The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-03-29
RAILROAD NEWS.
Good Roads Train Meeting With
a Great Reception.
Farmers Much Interested in
Lectures of D. Ward King.
HERE ON APRIL Z.
Fund Raised at Ottawa to BE
Distributed as Premiums.
Gossip and Matters of Interest
in Railroad Circles.
HERE ON APRIL

Ottawa, Kan, March s29.-Never was
progressiveness and far sightedness
more clearly illustrated in this strenu-
Gus age of business activity than is now
being done by the Atchison, Topeka & I
Santa Fe Railway company in the con
Quoting of a good roads train over its I
lines in the eastern part of Kansas.
This road is essentially a Kansas in
stitutiOn, operating more miles of rail- /
road IN this state than in any of the I
other twelve states and territories it
traverses. 1t was originated by Kansas
men, and its first rails were laid with
Kansas money. 1t has been a potent
factor in the development of the west.
On account of the progressiveness# of
the Santa Fe management in earlier |
days. Kansas justly lays claim to being
the only state in the Union that had
modern up to date railroads before it
had passengers or freight. The inter !
ests of Kansas and the Santa Fe rail-
road are Identical.
Realizing the difficulties that en-
counter the farmer in moving his ire
mendous crops from the fertile fields
OF Kansas to the railroads for shipment
l 20 me markets. and the consequent
0lInculty the railroad has in meeting
MS demands, the Santa Fe has inaugu- 1
rated this good roads train. Under
present conditions when bad weather
comes 1t Is impossible for the farmers
70 move their crops to market and the
rallroad has cars lying idle they would
be glad to have in use. The price of
farm products increases and the farm
er IS compelled to sit idly by with a
large yield OF valuable products in his
bins and feed lots and feel his inability
to realize on them. Later when the
ROADS become good the farmers all load
up ana go 10 the shipping point, the
market IS glutted, prices go down, and
the railroad IS una bic to furnish a suf-
hc1ent number of cars. eChief among
the things which will bring about a
ehange IN these conditions is the build
ing OF good roads. With good roads
the farmer can reach his market at any
season of the year and realize when the
prices are at their best; the railroads
can furnish cars at all times and avoid
the congestion of traffic which causes
such great Inconvenience and loss at
certain seasons
For these reasons and others the
santa Fe railroad officials adopted the
broad progressive policy Of assisting
thelr patrons in every way possible, be-
cause the prosperity of the patron
means the prosperity OF the railroad:
their interests arsg mutual
On Monday March % the GOOD
roads train made its first stop at
OlaJhe, Kas.. the county seat of one
Of the richest counties in the state.
The train was equipped with no ma
chlnery and had nothing to sell
simple split log drag. made in a verv
snort time and at very small cost, is
carried along The purpose of the of7-
Gals and lecturers is to hold a short
session in the forenoon at each town
named IN the itinerary and a longer
session in the afternoon which is to
be followed by a demonstration of the
proper use of the King split log drag.
The train is accompanied by the fol-
lon Lao
railroad:
D. Ward King. Of Missouri. father
or the split log drag and its principal
exponent; c.. F. Miller, Fort Scott.
Kas-, president Kansas Good Roads
association; /. D. Graham, secretary
Kansas Good Roads association. To-
peka, Kas.; Prof. w. C. Hoad en-
cheering department. University Of
Kansas, Lawrence, Kas.; W. T. Ire
leaven, division freight agent. Santa
F'e railway, Chanute, Kas.; r. E. Will
son, travelling industrial agent. Santa
Fe railway Chicago, III; H. E Her
shey, travelling freight agent, Gulf.
Colorado & Santa Fe railway, Gal
weston, Tex.
Later in the trip the party will be
Joined by F. D. Coburn. secretary of
agriculture Of Kansas; Geo. B. Ellis,
secretary of agriculture of Missouri:
John B. Macdonald, secretary of the
Iowa highway commission, and other
good road and agricultural experts
from the west.
At Olathe the court room was filed
and many were standing in the aisles
in spite of the fact that the country
teams. One farmer drove twelve
miles to be in attendance at that meet
ing. A great deal Of enthusiasm was
i aroused by the speakers and the dem
onstration given by Mr.. King with his
split log drag. There are progressive
farmers in Johnson county, and it was
learned that in the attendance there
were fourteen men who already owned
drags and were using them. Later
there were twenty-nine who promised
to build drags Immediately and use
them.
From Olathe the train went to
WeIlsville, where the lecturers were
met by an enthusiastic gathering of
farmers which filed the opera house
to its capacity. It would be difficult to
get together more intelligent or pro-
gFessive lot OF farmers than those
found in Johnson and Franklin coun-
ties On inquiry it developed at Wells
vile that there we're eight drags in
use, but there were seventy-five men
IN the audience who promised to build
and use them at once thereby keeping
up seventy-f1ve miles of roads leading
into this town.
At both Olathe and Welsville reso-
lutions were passed by the county
boards thanking the railway company
for bringing the meeting to them.
The train was at Ottawa yesterday.
A preliminary meeting of business men
was held in the forenoon in the First
National bank and fund Of $500 was
/ Immediately raised to be distributed as
premiums among the farmers who u37d
King drags in the construction and
maintenance of good roads. The bust
ness men believe that their fund will
aggregate $500 and plan to announce
the prizes in the contest at the Forest
r-TT
/ be made to have the judging Of the
roads and awarding Of the prizes dur
ing fair week
It would be difficult to estimate the
good that viii be accomplished by this
trip which Is carried on by the Santa
Fe system The Kansas Good Roads as