Omaha daily bee., 1902-08-04
NEW ROAD TO SIOUX CITY
Indiana Man Starts Pfoisot for Big Electric
Line frsm Omaha
PLANS TO TAP VERY RICH TERRITORY
~Properitien e 20 nuna Alons weutsrn
shors 81 Missouri River ana
Strike Many Good
sired Towns.


The names Of 40 business men IND cit
izena Of Decatur, Burt county. a. 4 tno
seeltion that W. M. Jones is carrying to
.Aiayctte, Ind to present to his bankers.
James Murdoch & Sons, who are aRents
Tor the Whitney Dietrich capital Of Neu
York. The petition recitos the advantages
enc Feasibility % an electric railway from
umahe to siour City and urges that cap
l.ailsss now promoting such enterprises
seDd representatives hero to Investigate.
mr.. Jones Is resident IN Lafayette. hut
oHns considerable property IN Decatu and
mas been visiting there for a month. He
came TO Omaha June 10, 1857. when his
nrother-in-law, Frank w. Brown. had the
only three-story store building in tho cit,
end when the population. inclasira a Nor
mons, beloneing to the colony at Florence.
and Indians. amounted to only about 1000.
later ne became interested At Decatur on
me occasion Of . VISIT made there with Mr..
nFown when the latter was checking up
win Clement Lambert AZ the iatter's Indian
post ana ne nn&lly pre-empted In the ex=
poctafion that the Northwestern road. then
Sthe forty-seoond parallel road would
crosse the river there. He came west aoaIn
m 1850. 1870, and IN 1896, never losing faith
nor interest in this section Of Ncbraska.
In his part Of Indiana the electric rsn-
way builders have made great Roadway
recently and during this visit II has oe-
CURED to him that such work might be
uone with profit In Nebraska. He started
the movement at Decatur. was IN consul
tafion With his former friend. Judge nonne
o. Omaha. yesterday ana leaves TODAY Tor
LAFAYETTE to take the matter before Muir
aock z Son, with the head Of which Arm
ne y intimately acquainted.
Not a rrofeanionnl Premste
when Interviewed at the Merchants, hotel
MI Jones said:
Don't set the idea that I am q railroad
promoter by profession. Ny only interest
IN this e such interest as / might natur-
ally be expected to have as an owner AZ
property that would be benefited. / don't
care whether the road be built by east
srn capital or by western, but l win sar
that believe the interesta that control
the Omaha Street railway viii see A SPLEEN
ia opening when the possibilities Of this
cussed.
The plan Is to have the line STAY on
ehis side OF the river. passing through
South Omaha, Florence. Calhoun. Desoto
Conmani Highland. Blair. Herman, reka-
nah. Decatur, Omaha agency, Homer.
sloax City and South Sioux City. I be-
IieVe ] could get the rleht-of-way for It
IRON the Omaha agency to the southern
boundary linz % nssss ee.-.- -4s4A~-. =
dollars cost. ana get II through the main
streets OF Tekamah ard Decatur. which
are Zoe feet vide. The road would have
more than 1o0. 900 people at one terminus,
practically $4,000 at the other and 5000
In the territory tributary to the line.
The population would increase with bet
ter transportation facilities, for the SOC, 900
acres that are now without adequate means
Tor carrying It's products to market. which
products are 5000. 900 bushels OF surplus
grain, 5000 cattle and horses and 100000
hogs. according to estimates made by the
Decatur people at a meeting in Or. j. b.
Whittier's once. held after a committee
had made Investigation. In Burt ana
ThuraSon counties alone there are SOC. 900
acres OF land under cultivation which would
be tributary to the road.
Fenrs No Competition.
The ccmpet-ion OF the railroads is not
20 be feared. ia begin with, Buzz county
voted 100000 for the ST. Paul road. ex-
peeting Il would 80 directly up through
the county, but Il skirted around through
Logan valley, leaving the eastern part Of
Burt clear on the line, so the feeling there
not the kindliest. Nearly the whole Of
rhurston county IL out in the cold. The
Sioux City line. on the opposite side Of tho
river, is too far of TO help Nebraskans
along the route. particularly as the road
declines TO build across the eight-miIe
stretch between onawa and the river.
THE electric line need be only about 100
miles IN length and could beat the schedule
Of tho steam lines easily. Its main recon-
nnendatlon. however. would be rs conven-
fence and It's oheapness. Back In Indiana they
are paralleling the Big -Four from Indian
apollo to Lafayette. slxty-four miles.
through six good little towns. and have
. maximum passenger rate Of TX cents per
mile. Thcir freight charges are 60 per
cent Of the railroad company's and their
ssDFose 50 per cent The wabash Il being
pnrelieled also from Fort Wayne 70 Dam
Vile. and the success Of these projects has
convinced me that eastern Nebraska Is
missing something It should have. II
wculd beneni immensely. and as I would
share IA that benefit. I am going to take II
up with The Murdoeks and through them
st eastern capital sufficiently Interested
70 send eNpests out here to Investigate"