Los Angeles herald., 1906-11-04
Wonderfully Level Route

It is almost beyond belief that so perfect
natural route for n railroad as that surveyed
by the new Chicago-Ne York Electric Air
Line could have stood all these years and not
had a railroad built upon it. For stretch of
$50 miles in Ohio there is fall of only two
feet to the mile. From Chicago to the Penn
sylvania state line the grade does not exceed
16 feet per mile, and in the entire distance of
$50 miles between Chicago and New York no
grade on the route surveyed exceeds per cent.
No doubt the reader who looks the map and
observes the snake like winding of the exist
ing trunk lines marves as to why they ever
were built crooked. but the reason becomes
plain enough when II is realized that many Of
the cities from which these roads draw their
industrial life blood were located on the great
rivers which then constituted the only high
ways of transportation
None of the great roads of today were built
with any idea of catering to through, direct,
route passenger traffic from east to west,
but merely gatherers-in of local traffic
from these river-bank cities, with their allur-
ing freight tonnage the main object sought.
Thus 1t came about that the routes of all ex-
| listing roads were crooked and rambling. taking
| the passenger to his destination by routes that
| went round many robin Hoods barn." 1t
must be remembered, too. that II is only with
| in the last twenty-five years that the passen-
ger traffic has reached gigantic proportions
When the steam roads were built the passen-
ger was matter of small consideration COM
| pared with freight but today, with the In
crease of national wealth and consequent in
creased capacity for luxurious travel the pas
senger traffic holds forth auring prospects OF
profits to any new road that Will equip itself
| for 1t and carry the traveller to the end of his
journey by direct line. high speed route that
takes no account of and doesn't bother with
freight on the same tracks.
Passenger traffic, with its constant demand
for higher speed. has made the Chicago New
York Electric Air Line railroad a reality;
| nevertheless it is not intended that freight
shall be overlooked. Freight will ultimately
| be handled exclusive freight tracks and
kept distinct from the passenger traffic as
w ell
stands to reason that 1t won't be very long
before the freight shippers will begin to think
| that such direct, high-speed line is as good
thing for freight as for passengers, and this,
of course, Will ultimately lead TO spur tracks
being to the main line from more than
twenty cities of over one hundred thousand in
habitants, and a practical absorption of the
freight business from a territory with popu-
lation OF about nine million
The main line runs close to several large
cities, such Cleveland Toledo. ETC., and
others near, that spur tracks of less
than 80 miles in length will connect them with
the main line and then get their freight
tn New York Chicago several hours quicker
than is possible. That is what confronts
the existing steam lines today, The plans for
tho new electric line contemplate ample track
space for freight as well as passenger traffic
when the time comes to handle It,
Such is the railroad situation here is a di-
rect route between Chicago and New York
the greatest traffic terminals the world has
ever known. 1t is almost level as a billiard
table Tor more than half Its length, and
through its entire distance of $50 miles there is
not single mile In which there is a rise of
more than SO feet. How strange 1t seems that
no great railroad has appropriated this amaz-
ingly valuable piece Of property. The fact is,
1t required men who were not railroad men to
furnish the money 1t took to make the first
start, and. of course It Will take men who
are railroad men to actually engineer the pro-
1ect After much work this happy combina-
tion of business men Culture great shippers)
on the one hand and railroad men, present
managerial heads OF some OF the greatest rail-
roads in the United States, on the other were
brought together to launch this most stupen-
dous undertaking Of century These men
have made the start but It viii be the plain
everyday citizen who will complete the pro-
tect 1t has been determined that the peo-
pie, the plain people, shall own this great
electric road.
It Is. Of course the votes of the people that
enable this road to exercise the right of
eminent domain" law whereby the welfare
OF the people as a whole is put above the in
ierests of any one man or set of men, and
the building OF a railroad made possible. BY
this process of state law a railroad can ap-
propriate for it's use (at a fair value) any
land that is essential to its completion A
railroad is for the whole people. not 1.-The few"
and no intrigue, greed or selfish restraint Of
progress can possibly stop its building.