The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-04-05
Rock IsIand-Frisco Plans to
Boom the Southwest.
John Sebastian Will Push Cole
nizatiOn in This Territory.
A LAND OF PROMISE.
Lists Being Prepared of All Prop
erty Available for Settlers.
Gossip and Matters of Interest
in Railroad Circles.

Kansas City. Mo. April 5.-Plans
are being formed by the Rock Island
Frisco systems to boom the southwest
on a more extensive scale thar ever
before attempted. John Sebastian.
whose jurisdiction extends not My
over the Rock Island and the Frisco
lines but over the Chicago & Eastern
Illinois n other of the Moore
Yoakum roads. is giving his personal
attention to h plans under way for
the colonization of the territory served
by his roads. 1t is Mr.. Sebastian's
purpose to seek TO induce homeseek-
ers to go to the southwest rather and
to the other sections reached by the
lines of which he is the passenger ex-
ecutive.
Alex Hilton. general passenger
agent of the Frisco. St. Louis, well
known in Kansas City because of his
long residence here as general agent
of the Chicago & Alton passenger de-
partment and assistant general pas
senger agent of the Kansas City, Fort
Scott & Memphis, was in Kansas City
yesterday, in attendance at the quar-
terly meeting of the southwestern pas
senger bureau. Mr.. Hilton has just
returned from a. ten days trip over the
ines Of his road in the southwest. in
Guiding the St. Louis. Brownsville &
Mexico road, just completed from
LO0StAifs LEX 10 bTOWIt6NlllG. at the
border of Old Mexico.
1T is u belief" said Mr.. Hilton.
that the southwest is simply at the
beginning of a big boom in land
values- It Is h policy of Mr.. Sc
bastian, passenger rattle manager of
the Rock Island-Frisco lines. to make
as low rates and as liberal conditions
to the entire southwest as are made to
any other territory. Under Mr.. Sc
bastian's administration particular at
/ fanffnn iz rnfnn To hn an41 RI kLa IL
velopment and building up of the ter
rtory tributary to our lines.
Our plans are very comprehensive
and comprise t listing of all avail
able n desirable lands reached by
the system lines. with a view of hav-
ing complete data concerning them ir
convenient form for submission to the
vast horde of h-omeseekers in the cen
trail and eastern states who are now
being crowded out by high land value
and the e~xhaustfng of the soil there.
1.-The southwest Is occupying the at
tention of the h-omeseekers today more
than any other section because of the
publicity which has been given it bs
the southwestern lines during the pas
two years. There are two sides. ac.
cordfng to Mr.. Sebastian's view. to tht
development of the southwestern ter
r1tory-hrst, the occupation of h va.
can't lands and second. the prosperity
that the colonization of these vacani
lands gives to cities like Kansas cit,
and st. Louis. which draw their sun.
port from this territory. The success
which the Rock Island and Frisco
lines have enjoyed in the past is. IL
my opinion. largely due to the expIoi.
tation of their territory up to this
time
"A change has gradually been tax
ing place in the methods and policy Of
the different railroads towards passen-
ger traffic. 1t is not SO many years
ago when lines were principally eneag-
ed in %disputing the right to carry z
certain amount Of traffic between com
petitlve points. Now. the principal eff
Tort or passenger men. and the rail
roads they represent, is to develop anc
build up new traffic. Mr.. Sebastian. oil
our lines, is a firm believer in this
plan, and a pioneer in that direction
He has made a close study OF fht
southwestern situation. and under his
direction our immigration departments
have gathered together most complet
data as to the of the terri
tory tributary to the system lines Va.
cant lands are listed, and minute de
tails obtained as to the exact posi-
bilities of uch lands in cultivation, to-
gether with the ownership, price pei
acre. rainfall. and everything else thai
contributes to the success or failure o.
the farmer. 1t will be seen that witt
this information in our hands intelli.
gent direction can be given to thu
homeseeker looking for a new loca.
tion.
Every day now we have cases com.
ing to our attention where people from
colder states have paid the price o.
their land with a years crop. Thu
farmers son from Illinois or lowe
chafes under the direction of his par
ent, and finds a good vent to his pen
up energy in the broad fields of Ok
lahoma and indian Territory, or thu
fruit hills of Missouri and Arkansas.
THE St. Louis. Brownsville e New
Mexico railway is a new line from
Houston, west and south in what il
now known as the gulf coast country
recently built by Mr.. Yoakum. 1t OPEN
up to settlement a marvelously fertil
country. TheFland at the present tim
is held by large ranch owners, and hal
beer used entirely for grazing purposes
Recently, an underground artesian flow
Of water was tapped, revealing irriga
, ton possibilities. The result has beel
that the ranch owners find that farm
ing is more profitable than cattle.
3 1T is. of course. not a wheat coun
try. Corn and cotton yield wonderful
returns, but truck gardening is tn
most profitable, the earlier season Civ
ing the producer the benefit of tn
highest. market prices, Marvellous re
suits have been obtained in onions
z The onion crop, with irrigation. ha
Welded from $500 to $400 per acre. Il
gar zane is just being experiments
with. and the crop so far indicates tina
the land will yield 100 per cent create
returns than the older sugar lands 0
Louisiana.
aArtesian wells have a flow of seven
ty-two gallons to the minute, with SUI
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