Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1906-03-08

the world practically is ready TO be
gin operation
Less than five years ago the actual
work Of digging the tunnels was com.
menced by the Illinois Telephone and
Telegraph company, now the Illinois
Tunnel company. Today the company
has forty-three miles Of track ready to
be operated, forty feet below the level
OF the street. Every street In the
downtown district Is tunneled, and
and some streets outside this district.
There Is nothing Ike 1t anywhere.
When the tunnel formally opens Tor
business, IFS capacity will be two and
half times greater than the present
tonnage Of Chicago, handled In
wagons.
Before the end OF the present year
the officials OF the tlunet compa}H
expect to be hauling one.tfth OF the
freight and coal now being haue by
wagon. When the tunnel railroad
rea, hes q stage where II handles one.
third OF the present tonnage II VIII be
doing business Of $2O0000o0 year
GLOSS.
No definite date has been fixed for
the formal opening Of the tunnels Tor
freight traffic, but the system will be
in partial operation before many
weeks Practically the only delay Is
In completing the connections into the
big downtown buildings Work on
these Is progressing rapidly and -
finished In number Of instances
The tunnel, once II Is IN full opera,
ton. VIII have nm important bearing
on labor troubles. Never again Will
the teamsters' union have the power
to tic up Chicago, and the teamstcrs
will have no terrors for Chicago nor
chants.
While strike Of the employees Of
the tunnel might occur, It could not
have the serious aspect Of II strike OF
teamatera for the present time The
tunnels are isolated absolutely from
the public, and the entrances can be
securely guarded with a comparatively
small force Of police.
Plckcts Out OF a Job.
A force of men could be put ut
work TO take the places Of strikers,
and 1t would be impossible for any an
tagonistlc tofces TO get at them In
this respect the tunnel occupies a nov.
81 position toward labor II necessary
It's employees could be housed and fed
without coming IN contact with out.
side elements for weeks or months Mt
time.
The mail service, which win be an
important function Of the tunnel raj.
road, will begin Mnrcn 10 between
the general posotlice and the Lake
Shore 4 Rock Island depot, The whole
mail system between the postonicc
and nll the railroad stations will be-
running before the end Of June
The bulk Of the wagon system will
be taken over, and by the middle OF
the summer the tunnel cars Will be
carrying 500 tons Of mail every clay.
The times between the closing Of
the mails and the departure Of trains
will he greatly lessenod, and arriving
mails will be hauled to the postotlice
and to Other railroad stations in less
than half the time now required,
The full meaning of the tunnels can
be grasped when II Is remembered
that they place every mans property
In the entire business section OF Chi
cago on u railroad track connecting
with The whole United States
Forty per cent Of the railroad mile.
age Of the United States has freigat
yards within i district one and Il halt
miles square IN the center Of Chicago
In no other city Of the world does such
q situation exist and because ii does
exist in Chicago the tunnel system H.
possible,
The expense OF hauling the broken
freight from railroad to railroad il al
present $G5.000 900 Year Allowing
81 a day for the expense Of maintain
Ing each team and driver about
Sl0,000000 year IL necessary leav
ing Seh,000,000 as the margin OF profit
The tunnels now completed arc a.
signed aud adapted to the task at
handling ChicaEos downtown freight
What effect this will have on the sur.
face teaming Of the city remains ID lie
seen, Allowing that the estimates At
the tunnel officials are fulfilled, nr,c
tically ali the neavy teaming in the
down town district would lie removed
from the streets within the next nps,
years
The main system ot tha C4aayo IN
nola comprises len north and south
streets and fourteen east and west
streets. The system il elnivalent Ii
4 railroad yard ten tracks wide II
with five sets Of double tracks running
through the heart II Chicago
The tunnels reach forty freight
hAASes with which they connect hy