The Greeley tribune., 1903-10-29
Electric Railroad
NOTES
Value of Electric Railroads.

A. p. Fitzpatrick. in the grocery
depaItment of the Park Merchandise
company, in speaking OF electf!c fa'l-
roads. gives the following condition
at his former home in Arcadia, lno',
an old small town with population
of about 1900, situated thirty miles
north of Indianapolis, with popu!a-
ton, as he gives it, OF ,ooo, ahG
nine miles from Noblesvlller the
county seat, with a population OF
GOOO As Mr.. Fitzpatrick is stiII IN
terested in the grocery business
there, the information he gives VIII
doubtless apply to this section "ieh
much greater degree of development
to this county than it did there, lof
the reason that the object here Is not
only to connect the different sections
and towns, but will take, cars tlom
the different railroads TO the Iarm-
els. to be loaded and turned back TO
the nearest railroad point for snip
mept to destination in the same cars
that the FARMER iOauS.
Mr.. Fitzpatrick further states that
the merchants and livesymen OF the
small town fought the building OF
the electric line, claiming that 1t
would ruin business in those places
because the people would 20 to the
county seat and Indianapolis to DO
their trading. On the contrary,
with fare about one-half OF that
charged by the steam roads, with
much better service. after year the
liverymen were driving a bigger bus
mess than ever before, and IN his
own store they had to put on extra
help to do their work. The town is
doing more building and erecting
better buildings and business blocks
than ever before. and he further
states that the people ind that no
larger per cent 20 away 10 trade than
there was before.
The most peculiar part of it all is
the electric line runs parallel with
the steam railroad and now thev are
constructing another electric railway
on the opposite side from the cleo
tric railway now in operation.
1t is surprising how values have
increased on all properties along the
line; this of course pleases everyone
but the tax dodger who never does
nything to improve the county or
his particular section. These people
can never be induced to sell out even
at four times what they take an oath
that their property is worth when
the assessor is around: but as this
county has such small per cent of
this class OF people they are pretty
we'll known and their influence is as
small as they are in their efforts to.
ward the upbuilding of the county.
The electric railway is sure to
come sooner or later and we think as
the German says, "the sooner the
quicker. Everybody wants to push
it along.
With two electric railways running
into Grand Rapids, Mich, the third
under construction, another one just
ready to begin building, shows the
favor electric railways are meeting
with in that section,
There is to be an electric line from
Omaha through Lincoln to Beatrice.
j. B, Patton of the Greedy Sun re-
ceived letter Sunday from his
mother, saying they were tu have a
new electric line past their door
George j. Spear is resident and
interested in the development of
Weld county, he is not a stranger to
any of US, everybody speaks well of
his project: they should also 90 cv-
eiything within their power to help
deveiope the enterprise. True love
never runs smoothly" this will
doubtless tit the application of Mr..
Spear for franchise but Mayor Wat
son should not to be too arbitrary for
city revenue from an enterprise
that will he of such material benefit
to the city and surrounding country,
as tlley VIII Nave to pay city taxes
and nearly all Of its business Will he
from the outside.
A recent issue of The Street Rail
way Journal gives an account of over
eighty electric railway companies do
ing construction work at this time in
the United States This did not in
cludc the one at Trinidad, Colo.
High Tax Levy.
Tho TOWN of E,t,, ,,,:1l - l.t,