The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1901-12-17
NewExten WiIlHaye
Good Terminals In
Pittsburg.
FACILITIES
Not Sufficient to Take Care OF
Immense Traffic for Which
Plans Are Being
Made. rl

The Information comes from a re-
liable source that when the Wabash
w. & L. e. consolidation has Its new
line into Pittsburg completed there
will be some surprises develope for
the older lines which are inclined to
make light of the Wabash competition.
From the tremendous improvements
which the Wabash is planning along
its line it is evident that 1t expects
TO handle a much larger freight busi-
ness than could possibly emanate from
the limited yard facilities it possesses
in the city. Millions are being expend-
ed in the construction of the new ex-
tension and this would hardly be done
unless greater facilities were to be
had than the Ferry yards possess. The
report is current now that an elevated
track will extend from the Wabash
bridge to point in the business center
of the city, and that the Wabash Is
cooperating with the projectors of the
new elevated street railroad in Pitts
Jul IOl CohhCSIioho " AOoSh Oil shS
important points. The vast work now
being done by the company would ap-
pear to indicate that they have never
planned to have their great road end
on stills at Ferry street with no con-
nections. They have faith in the
PittSburg district, and no doubt Presi-
ident Ramsey looks back to the time
when the Pittsburg G Lake Erie, now
one of the greatest freight roads in the
world entered Pittsburg upon stills
driven into the bed of Monongahela
river as single track line without any
prestige and for sale for song. The
Little Giant" is now earning close to
81, 500 900 per year and is one of the
best paying roads in the United States.
The Wabash people propose to enter
the city over gigantic suspension
bridge and take their clNances for
terminal facilities. They come in un-
der more favorable circumstances
than the Pittsburg G. Lake Erie came
in, and no plausible prediction based
on careful review of the situation
can discourage the enterprise.
1t Is reported now that the Pennsyf-
vania will grasp the situation and will
not allow a formidable competitor to
the Panhandle to come in and take a
great part of the traffic OF that great
feeder, and that they will yield their
tremendous financial power to form
some kind of deal with the Wabash
and join the new road to formulate a
plan for an overhead bridge or via
duct up Liberty avenue to the new
Union station so as to give the Wa
bash direct entrance and important
terminal facilities.
1t would appear from a superficial
view of the situation that the Penn
sylvania can not afford to do this, but
careful consideration shows that any
determined effort Of the Wabash such
as is now being manifested by the way
they are pushing the work of construc-
tion cannot be ignored, and that the
report that the Pennsylvania is modify
ing It's views is not without reasonable
basis and plausibility.
The fight in Pittsburg councils at
the time the Wabash was blocked by
municipal legislation, developed the
fact that the opposition arose from men
who appeared to have an understand
ing that the Wabash had some rights
and franchises that had not been made
public. The secret manner in which
the engineering work and purchase of
real estate were carried on lends
strength to this theory.