Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-08-27
MOVE DISPATCHERS.
oTTuMWA TO BECOME MlLWAu-
kEE DIVISION HEADQUARTERS.
WILL NOT MOVE OFFICES DOWN TOWN
Kansas City and Marion Dispatchers
Soon to be Located at the junction
Depot Building to be Enlarged to
Accommodate Them.

SSSIi " NC ISSdkCu at Lie
Depot Building to be Enlarged to
Accommodate Them.
Within few days Ottumwa will be-
come the headquarters for the dis
patchers of the Kansas City divis-
ion of the Milwaukee. The household
goods of the present dispatchers who
are at present located at Marion have
been in this city for several days and
as soon as the contemplated improve
ments upon the Milwaukee Junction
depot building are completed the dis
patchers themselves will be transfer
red to this point.
For several days Ottumwa has been
the headquarters for E. d. Wright,
superintendent of the Kansas City
division, and it has also regularly
been the headquarters of Trainmaster
]. F. Richards. With the removal of
the Kansas City division dispatchers
who are now located at Kansas City
and at Marion together with the va
rious clerks and Office men, Ottumwa
will be the headquarters of practically
every officer of any Importance in the
operating department Of the divis-
ion.
Former Residents of OttumWa.
The removal of the dispatcher's Of
fee from Marion will bring to this
city four men, w. H. Druan, the act
Schick and Joseph Harmed, the three
trick men. G. Romes, the chief dis
patcher, is at present acting as train
master on the new cutoff. 1t is not
known whether he will continue in
this Office or whether he will be re-
turned to his old place as chief dis
patcher. In either case he will be To-
Gated in Ottumwa. OF the Marion
dispatchers three were formerly res
idents of Ottumwa when the dis
patchers' office was located in this
city, G. Romes, John Anderson and
Thos. Schick.
Kansas City Dispatchers Will Come.
The removal of the Kansas City
offices will bring to Ottumwa quite
number of dispatchers and opera
tors. There are six regular dispatch
ers working the line from Ottumwa
to Chillicothe and from Chillicothe to
Kansas City. The six men work in
three shifts of two men each, one
man of each shift taking one of the
two divisions. When the dispatchers
are installed here it is probable that
there will also be required the SER
vices of about four additional opera
tors.
Will Enlarge junction Depot.
Just what provision will be made at
the junction to accommodate the dis
patchers is not definitely known. II
is believed that the junction depot is to
be enlarged by the addition OF anoth,
err story and that this will be occupied
by the superintendent Office and the
dispatchers. Work has not begun up
on this as yet, but local officials are
every day expecting the plans and a
force of men to arrive and begin the
building.
Will Not Move Down Town.
At a recent meeting of the CONNER
cial association the matter of trying to
influence the officials of the Milwaukee
railroad to move the Offices Of their di,
vision headquarters to some down town
location was taken up and a number OF
letters were written by various bust
ness men of Ottumwa to the officials
with this object in view. The follow.
ing letterof reply from H. r. Williams
general manager, has been received by
Senator S. H. Harper, president OF the
association:
Chicago, Aug. 25, 1903.
Mr.. S. H. Harper,
Pres't Commercial Assn,
Ottumwa, Iowa.
Dear Sir
Vice President Hiland has handed
me your communication of the nine
teenth inst, with reference to location
of our division headquarters, also com
munications on the same subject from
Harper, McIntire & Co., John Morrel
& Co., Janney Manufacturing Co. and
others and for all of which this may be
considered reply:
Has Received Careful Consideration
This matter has received our care
full consideration with desire on the
part of the company to comply With
your suggestion if it could be done
without interference with the efficient
anu SdllSldSlOly OpSidllou. ALI SOl .
to be obliged to say that we cannot see
our way clear to locate the offices il
the downtown district for reasons
which l think will be made entirely
clear to you
You understand, of course, that oul
freight trains do not run either to OF
from the downtown station, but all Of
them pass through what we call Ottum
wa Junction. In order to secure sat
isfactory handling of the traffic 1t il
necessary for the superintendent, traiI
master and train dispatcher to be 10
Gated at point where they can meet
the train and enginemen and personal
ly observe the train movements, and II
is for this very reason that we contem
plate the removal OF the division Offices
from Kansas City Where they are now
located they do not have an opportun
ity to keep in touch with the traffic OF
the division and if we should move
them to the downtown district in OF
tumwa, we would simply be perpetu
I ating the present conditions, which are
4 n