The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1901-10-11
ELECTRIC ROAD.
STEEL TRUST BACK OF PROJECTED LINE
THAT WILL STRIKE PAW PAW.

the West Michigan Traction company
The following detailed statement OF the
purposes of the company is taken from
Tuesdays Chicago Chronicle:
members of the steel trust are behind
an electric railway which will run from
Benton Harbor IN Grand Rapids, Mich,
bisecting the richest fruit country OF
western Michigan.
"The corporation will also run two
lines of steamers, one from chicago 10
Benton Harbor and the other from Ben
ton Harbor to Milwaukee. The boats
are now being built in Toledo and will
have a speed of more than ~ knots
an hour.
"The name of the corporation is the
West Michigan Traction Company. Its
capital stock, which is 81 100000, is own
ed by members of the steel trust living
in Pittsburg, Philadelphia and New
York. The road will be bonded for 81,
100000.
AT meeting of the directors held in
the office of the company in the Reaper
block yesterday morning plans for the
work were formulated. President I. u.
Hadley of the American Sheet Steel
company of New York and George Ii.
Moore, secretary and treasurer, were
among those present. The names of the
other directors were not made known, as
the work is being done in quiet way
and the hackers do not care to appear at
present.
1T was announced that work on the
tunnel at Benton Harbor had been be-
gun. The excavation will be 200 feet
wide and stretch half mile through a
portion of the city. At its eastern end 1t
will terminate in basin 400 feet wide,
where union depot will be built. The
station will be used jointly by the West
Michigan Traction company and the Big
Four road. The new line will use the
Big Four tracks to the gravel pits, three
miles east of Benton Harbor, for the
present.
"At that point work has already been
begun on the corporations own track. 1t
will be the first electric road in the coun-
try to use a standard gauge track and
regular passenger and freight cars. The
trolley system will be used, and Presi-
10 cars at the rate of 90 miles an hour.
"The first station will be at the pack
ing house of the Morrill, fruit farm,
which sends thousands of tons of its
products to market every year From
there the line will run to Pipestone lake
and Sister lakes, the summer
resort which is now inaccessible except
by teams and rough roads. At Decatur
a connection will be made with the NJ
c. road, and branch lines will be run
to Paw Paw, Allegan and Cassopolis
where connections will be made with the
Grand Trunk and the Big Four. From
Decatur the direct line will extend to
Kalamazoo, and from there to Grand
Rapids, the center of the fruit country of
Michigan.
ITO avoid any entangling alliances the
company will own its own line of steam
ers. The boats are being built for the
comfort of passengers and for adaptable
ity for freight. The boats will be among
the largest of the lake steamers and are
expected to make the trip from Chicago
to Benton Harbor in three hours.
at is from the line to Milwaukee that
the company expects to derive its great
est freight traffic in the fruit season. In
the height of the last season much of
the Michigan fruit went to waste on ac-
count of lack of quick means of transpor-
tation. When the present line is in
operation fruit can be picked almost
anywhere in the fruit district, placed in
To ri, no l., 1
on the Milwaukee boats and put on the
market in st. Paul and Minneapolis the
following noon. Such speed in delivery
at the present time is impossible.
"The question of rates came up for dis
cussion at yesterdays meeting and,
while no definite schedule was fixed, it
was decided that the tariff both on
freight and passengers would be low.
1.-THE rate from Chicago to Benton
Harbor, said one of the officers after
the meeting, will be 90 cents and our
steamers will be finer than any that now
make the trip. The electric road will be
113 miles long and the rate will proba-
bly, be not more than one cent a mile. We
have no competition; the field is entirely
our own, but we intend to make a very
low rate of fare
owe are goirg slowly just at present,
said Secretary Moore, but we are making
plans so that we can put things through
with rush when we get ready. We have
now 100 cars of 80-pound steel rails
on our tracks. We will only build about
30 miles of road this year, but in the
early spring we expect to have the linein
operation to Kalamazoo. The track to
Grand Rapids will be laid later, but it
will be in readiness to take care of the
hundreds of thousands of tons of fruit
which are shipped from there during the
season.
considerable comment was caused in
financial circles when it was learned that
the steel trust was behind the new con-
Germ and that steamer line was to be
runin connection with it. 1t was thought
that the line to Grand Rapids was mere
ly feeler and that the road would be
IL e.