Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1905-09-27
D. X. & G. Company Cannot 90 From
Lake to Coats. Coats Alti-
tude too High.
A NEW ROUTE.
Probably to Sun City and Belyidere
and Perhaps up Turkey Creek
and North.


81 Gulf Railway Company ran up
against a vexatious surprise when they
went to Lake City to interview their
engineer, Mr.. Titus, last Wednesday.
They found it impracticable if not
impossible to build standard guage
road from Lake City to Coats and
hence had to stop matters until they
could figure way out. Their object
i've point northwest is Hays in Ellis
county but how to get over the hills
after leaving Lake City, is a perplex-
ing problem.
The disappointment was entirely
unforeseen until Mr.. Peckham reach
ed the engineers camp. SO confident
were they that things were in apple pie
order that the Index was authorized
to publish the commissioners notice
of the special election, and when they
got the jolt from their engineer it al
most took the members of the COM
pany off their feet.
Concerning the dilemma in which
they found themselves, the incidents
that led up to it and future plans, one
of the stockholders of the company
furnished the following statement for
the Index:
The directors of the Denver, Kansas
i Gulf railway company met in the
company's Offices in this city Tuesday,
18th inst All the stockholders and di-
rectors were either present or represent
ed by proxy. Breckinridge Jones of st.
Louis, Missouri, was elected president,
Ed l.. Peckham, Blackwell, Oklahoma,
vice president and general manager, w.
G. Robinson, Winfield, Kansas, treas
urer, 81. Rhoads of Medicine Lodge,
Kansas, secretary, j. j. Cunningham of
Enid, Oklahoma, general freight and
passenger agent, Milton Brown, Topeka,
Kansas, attorney of the company for
Kansas.
The directors who were personally
present were Messrs. Ed L. Peckham,
j. Cunningham, G.. @. Chandler, w.
G. Robinson, G. J. Rhoads and Milton
Brown.
The party came in on the special car
OF General Manager Peckham, arriving
over the Santa Fe at $3.50 p. m. Tuesday.
On Wednesday the general manager,
treasurer, attorney and Mr.. Auchmoody,
the landman of the company, visited
the engineers camp at Lake City.
While at Lake City the survey was
personally inspected by the above named
officials in connection with the chief
engineer, and owing to surprise in the
grades as developed by the final survey
being made the entire program in this
county was changed for the present. The
company is constructing its line on
certain per cent. grade. so as to be able
to haul on north bound trains so many
tons of freight in a given. train of cars,
and which could only be done on Clio
per cent grade or less, but the route
heretofore reported on out of Lake City
going to the north up Buck creek, after
leaving the Medicine river valley, was
found to be great surprise and disap-
pointment, in that the grade rapidly
arose to such an extent to make it en-
tirely impracticable to get out of the
valley on to the uplands running up by
the way of Coats to Pratt; the general
manager ordered the surveying corps in
to camp to await further plans.
The line that is now being investi-
gated runs from Lake City up the Med
icine river valley by the way of Sun City
and thence out northwest into Kiowa
county; and if the company can find
practicable route out of the northwest
corner of this county and further feas-
ible route up the east side of Kiowa and
Edwards counties, it is possible that the
route will be built that way.
Owing to the above obstacle it was
thought best to call off the holding of
the county bond election in this county
for October oath, and have the county
commissioners re-convene and revoke its
order of September 18th, as no procIa-
nation has been published or posted by
the sheriff, thereby saving the necessity
of getting other petitions and if the route
via Sun City and the northwest corner
of the county and the east side of Kiowa
and Edwards counties is practicable then
to have another date fixed for the elec-
ton in this county.