Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-11-05
Milwaukee Road Has Decided Plan
Was Not Feasible.
HAVE a SUBSTITUTE IN VIEW
This is Death and Accident In.
surance-EmpIoyes in This City Are
Favorable to This PIan-WiIl Be
Submitted to Vote.

milwaukee, railroad company N-S
cided to drop it's plan to pension
ployes and instead it is undefstoi
scheme will be perfected Whereby
accident and insurance system will
substituted. The employees in tbs &
city were not favorable toward e
pension plan as contemplated by
company, but they look with much
vor upon the proposed accident 4
death insurance plan now under l.
sideration. 1t is probable that il
latter scheme is put to a vote it
carry readily.
When the idea of Pensioning the
600 of $4,000 employees OF this
was conceived by Special Agent
sey, of Chicago, the plan was n
known to the men. A proposition
made to them which provided for
insurance when the beneficiary shou
have reached the age limit or whe..
for active service.
The pension fund is to be supported
by contributions from the employees.
1t was proposed that out Of the mouth
ly wage of each employe certain
amount, according to the wage o.
airy, should be deducted for tht
Sioll luHu. LII tiliS way tne Sih''".i -
were to provide for themselves, MAX
ing them appear more Independent.
Road to Prevent Deficit
1t was proposed that if at the end
of any year it was found by the board
that the pension fund should fall be-
low a stated amount the deficit should
be made good from the treasury of
the railroad company. This procedure
was to be pursued indefinitely, it be-
ing expected that eventually the PEN
sion fund would be of such proper
tons that the interest on it would pro
vide against deficits.
The plan had no provision for pay
ments in cases Of accidents except
that employees would be placed on the
pension list if totally incapacitated by
accident or otherwise.
The pension proposition was then
placed before the employees for their
consideration. 1t was taken up at the
various divisional headquarters over
the entire system and by the organi-
cations among the men. 1t now de-
velops that the plan as proposed does
not meet with unanimous approval by
the employees, and it is understood
that they have voted against its
adoption.
Rock Island in Deal.
The formation of the connecting links
in a new transcontinental railway is
likely to be the result of conferences
| of Arizona and California railroad
men, held at Phoenix, Ariz. Not only
is such a result the aim of the pro-
moters, but it is hoped at the Califor-
MIA end that San Diego may be made
the main port on the western coast,
and San Francisco relegated to the
rear as a shipping point.
| Apparently the hand of the Rock Is
land is to be seen in the movement.
! The Rock Island is completing its line
into Eel Paso. Plans have been laia
for the building of a road from San
| Diego, straight through southern Cal
ifornia, to Yuma, On the COLORADO riv-
er, and the surveyors are completing
their work. Between Yuma and Ell
Paso there is a gap of nearly l,500
miles To close the gap and complete
the transcontinental route doubtless
| is the aim Of the Rock Island people.
| The Phelps-Dodge company veal
thy Detroit organization, and the
owner Of copper mines in southeast
ern Arizona and northern Mexico, is
|
bee, AriZ., and from Bisbee to Benson.
| From Benson to Phoenix q company
| headed by Frank NJ Murphy presi-
dent of the Santa Fe Prescott and
| Phoenix road, and of ire Congress
Gold company, has surveyed a route
and secured the right of way. 1t is
understood that all the necessary CAPT
tai has been secured in New York. and
the road vii be built within two years.
Only Small Gap.
4 The completion OF this line and the
Yuma-San Diego road will leave aaly
200 miles from Phoenix to Yuma, be-
tween the Rock Island and the goal
OF the Gould ambition. Plans are al
ready under way 10 complete the link
and a route is being laid out which
will traverse the valley of the lower
ella clear to the Colorado river, open
ing up a country which il mining and
agricultural resources is said to be
rich.
From Benson to Phoenix the Muir
ply line will go through another re-
gion OF exceeding productiveness, the
upper valley of the ella, the two lines
from Benson to Yuma, trayersing the
country north OF the Southern Pacific,
which has hitherto been almost ex-
:. clusively tributary to that system.
;. Work on the line from San Diego to
Yuma is to comence at once. 1t will
pass through the newly opened I'm
perial district, where the waters OF
the Colorado are being turned on half
a million acres of desert land, and
J, where the road expects to gather a
great part of it's freight business.
The probability of the Atchison, To-
peka and Santa Fe abandoning San
Diego as southwestern terminus and
using San Francisco instead perhaps
is the prime cause in San Diego's work
toward completing the Rock Islands
route to the coast
CRIPPLE CREEK coin otJTpIjr