The Mena star., 1899-02-08

dent of the trust company bad an old charter for d belt road around Kansas City, but the cost of cut ting through the hills surrounding had deterred any attempt at build ing He mentioned it to Stllwell one day. who immediately re- sponded: ''Let's build it." Kan sas City fnanciers sneered at the
 project but Stilwell got the money and built the road and this was his entrance into railroading. Dl-J
 Early in 1892 he secured con trol of little railroad running south from Kansas City 70 miles, and almost immediately an
 nounced that he proposed to extend
 it south to the Gulf of Mexico, q
 distance of nearly 500 miles. The
 Gould lines, the Santa Fe and the
 Nj. K. x T. all had existing roads
 from Kansas City to Gulf ports.
 There didn't seem any room for
 another road, even to the most
 sanguine. and Stilwells project
 was ridiculed. He started con
 struction work in earnest, how ever, in 1893, the year of the cur
 rency panic, bank failures and
 general smashups everywhere.
 He somehow, sold his bonds, and then, the existing lines finding he was in earnest. began an active opposition, which employed every weapon that wealth, experience and ingenuity could suggest. They fought him in the courts, they contested his right-of- way, fought him in the legislature of every state entered, but Stilwell went steadily forward, buying roads, building the links necessary to connect them, and extending his road south.
 Shortly after the great Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe system went into a receivers hands with its dis astrous results upon the standing of American railroad properties in Europe and this country, Stil- we'll was obliged to raise Sl0,000,- GOO. He went to New York, and Wall street laughed at him. The strongest fnanclers of the street told him to go home and abandon any attempt to raise money when gold dollars were considered ln- different collateral. Stilwell forth with determined to go to Amster- dam.
 In the summer er,of 1896 sStilwell got millions from Holland. and the building of his road went steadily forward while practically all other new enterprises were forced to stop. He built towns, others with fine new dcpots, electric light and water plants, secured immigration, open. ed up timber land, planted vast areas with rice as new crop, and steadily refused to join the traffic agreement of the roads running to the gulf, and disregarded their rates to get business although they forced him to abandon these tac- tics later. The Gulf road, as it is called. reached the Gulf of Mexl- co eighteen months ago. No steamers landed at the point which he elected to make the terminus of the road, and none could. in fact, for lack of deep water. Congress altogether $3,000,- 900 to deepen Sabine pass and Stilwell himself started to dredge Sabine lake when an enormously wealthy New York interest stop ped him with an injunction. Stil we'll grew tired of waiting the re- suit in the courts and began ship canal around Sabine lake seven miles long. In the face of litiga- tion and derision he got the money for it. Five miles of the gigantic ditch, which is cut through blue clay, are finished. The rest will be done in a year.
 Stilwell did not wait for the completion of the road south to begin its northern extension. By purchase of existing roads he secured line to Omaha after announcing that he proposed to tan the wheat fields of Mani