The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1904-11-26
RAILROADS JOIN IN BIG TUNNEL
SCHEME.
Formed With Capital OF
$5O,OOO,OOO, Representing 90
Per Cent of Railways Entering
City-TO Handle Freight and
Nail Business of Metropolis.

who represent 90 per cent Of the rail-
roads having Chicago terminals, has
been organized and has taken over the
$50, 900, 900 company which has built
fifteen miles Of freight tunnels under
the CITY streets. The vast tonnage of
the railroads represented by the finan-
oiers in the new. corporation will be
conveyed in the company's tunnels,
which are already under every street
in the business district.
Apparently in connection with the
mammoth deal, Sir Ernest Cassel, the
financial adviser of the king Of Eng
alnd, was in Chicago yesterday with
Jacob Schiff, head of the international
banking house of Kuhn, Loeb q Co.,
who are heavily interested.
Immediate Use of Tunnel.
The deal guarantees the Immediate
use of the tunnels by the railroad in
terests concerned and promises speedy
relief for Chicago from the present
congestion in terminal roads and in
the downtown district.
Two thousand tons of freight day
are at present being handled by the
tunnel at present. The new owners
will extend and improve the system,
and as fast as possible the steam rail-
way freight of the trunk railroads in
terested will be transported through
the underground system.
The deal is declared to mean the i'm
mediate diversion of traffic and freight
from the streets to the tunnels; the
transferring Of all newspapers for out
of town circulation to the early trains
through the tunnels; the transferring
Of mail between the main postoffice
and tie railroad stations and between
railroads.; for the letter boxes to be so
connected with the tunnels that when
mail is dropped in the boxes the mail
will drop down to the level of the tun-
mel and be taken to the postoftice; it
provides means of transportation Of
freight and handling it expeditiously
without compelling the railroads to
absorb high priced property in the GEN.
ter of the city for freight purposes,
and freight yards can be moved out
ten or fifteen miles and the freight
transferred, and having the trains run
into the passenger stations with cleo
trio locomotives and doing away with
over eighty per cent of all smoke in
the heart Of the city
Will Expand Turner's Uses.
It develops that Kuhn, Loeb & Co.
have taken substantial interest in the
Illinois Tunnel Company and have
practically guaranteed all the funhds
that may be necessary to carry out the
plans of this organization What the
ultimate scheme is could not be posi-.
lively ascertained, but there were sug-
gestions that the existing tunnel would
be expanded for uses far beyond the
original intention. 1t was also limited
that English capitalists would invest
money in local enterprises. possibly in
the elevated railroads, and it is not
unlikely that they might take share
in the Illinois tunnel syndicate. In a
large sense Sir Ernest Cassell and Rob-
ert Fleming are being escorted over the
country by Jacob Schiff in order to
encourage further investment of Brit
lsh capital in American corporations.
With the incorporation of the Chi
cago Subway Company and the sale
of &c 2-3 per cent of the stock of the
Illinois Tunnel, the control of the
great underground freight transporta-
ton project passes into tnhe hands of
men who control 80 per cent OF the
steam railroads having terminals in
Chicago. This means that the under
ground railroad system, which had it's
inception in franchise for an indie
pendent telephone system, but which
was later increased in scope, has be-
come part of the great transconti-
mental railway system of the country.
1t means that the thirty five great sys-
TENS which enter Chicago will be en-
abled to lay down their merchandise in
the Easements Of the principal build.
ings and manufacturing plants in the
city.