The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-07-24
WILL BUILD THIS FALL
F. Y. Keator Arrives in the City With
Encouraging Words.
Says Col. Hord Is Negotiating for
Necessary Capital.
From Wednesdays Daily.

+. Y. Keator and wife of Aurora, Ills.
arrived in the city this noon and are
stopping at the Saulpaugh. They will
remain couple of days and will then 90
to Minneapolis on business connected
with the proposed street railway in this
city. Tomorrow they will take drive
to st. Clair and Cream, to investigate
the feasibility of running line there in
addition TO the line to st. Peter
When interviewed on the subject this
afternoon by Free Press reporter, Mr..
Keator said that Col Hord is engaged at
Chicago with the representative of New
York capitalists, negotiating for the
money needed to build the city line and
the one to st. Peter. 1t will require
about $350,000 to put in both lines. Mr..
Keator expects that the New York men
will furnish the capital, and if so, will
receive work to that effect within day
OF so. His future movements will de-
pend upon what he hears from Chicago.
1t appears that Messrs. Hall and Ew-
ing, were favorably impressed with the
undertaking on their visit to the city last
May, but owing to the drouth in New
York state and the tightening of the
money market they did not succeed in
raising the necessary money to finance
the enterprise They did not undertake
to finance it themselves, but were to pro-
cure the money. They expect to form a
little syndicate and build the city line
first, and later to build to st. Peter.
nthay fol &c ho,
tiated with, but if they should not care
to invest, then Flint & Eddy, a strong
financial house, will put up the money.
This firm has built the Davenport line
that Hord & Keator promoted, and have
a network of electric lines there, and
later extend to the twin cities.
Mr.. Keator states that his present visit
is to look up some matters more fully for
the people who are now thinking of in
vesting, such as possibly side lines to
points other than to st. Peter If the
deal goes through, he will 90 on with the
procuring of the right of way. If Flint
& Eddy take the matter up they will do
so within thirty days, but it will take
until September or October to have the
rails delivered, as sixty pound rails are
now an off size and cannot be had readi-
ly Enough to build five or six miles of
track can be procured.
Mr.. Keator does not like the way
the board of trade or some of its mem
bers have acted toward the proposed
road. He says that if person thinks he
can 60 out and raise S350,0O0 in a short
time with the stock market in the con-
dition that it is in, he will find that he is
up against it. When man is found who
will put up the money, one must wait
until he gets ready, as the rails cannot
be ordered until the money is ready.
If the citizens are so anxious to have
work begin right away, said Mr.. Keator,
they can put up part of the money and
then the deal will go through a good deal
faster If anyone is suspicious about
Hord & Keator, can look up their work
at Davenport, Iowa, and the other places
where they have promoted electric lines.
If they saw that the firm was all right,
they should give it a free hand to carry
out the enterprise and not throw obstac-
les in the way.
Mr.. Keator said that he had been ask
ed whether the local lighting company
was back of them He said that the at
titude of the board of trade and some of
its members would indicate that they
were working in the interest of the COM
pany.
Mr.. Keator said that an effort will be
made to build the line in this city the
coming fall, and to get the rails ordered
for the line to st. Peter, so as to build
that line next year.
Mr.. Keator said that he and Col. Hord
had put $1,000 of their own money into
the enterprise thus far, and they want
to carry it through. The citizens should
not be too impatient.