The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-05-14

share, payable July 2: the Adams Express
Company the regular semi-annual dividend
OF per cent.
Paul Morton. second vice president: w.
b. BiddIe. freight traffic manager: G. T:
Nicholson, passenger traffic manager or
the Santa Fe. returned on Saturday from
the Pacific coast.
Harry Hoover, secretary to George
Graves, superintendent OF the Indiana, De-
catur & Western, who has been quite Ill
for some weeks, is better, and expects TO
resume work to-day.
The Pennsylvania Company has an army
of painters at work along the Panhandle
and the Fort Wayne roads. Bridges, tow
ers. fences and station buildings are being
repainted and cleaned up. and everything
is being placed in first-class shape.
The Chicago & Eastern Illinois and the
Cotton Belt will, tomorrow. inaugurate
daily through train service, via Thebes,
ILL.,. between Chicago and Fort Worth.
Tex. The new route to the Southwest will
prove a formidable competitor of the old
lines.
No railroad publication has had such an
extensive circulation as the four-track Sc
ries of the New York Central entitled, "A
Message to Garcia" II is predicted that
before the demand is supplied one million
copies will be distributed, as all classes
of professional and business men are in
terested I'm the information it affords.
The advance made in train speed in the
past twenty or more years is shown In a
time table OF the Pacific. now the Missouri
Pacific. dated Dec. 3, 1866. The fastest
time then for all trains between st. Louis
and Kansas City, 2S3 miles, was fifteen
hours, and nineteen hours were required
for what is done to-day In seven. eight and
nine hours.
A large part of the Erie's main line be-
tween Buffalo and Chicago has been relaid
with underground steel rails in order to
permit the operation of heavier rolling
stock that has been ordered. Faster train
ino hntr Vnrl< nd prs
will be inaugurated soon. The condition of
the Erie branch lines is said TO be better
now than the condition of the main line
few years ago.
trunk lines says: 1.-The settlement of the
New York Central strike on the basis of
granting the men their full demands has
changed the trunk line situation considera-
bly,. 1t means an advance in operating
\expenses of such large proportions that
unless something is done to increase the
ton mile rate the trunk lines will cut down
their net profits considerably"
Officials of one OF the accident insurance
companies have made arrangements with
the various railroads for the use by the
insurance agents of the three-wheeled gas
motor. The ordinary motor carries three
persons and can be run thirty miles an
hour. Whenever a motor is required by an
agent of the COMPANY an employe of the
road over which he desires TO run will be
furnished to operate the car.
The freight traffic officials of the Penn
sylvania line west will start, this morning.
for weeks visiting to the more important
points on the system Thursday they will
be in Indianapolis. going hence to Louis
vile. ID. T. McCabe, freight traffic man.
ager, and ]. Il. HILL general freight agent
of the lines west will head the party. The
purpose of the trip Is to get in touch with
the public and become fully acquainted
with the business conditions.
THE solution Of the trunk line situation
Journal by complete absorption of out
side lines by New York Central and Penn
sylvania. Under the circumstances Ii will
not be surprising to hear with increasing
definiteness rumors of absorption by one
or the other or both of these large systems
Of those lines which at present are out
side of these systems. notably Lehigh Val
ley, Reading. Erie and others.
The organization of the Wabash and
Lackawanna fast freight lines was not
strictly new thing, but Ii placed that line
on an equal basis with the others of the
kind. 1T will operate over the Wabash and
Lackawanna railroads and will eventually
have its own manager and agents. Already
three agents have been appointed-Fred-
erick +. Singer at Chicago, N. r. Adri-
anac. at St Louis, and George c. Osborne
at Detroit. These are all Wabash appoint
ments.
While the Rock Island is the first line to
give publicity to the action toward relieving
the agents from the effects of the anti
commission agreement. many of the more
prosperous Western lines, notably the Bur
| lington, the Alton and the Santa Fe, are
quitely preparing plans for the advance
ment of salaries of agents in their employ
Between 10000 and 5000 agents were af
| fected by the presidents action in abolish
| ing the payment of the fees for passenger
| business, some having their incomes re-
duced hundreds of dollars monthly. The
apparent Willingness of the Canadian Pa
cfic to enter into the agreement If certain
| conditions could be brought about Is
| thought to be the reason for the roads eff
| forts to come to the agents rescue.
| The Pennsylvania Company has plans
well under way for the erection OF new
| freight depots on the ground purchased
some months ago north of the Unior
| tracks, between Pennsylvania and Della
ware streets, the companys present depot
| facilities being entirely too limited for the
| increasing business. The improvement
means more than may seem on its face Il
| being the intention to do the business nov
| done at the Vandalia freight depot in the
| new depots. 1t is proposed to straighten the
| curves west of the Union Station, which
! cannot be changed until a portion of the
| present Vandalia depot is torn down
| Trains coming into the Union Station train
/ sheds are now so numerous that 1t Is abso
| lutely necessary to take out the curves be
| tween Senate avenue and the west end o
| the trainsheds. Plans for such an improve
ment have already been prepared and will
1 doubtless he carried ont at an early day