Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-10-24
VANDERBILT IN CITY
Young Cornelius Here With Di-
rectors of the Rock Is
land Railroad.
PARTY ON AN INSPECTION TOUR
Board Increased Two Members.
Pushing Work on MiIwau.
kee Gut off.

The directors OF the Rock Island
road held meeting in Chicago tc-
day to add two members to the board. |
After the meeting the officers and
directors of the company left in a
special train for tour of inspection
over the lines of the road. Young
Cornelius Vanderbilt Is one Of the
party, having been specially invited
by Ogden Mills to participate in the
trip as his guest The fac that Cor
nelieus Vanderbilt came west from
New York in company with A. B
Stickney, president. and Sam c.
Sticknev, his son, and made a trip
with the latter over the Chicago
Great Western as far as Oelwein, Ia,
together with the fact that Mr. Van
derbilt is accompanying the Wander
bilt directors on their trip over the
Rock Island. has been em braced by
the Wall street spectators as an OPP
portunity to spread the rumors that
young Wander bilt's mission here is to
buy the Great West tern and Rock Is
land railroads and make them part of
the Vanderbilt system. This report
is denounced as absurd, insomuch
that young Cornelius Wander bilt
practically was disinherited by his
father and is given no voice in the
management of the Vanderbilt lines.
All Vanderbilt deals are negotiated
by w. X Vanderbilt and j. PIerpont
Morgan.
The party arrived in this city at 4
o'clock this afternoon. From hers
the Rock Island Off GERS and directors
will first 60 to Denver and then make
a trip over the company's lines in
Oklahoma and Indian Territory, wind
ing up with trip over the new line
from Liberal, Kss., to FL PAso, Tex,
which will be completed and opened
for traili; about Jan. l next. This
extension is considered of great i'm
portance by the officers and dire ctors,
a 5 it connects their road at FL Paso
with the Southern Pacific and Mexican
Central railroads and gives it the
short line from Chicago to southern
California and the City of Mexico.
Operations on Short Line.
The work of building the Chicago,
Milwaukee * st. Paul short line is
being pushed as rapidly as mammoth
steel shovels can do the work. Be-
tween Ottumwa and Muscatine all is
activity and between Muscstine and
Davenport the work of double track
ing the Rock Island to accommodate
the Milwaukee is being carried on
rapidly. Numerous camps are scat
tered along the right of way and con-
tractors and sub-contractoTs are tax
ing every advantage of the foe
weather to push the work.
The large steam shovels are now on
their way to the place where they
will be put to work. They were
taken by train to Let's. One is made
by the Vulcan Iron works of Toledo.
and is owned by the contractors, Nc
Intosh Brothers, and has been used a
mum Der of years. The other is built
| by the Bucyrus company at Mill
waukee, and is a new one. just Pur-
chased By McDougall d YaIe for the
sum of 81, 600. From Let's they are
being taken to the working place. a
distance of about seven miles over
land. The Bucyrus shovel weighs 55
tons and one can scarcely imagine
how these monsters are moved along
country road.
These shovels have been making
their way along at the rate of about u
milo day. They are now about a
half mile this side of the place owned
by j. w. Indy. 1t will be the fret
of the month before they are to work
in earnest Toey are moved by build
ing track in front of them and as
fast as they pass over it the track is
taken up and carried on. A forcs of
about twenty-five men and 10 teams
is at work. They work quite rapidly
and the Systematic management and
methods of working are very inter-
esting. Sometimes the big machines
get started down the grade and it
will taye the comb jned efforts of all
the men to get the wheels properly
blocked aud the shovel stopped before
it runs off the track. The greatest of
care is used and when one contem-
plates what is being accomplished it
is little short of marvellous.