Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1908-04-21
INTERURBAN ROADS.
Paper Read by w. F. Raber of the
Ottumwa Railway G. Light
Company

Following the event of electricity
as motive power only few years
elapsed until the interurban railway
began to play an important part in
the development of an entirely new
field Of local transportation. This, in
itself is not surprising when taking in
to consideration the readiness in
which this then new motive power
was applicable to such system of
transportation.
With everything in its favor, the
absence of any laws, state or national
commissions bearing directly upon
the promotion, financing, building or
operation of these interurban lines
made it easy to interest capital in this
t'new and promising enterprise until to.
day they radiate from many of our
best cities and towns from county seat
to county seat and from state
to state, thus bringing many
Of them under the ban Of the,
interstate commerce commission, it's
laws, rule and regulations, just the
same as our steam railroads of today.
l call attention to this. only to show
the Importance and magnitude Of the
enterprise.
Statistics show that the interurban
lines of today create more new traffic
than they detract from other means
of transportation, the frequency Of
the service, and the fact that they
pick you up at your convenience, and
take you to the heart of the city,
| without inconvenience or extra fare,
brings them into class practically
all by themselves, thus creating a new
h1,c ;p1, y-ri m,
wholly unknown. thus benefitting the
community which they serve beyond
any means of actual computation.
I No city can be great city without
expanding its business beyond the
confines of it's own corporate limits.
! The city that offers the best means
of transportation to its patrons Is the
(, one that rivals it's sister for CONNER
cial supremacy, thus retaining
healthy and steady growth not enjoy
ed by it's competitor.
| No where has this been better dem
onstrated than in Ohio, Indiana and
| Illinois where the interurban lines are
lbetter known and have existed long
enough to. prove their full worth.
Columbua Ohio, for instance, only
a few years ago an overgrown coun.
try town with nothing to boast Of but
its antiquated capital and remodelled
union depot has by net work of iu-
terurban lines become city of the
first class and today is bidding with
unquestioned success for the patron
age of the entire state. Cleveland,
the home of the internrban has sur
passed it's old time rival Cincinnati
both In population and commercial SUI
premacy, partially, if not entirely, due
to the internrban railroads. Indian
1 apolis,t once dying from natural gas
| failure with her interurban lines set
race that has puzzled the CONNER
cial clubs of its sister cities. I might
name many more of lesser note but
! time will not permit.
We all agree that Ottumwa wants
and should have an interurban line in
the near future, In order to reach the
rural communities and offer cheap.
clean and convenient means of travel
to those towns within reasonable
radius of Ottumwa.
Where to build it would naturally
follow that a line should be built that
would bring in the greatest number
of people to Ottumwa and the largest
income per mile of track, everything
! being equal.
Abba and Hooking are already con-
nected and a movement is now on
| foot to connect Abba and Hiteman
thence to Buxton which will give a
/ combined population of 1900 or 1S,
i 900 people, all productivity active. A
line to Abba via Chillicothe, Avery
and Hynes would appear to be th-
most logical one to build after com.
pairing the population, distance to
lbuild. and possible earnings with tha