Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1905-07-12
NEW R. R. MOVEMENTS.
North and South Railroad Agitation
Takes New Life and Form. Great
Bend & Gulf Now.

Enid & Gulf railroad, was in the
city last Thursday procuring data
needed by the company in deter
mining its route. His busi ness
was to acquaint himself with the
municipal indebtedness, the popu-
lation, tonnage and rate of taxa
ton in the county. Prior to COM
ing here he had visited Pratt, Stat
ford, Barton and Ellis counties on
a similar mission.
The D. E. & G. road is now in
operation from Guthrie to Enid,
Oklahoma and is graded as far as
Cherokee. The objective point is
a connecting line with Denver
probably Hays, but the route is not
yet determined, and it is for the
purpose of arriving at a decision
with respect to the course of the
balance of the road that Mr.. Brown
is gathering information. 1t is un-
derstood that the company has two
routes in contemplation-one from
Cherokee to Kiowa and northwest
and the other from Cherokee to
Alva and northwest. The former,
if adopted, would secure the road
to Medicine Lodge and the greater
part of Barber county, while the
latter would miss the county
entirely unless the company would
go northeast after leaving Alva,
which is very improbable.
1t is believed that the Great Bend
Southern people are working with
the D. Z. & G. company in the road
extension and,if SO, our people can
| get ti1o road if they make as much
effort as the people of Alva are
making, but they can not hope to
be successful if they remain inact-
i've and close -f1sted while Alva is
Offering large inducements. Kiowa
and Medicine Lodge should work
together in this matter and use ev-
cry effort to secure the road. This
one, above all others, is the road
for this country.
| Concerning the Medicine Valley
q Western, there is nothing new.
Grant county which was to have
held a bond election last week,
called it off for the present on ac-
count of bad faith suspected on the
part of other counties, and that
seems to have blocked matters in
the western part of the state.
Whether that part of the country
will get together and do business
is not yet known, but whatever the
result of that movement may be,
it should not interfere with our
zeal to secure the D. E. & G.. The
bonds voted here can be released
any time if the east and west road
abandons its plans.
Mr.. Brown says things here look
favorable with the exception of our
municipal Indebtedness and our
high rate of taxation. He was
not prepared to express an opinion
as to what the probable result oi
the company's deliberations would
be. From here he went to Kiowa.
| The Barton County Democrat o1
last week has an article of col.
umn and half in which it is stat
ed that the Great Bend Southern
which has been trying to do bust.
ness for two years, has been absorb.
ed by new company chartered on
/ June goth and known as the Great
Bend and Gulf railway. The char
ter contains the names of many
Chicago capitalists. Petitions art
circulating between Great Benc
and Medicine Lodge calling bono
elections and it looks like business
All this indicates that there is Z
mutual understanding between the
, Great Bend company and the D
E. & G. people and if the people
along the proposed route do thei
part it will not be long until thi.
part of the country will have tn,
principal trunk line of the West
. There ought not to be one voic,