Omaha daily bee., 1908-06-08
From the New YN Evening Mail April SOD
The Great Development Work Done by the Iron MOunAin-HS Low Grade ROute-Racon-
srucfOn of Fort Smith Division an. the Costly White River Line

tend It to Sherman and Denison IN Texas.
There It would meet the Texas Pacific.
Such a line would be Of great advantage
to the Goulds and directly compete with
the Missouri. Kansas & Texas for Calves
ton business.
One might inquire the raison d'etre Of
the White River line. inasmuch as the Fort
Smith division parallels II only q 100 miles
or so to the north. IL was a leading move
in the game Of railroad strategy. The
Rock islsnd-Friseo interests. the Kansas
City Southern and the Union Pacific people
all had their eye on the territory. II wss
only a question OF a Few years before VIA
is now strictly an Iron Mountain camp
would have been invaded Another thing.
this line gave the direct route 70 Nebraska
tonnage that was provided Kansas by the
Fort smith line. The GSaids had q branch
from Newport via DiaE 20 Batssville that
rad been In operation many years. The
new construction was north from Bates
vile through the Ozark mountains and
parallel TO the White river. The cid part
Is in poor condition and has been allowed
&C run down. 1t is the plan OF the nan
agement to abandon IL for a low gradient
route by the riverside south from Bates
VILE. It is now laid In 5s-pouna stesl,
poorly baliasted ana bridged. From Bates
VILE to cotteT. a distance Of about ninety
five miIes. the steel 10 also S-pornd- This
VIII all be relaid with 8-pound rails as
soon as conditions warrant
II q between Cotter and Crane that the
IDEAL has been reached. Here enc comes on
physical conditions that are superb.
Eighty-flve-pound rails, rock ballast. tidy
appearance. wonderful engineering tn
umphs in tunnel and bridges. are the
continuous prospect OF the traveller By this
line. The heavy steel covers IO7 miles. end
ing at Aurora From there north 20 Car
thaEe. forty miles, IT falls back to = fifty
slx-pound basis and the track deteriorates
eorrespondingly.
Undoubtedly this division drew too heav-
ly on the Gould purse There IL a small
scandal limited at In the ~ex--avagsnt cost
of the lice. which seems 10 Re well founded
in the respect that considerably distance IN
eSpensive country might have been saved
by crossing the White river at Buffalo City
instead OF al Cotter. Certain townsitts
were favored in the present line that ala
not justify the additional cost Of length OF
lire.
From Crime a thlrty-four-mile branch
has been built 70 ~sprinsfisld- This is TO be
extended 100 miles north to Bsghel and -
On Up UNNA kAEcNlk AANA ~ q ~ " ~
Missouri Paeine-st. Louis-Kansas City line
at Jefferson city.
From these facts enumerated IL gill Be
seen how active the Goulds have been IN
extending the area OF usefulness Of their
hon Mountain system. For the last ten
years the policy has been 70 build and
rebuild. 20 discover new routes o. low
grade and shorter mileage and 10 tap dis
tricts that have lain in their virgin state
ard carry the imnigrant 70 them. II al
most seems as though TOO hasty plans had
been adopted and lines built only 70 give
way later 20 others Of better advantage 10
traffic. But when one considers that prac-
tcally all Of this work has been done IN
Arkansas. a state crying for railroads ana
the development that railroads produce. the
opinion VIII be reversed Every mile Of
new road will gain fTem local uAffie what
Il cost