
at Cologne. 211, 600 feet; tho Royal Blue
station in Philadelphia, eos, 600 feet, and
the Pennsylvania railroad station in Phil
adelphia, 179, os6 feet.
There are 81 tracks in the Union sta
ton here, and their aggregate length is
81 miles. The train shed is $50 by COG
feet. There are 10 miles of tracks in the
switching system, and there are side
tracks to accommodate thousands of sleep
ing cars. The interlooking tower, from
which the delegates trains will be switch
ed in and out of the station, operates 1873
levers, $50 switches and 108 signals and is
the largest in the United States.
In the main building of the station,
which is COG feet broad, there is first the
midway" so feet wide, running the full
breadth of tho building, opening on the
one side into the train shed and on the 9TH
er into the waiting room and restaurants
of the station. These waiting rooms are
very large and perfectly equipped, but up
stairs is a room which looks as though it
had been constructed for convention
crowds. It is q huge room with vaulted
ceiling. Ten thousand people can gather
in it at time.
There are many broad approaches to the
station, which is at the corner of Eight
zenith and Market streets, a mile or a
mile and q quarter from the principal
hotels. Street car lines run on both sides,
and the cars reach every point in the city
directly or by transfer. They are trolley
IOr CG. LOUIS Is Will bildb
much abused electric system. The cars
are without question the finest in the
United States. They are twice the length
of the ordinary cars, and their equipment
is like that of Pennsylvania railroad pas
senger coach.
Hotel Accommodations Doubled.
St. Louis has improved her facilities for
entertaining crowds in another direction
too.
To accommodate the delegates to the
convention in June next st. Louis has the
Southern hotel, which is one of the largest
hotels in the west and one of the best
equipped; the new Planters House Quilt
on the site of the old Planters hoteD,
which cost 50, 600, 600, and which has 400
rooms (these two hotels will accommodate
1, 100 people each) the Lindell hotel, which
is nearer the convention hall than any of
the other large houses, and which will
hold S00 the St. Nicholas, a new ''bijou''
hotel, opposite the postofice, accommodate
ing 500; the now Terminal hotel, which is
part of the Union station, which has
room for 400, and dozens of smaller houses,
including the Laclede, the St. James,
Moser's and Hurst's. These are in the
business section. There are several new
hotels in the west end, which are occupied
chiefly by families in the winter, but
which will be available for the delegates
and their friends in convention week.
The West End, the Grand Avenue and
Beers hotel are among them.
The chief rallying places for the poll
ticians will be the Southern, the Lindell,
| the St. Nicholas and the Planters, for at