The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1898-01-08
THE L. P. G w. RAILWAY.


of the LIST, has the following to say
OF our projected line of railway:
"Anew line of railroad, which will
be built in this State during the year
1898, is the Lake Providence &
Western Railroad, line projected
from Lake Providence, East Carroll
parish, La, on the west bank of the
Mississippi river TO point not yet
determined on the Houston Central
Arkansas and Northern Railroad.
The Lake Providence and Wes-
tern Railroad is limited corpora
ton, dnly chartered under the laws
of the State of Louisiana on Aug.
6, 1897, and it is composed OF the
best business men of the town of
Lake Providence. Immediately
after the incorporation of the com
pany, the following officers were
elected to serve for the period of
one year: President, J. K. Rams
dell; vice president, Phil Mcclure;
secretary and treasurer, E. J. Ham
ley. The directors of the road are:
J. K. Ransdell, j. S. Millikin, j..
W. Dunn, Z. J. Hamley and Phil
Mcclure.
The road is to run westward from
the Mississippi river at Lake Provi-
dence, traversing the parishes of
East Carroll, West Carroll and
Morehouse, thus giving railway
communications to two parishes,
East and West Carroll, which now
are entirely deprived of 1t. 1t will
be from tbiriy-six TO forty miles
long, running through fine cotton
plantations and magnificent timber
lands, which hitherto have been in.
accessible. Already large saw
mill is operated on the line of the
road.
This road should be a paying in
vestment from the start, and the diff
ferent bonuses already secured by
the company viii guarantee gilt,edge
security to the stockholders. The
town of Lake Providence has voted
in aid thereto mill tax for ten
years on all its assessed properties,
amounting to-day to 5000, 900. The
parish of West Carroll has voted
also in aid thereto mill tax for
ten years on all of its assessed prop
critics, now amounting to 5000, 900.
Besides, the Fifth Louisiana District
Levee Board has sold also to the
same company $4,000 acres of land
in East Carroll at cents an acre;
and the Tensas Basin Levee Board
has sold also to the company $4,000
acres Of their lands in West Carroll
and Morehouse at cents per acre.
The ward In which lies the town of
Mer Rouge, in Morehouse parish, is
to have an election in two weeks for
the purpose of submitting TO the
people of that ward the proposition
of voting 5 mill tax for ten years
in aid of the same railroad, provided
it makes connection with the Iron
Mountain system at Mer Rouge.
This tax would not amount TO over
$1,000 yearly. Other parts of More
house and West Carroll desire to tax
themselves in order to secure the
at Bonita, while the New
Orleans and Northwestern Railroad
is now making overtures to the COM
pany to secure the connection at
Collinston on their road.
All these bonuses have been
secured by the company on the guar
antee that work is to begin no later
than July ], 1898, or they will be
forfeited. The directors feel conf.
dent, however, that they will begin
work on the road long before the APP
pointed time.
The town of Lake Providence,
the eastern terminus of the road, is
jubilant over the prospect of the
road beng soon built. 1t is esti-
mated that, owing to the low river
freights, at least 5000 bales of cot !
ton from the parishes in the interior
would come to Lake Providence for
shipment, which now 60 to New Or
leans by rail. This, with the cotton
which is now shipped from this
landing, would soon necessitate here
a compress, an oil mill, bank, etc.
and it means, of course, large in
crease in short time to the popula-
ton of the now growing town. In
terror towns and parishes on the pro-
iected line would also be much bene-
flied by 1t, for it would give them
freight rates on western
produce, which, instead of coming
all the way by rail, would come to
Lake Providence most of the way
by river, and be re-shipped only a |
short distance on the road.
The directors are now negotia-
ting for the money; they expect to
begin work early in the spring. and |
to have, by fall, the road completed
and running TO the Houston Central
and Northern Railroad.