The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1908-06-05
PROMISE TO
CLEAN UP THOUGH
]. F. Sherwin of Erie Company Seems
To Become Imbued With Idea That
the City Officials Have Basket of
Lemons for His Railroad in This
City.

The first actual work of Hammond
Business Mems association was done
yesterday when the civic committee Of
this organization went to Chicago and
secured very satisfactory interviews
with the officials of the Monon and Erie
railroads.
The purpose of the trip was to see IL
these roads could not be interested in
the plan to have the railroad center OF
the city beautified to an extent that
would make it attractive to the thou
sands and passengers who go through
Hammond every day.
| In this committe was very successful.
Both the Erie and the Monon roads
have agreed to clean up their premises
and tomorrow morning General Man
ager Taylor of the Monon road viii be
IL the city to confer with e. F. Johns
ton, the secretary of the local organiza-
tfon, regarding the improvements that
are to be made.
Turned Pockets Ont.
The matter of new depots was
hroached to the ofacials or both roads
but their only answer was to turn their
z pockets wrong side out There is in
fact no reason to expect either of these
roads to do anything in the way of
year and possibly longer
The committee which finally made the
trip was composed of John Glennon.
proprietor of Hotel Majestic John e.
Fitzgerald of the Hammond Distillery,
George Locklin of the Enterprise Bed
company, I. E. Dickinson of the Mich
igan Central Railway company, and
E.~F. Johnston, secretary of the Ham
mond Business Mems association
The Hammond delegation found Judge
e C. Fields, the president of the road.
in his Office and was ushered in and
3 very pleasantly received. Judge Fields
told the Hammond men to wait until
President w. n. McDoeI returned ard
then they would talk the matter over.
Have Heart to Heart Talk
Mr.. McDoel finally came into the office
and the committee and these high Off
cials had heart to heart talk about
the needs of Hammond 1t was freely
admitted by the railroad officials that
the depot in Hammond was a disgrace
to the city but the fact was pointed out
that the railroads are all retrenehing
az the present time and that it would
be out of the question to build a depot
within the next year at least.
The Monon officials looked over the
photographs which had been taken by
THE TIMES and saw that the complaint
of Mr.. Glennon that the right of way
of the railroad needed cleaning up was
a just one. It was promised that men
> would be put to work right away filing
up the holes along the right of way
and grass seed will be sown wherever
ii is practicable
sherysin Was Very Blue
In addition the alley which runs in
back OF the Monon depot from State
: to Sibley street viii be paved at once
and the road agrees to pay its share
: Of the expenses for the Improvement.
The interview with Mr.. J. r. Sherwin
of the Erie road was not nearly so sat
isfactory. Mr.. Sherwin was a regular
i .Lugubrious Blue" and he said frankly
. that his road was in mighty bad con-
4 dition. He said it was losing an en-
: ormous amount of money every month
: and was compelled to keep borrowing
to pay running. expenses.
The Erie official complained bitterly
2 u of the treatment his company had had
at the hands of the city officials of this
T. city and he seemed especially relieved
to hear that John l. Rhode Is no longer
on the board of public works
He did not seem to appreciate the
: fact that the people of Hammond have
!. been putting up with poor Erie service.
an unspeakable ugly depot and a back
yard that is anything but beautiful for
= the past 25 years.
Thought He Got a Lemon.
He complained that the road was
= compelled to lay walks on streets where
r they were not needed and seemed to
- think the people were showing the
n lemon basket at him on every possible
Ie occasion.
However. after relieving his mind of
! Ia few complaints of the kind Mr.. Sher-
- win promised to see that the right Of
= way of the road was properly cleaned
~ land beautifed and he agreed to do this
,e in addition TO paying $3.50 water tax
,a every month and more annual taxes
than any other road in Hammond