The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-10-26
RAILROAD WORLD


 The Augusta Chronicle Says;
 It is customary, in some quarters to abuse the railways but they are often jndiscriminately and unjustly blamed. Consider for a moment what tremendous deveiopment they have instituted for thus country, and how very far penlno we would be without these steel arteries or commerce and trade. It may be that the rlanagers of these roads look primarily ta tlieir own interest, but who does not! But it must be admitted that they nave in view the interests of the people also for botR are interdependent. Just now the movement of the railways once east ana west largely, is now conspicueusly north and s5uth. Iris is dictated by the change in part, .f grain movements from one sec tion to inc other The gulf ports nave cut down crain exportation one-halI al- ready from New York. Cotton manu1ac- ttre in the south has also directed raiiway transportation to this part Of the eouh- try The development of the iron ana steer industry at the south has likewise playeu an important part in this transportaeioi' drama The ,tlIhi CT interest of the south has grown prodigiously, and oil develop ments in Texas and Louisiana, along with rice culture in these states, augment the railway development.
 The future of the south is the most promising feature of the time, materlaiN' and the railway managers know IL. lhey have already done much to prove thelr sagacity in this respect, and they will do more and more keeping pace with coming events They also know that some time m the not remote future an isthmian canal will be constructed, and that the south
 IIxr in IT, merce. They are looking forward to that inevitable event
 The Globe Democrat gives the following interesting statistics:
 Granting that the bulk of the Worlds Fair travel will probably come rom cues within fifteen hours of St Louis, IL Will require 560 extra coaches on existing resu- lar trains and 912 extra coaches on spec jal trains. or a total of 1472 coaches over existing equipment. This is an average of 100 cars for each of the hfteeh so- called lines. If 75 per cent. of the World Fair travel is handled in four months It will require eight-ive special trans per day consisting of two baggage cars and eight coaches with an average seating capacity of fifty people. On that basis 1t will require a total of 1920 coaches, 320 baggage cars and 320 locomotives over ex- isting equipment to handle such a volume of business in 120 days. For the fifteen strong lines who will haul the bulk of the Worlds Fair traffic this is an average of 13O extra coaches. 2 baggage cars and 22 engines Many of the lines are not fortunate enough to have anything like such an amount of extra equipment. The growth of passenger traffic in this coun- try owing to rapid increase of wealth and population. has outgrown the service the railways now provide in the passen- ger department.
 St. Louis, with population from which to draw attendance to the Worlds Fair of 1904 much greater than Chicago and possessed of more money per capita than any similar population ever had in the history of the world, should be able not only to achieve as large an attendance as the Chicago Worlds Fair, but far sur pass it. if the railways are able to pro- vide the facilities necessary to move the people.
 Travelling men will be interested in the following dispatch from Kansas City to the New York Commercial:
 The Missouri, Kansas and Texas is con- fronted with the necessity of completing arrangements for an independent entrance into this city and freight terminals and facilities here, as its present use of the Frisco's line between Paola, Kan, and Kansas City, Mo. will not be permitted after one year hence.
 Notice has been served that the con tract between these two roads will be cancelled at that time.
 While the Katy has had line sur veyed for a route between Paola and this city. which. if built would parallel the Frisco, it is believed. that an arrange ment will be made with the Santa Fe by which it will not be necessary to build further than from Paola to Rosedale, reaching the tracks of the Santa Fe at Toad-a-Loupe by means of a tunnel through Potomac Heights. between Rose dale and the Kaw river. The connection would be made with the main line of the Santa Fe short distance west of the Kansas City Belt Line junction, in Toad a-Loupe. The tunnel would be very short one. L. Il.~<-