The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-09-29

eral manager, T. T. DOlan, general sup
erintendent of the southwest district;
T. S. Lloyd, superintendent of motive
power and J. @. Bloom, engineer in
charge of the Kansas division of the
road. Mr.. Cain, Mr. Dolan and Mr..
Bloom will leave the party at Kansas
City. Also with Nj. Winchell were his
wife and son and number of young
friends of the latter. Mr.. Winchel1
has just returned from an extended
trip to Europe and this was his first
inspection of the road since early last
spring. He left Chicago on Thursday
of last week and went west as far as
Denver. Then he toured the southwest
going as far as Santa Rosa.
All along the entire route of the
trip said Mr.. Winchell today, 1--WE
great prosperity and we have seen all
the evidence necessary to confirm these
stories. Crops all over the west and
southwest are enormous and the rail-
roads will have all they can to handle
them.
Conditions on our road are excellent.
In fact I was surprised to see things
in such good shape considering the UNI
favorable weather we have had lately.
Our work of improving the rQadbed
along the entire stretch of the system
is progressing most favorably. 1t could
be pushed with more rapidity in order
to satisfy us, but we are unable to find
all the labOring men we want. There is
quite a shortage OK 1d1lTOaQ 1dDOI6TS
because all the roads are doing so much
in the line of improvements and then
the recent rains and floods have made
a lot of emergency work that has taken
large numbers of men who would 9TH
erwise be available for the regular work.
However, we are pushing our reballast-
ing along the lines. We have more
than a dozen ballast gangs at work
and will add to them as fast as we can
get the men. We have unlimited money
of FOR of
ing the track and roadbed and when
the Improvements already planned are
completed we will have as fine road
bed as there is anywhere in the west,
if not the finest.
Adding to Equipment.
lowing to the great demands made
by the freight traffic incident to the
prosperous condition of the country we
operate in, we are adding to our equip
ment all the time. Our budget for the
coming year has not been made out as
yet SO that / cannot say just what the
amount of equipment we will contract
for next year, but it will be large. This
year we placed orders for five thousand
new freight cars and most of them have
been delivered and this order was none
too large for we need all the cars we
can get. We also increased our pas
senger equipment during the year by
Seventy-five cars
Concerning the repeated reports that
nave DScII SOlItS dIO0IQ 10 tIG effect
that the Rock Island was negotiating
for the purchase of the Sierra Madre
railroad in Texas and that it intended
to extend this line to the Pacific ocean
at some point in Mexico, Mr. WinchelI
said that there was not word of truth
in it.
at understand that Col. Green, who
owns the road, never made the state
ments attributed to him that we were
negotiating for the purchase of his
road" said Mr.. Winchel1. What Col.
Green did say. so / am informed, is
that he was negotiating for the sale of
the road Some one took this state
ment and jumped at the conclusion that
the Rock Island was the other party to
the negotiations but the conclusion was
a wrong one for we have no intention
of taking over the road"
At every point Mr.. Winchell has
stopped. on this trip he has been asked
concerning the rumors that the Santa
Fe was about to- purchase the Rock
Island St. Louis and Kansas City line
and his answers have been that there
was nothing in these rumors, and that
the line was not for sale. He laugh
ingly answered the same question in
the same way today.
Mr.. Winchen said that at the pres
ent time the company was not con-
fees to Topeka. "Our Office room here#
Winchel1. "Sti1l we are always open
to conviction and il 1t can be pointed