Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-12-10

Strong. then the vice president and general
manager. was full of fire and light. and
try by storm. Only two obstacles were in
his way. One was the ultra conservative
president. who was an able fnancier, but
not a practical railroad man, and the other
was the presende in Colorado of the Dem
line extending from Denver to Pueblo.
with branches south and west from the
latter point It. Mr. Mr.. stT9ns r knew the ! Financial financial
people a~ffectionately called it, and was
eager to push his lines into its territory
But Mr.. Nickerson refused to let anything
OF the kline be done, aEd pretracted nego-
Finally n lease was c~onsummated, Mr..
Nickerson personally supervising the prep
aration of the papers. This lease was
Fee on the 18th of December of the same
year. The operation of the road under this
lease was continued until June II, 1879,
when the Rio Grande ~repudiated the lease
and by physical force regained possession
of the road. The United States court re-
stored the property to the Santa Fe on the
10th of July. 1879. and on the 14th of the
following August put 1t in the hands OF a
receiver. Mr.. Strong matured plans to take
the road from the receiver. but Mr.. Nick
erson would not cooperate
Santa Fe line to Leadville. The grade was
practically completed and twenty-five miles
of the track laid when. on July II. 1879:
AT the request of the Rio Grande people.
Prior to this the Santa Fe had achieved
mountain. Mr.. Strong had been overland
to. Santa Fe and secured the legislation
he needed under which to build through
the territory. He demanded authority of
Mr.. Nickerson to build into New Mexico
at once. Mr.. Nickerson refused; but was
alive presented by Mr.. Strong, which
caused him to name a sum of money which
make a location through Ration canon into
New Mexico. Mr.. Robinson and Mr.. Nc
Murtrie. chief engineer of the Rio Grande,
reached Trinidad the same night. McMur-
tries men went to bed. Mr.. obinson pressed
on and located his line that night on the
o'clock next morning began the location
Of his line on the south side of the noun
trie appeared on the a south sid Side Of the
mountain. too late. Had McMurtrie Sc
cured this. pass the Santa Fe road might
gauge of the Rio Grande would have en-
abled it to traverse New Mexico quickly
its " snfsh1y:, The o sertf the fe Ra sons'r aSoa1
Christmas, 1889. Afterwards the switch
back was abandoned for a tunnel pre-
rock.
Between the time when the Rio Grande
the receivership ended All controversy
ali in the first half Of Ys~7s-occnrred the
Rio Grande war This was war indeed.
armed and in the field in true soldier fash
ion: The officers on both sides-Mr. Strong
aha P Pair ao and Mr.. fS %eM shs sanf for f the f Ria
Grande-were not only combatants in the
field, but were also fighting. a legal war.
meant to be half the time a rioter and the
other half a fugitive. To be a judge was
to be in more than a physicians danger
or night. The newspapers were spouting
fire with every issue. Colorado was never
SO excited. Finally the main body of the
roundhouse at Pueblo and made to sur
render. The thrilling. occurrences of this
indeed.
The romance involved in the history of
than limited at here. There can never be
again in this country such a life as was
led by President Strong: Strictly within
as Columbus to discover new commercial
worlds. declare war and wage it, organize
powers of long standing replace old civiii-
cations with new-and do all this asking
no mems leave, save those. whose money
was to be risked, or those. few in number.
whose tasks We're somewhat like his and
in the same field. Under his administra-
was mostly settled. Colorado was developed,
New Mexico was transformed, Arizona was
awakened. Texas, California and Mexico
and all were guyed to the great Western
metropolis, Chicago. Towns were located
and built. cities were brought into being,
moved: wars were Iwaged and customs
and precedents established in m
as the chief arbitrator of many destinies.
Law has succeeded much of his individ-
uai power: legislative bodies, courts, gov
%izations. labor organizations-al! these
have now come on the scene: and to Mr..
Marvel has fallen the task of managing
this vast property: in spite of these thwart-
ing and throttling combinations. Thus
the romance in the business has largely
gene. 1t went with the Indian. who once
burned station houses and murdered set
tiers along the line; with the Colorado
very trains on the track: with the drouth
that drove the settlers back and threat
sned ruin to the NH, whole thd new field Of 4r co I'M
valleys: with the riot of new discoveries
OF precious metals. and the incredible in
coming of eager fortune hunters from
every quarter of Of 9ho the hor globe iba 1t went went with with
|. of hardened and reckless humanity which
precedes rigid civilization: with the count
ganized political activity which naturally
gathered about SO great a nucleus Of power
as the railway. 1t went with the advent
of the now omnipresent hand of law and
legal resistance; with the revelations of the
great centennial exhibit. 1t went with the
passing of many of the rare, famous or
notorious men of the day. the men who
made the history of their times: with the
end of the great gulf stream of humanity
that poured out of the old world into the
new; with the fiinging open of Oklahoma.
1t went with the bold break of liberty, in
rushing the new trunk line from the Mis-
souri, river to the Great lakes. 1t went in
all these ways and others, and il went to
stay. The remnant is a vast business ma
chine, the management of which will con-
tinue as heretofore to tax the strongest
men to the limit of their endurance-and
sometimes beyond
Directors and Officers of the Santa Fee
In chronological Order.
Abel. P. T., director, Sep. II, 1850. to
~. o, 1Scc- cecretary Sen Il 1854 IN