Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-03
new LINE TO SOUTH
Through Trains From Chicago
to Savannah.
HARTMAN THE PIONEER
First to Control a Transcontinental
System.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRADE
Advantages of Proposed Exposition
of Southern Products-1ra D.
Sankey an Invalid.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRADE
BY WILLIAM r. CURTIS.

BY WILLIAM f. CURTIS.
Snecial Correspondence Of The Star and the
Chicago RecOrd-Herald.
NEW YORK. May /. 1908.
MI E H. Hartman is the first of the
railway magnates to control a trans
continental line of railway, although that
has been the ambition of many of his
predecessors and contemporaries George
Gould is building a track of his own from
Salt Lake City to San Francisco. and ex-
tending the Western Maryland to tide
water on the Potomac river or Chesapeake
bay with that end in view. But it will be
several years before he has closed the
gap that now remains between the two
oceans in his great system, which COM
prises the Missouri Pacific, the Wabash,
the Denver and Rio Grande and the West
ern Maryland. His eastern, terminus has
not yet been decided on. but the western
end of his system is now being construct
ed very rapidly.
Mr.. Hartman completed his transcOn-
tinental system from San Francisco when
he secured control of the Western railroad
of Georgia and built a branch of the
Illinois Central into Birmingham. and
Sunday. April 10. the first through freight
trains left Chicago for Savannah by way
first days traffic. Eighty cars heavily
loaded with merchandise for the south
Atlantic coast left Chicago that Sunday
morning. thus opening new line Of traf-
fic which will be of great Importance to
that city and undoubtedly divert much of
the business which is now going to New
York.
Opportunity for Chicago.
The linking of these tracks at Birming
ham marks an epoch in the transporta-
ton history of the United States. 1t
obliterates what railway men call terri
torial lines in traffic and if the Chicago
merchants and manufacturers take ad-
vantage of the opportunity that is offered
them it should open new and prosperous
business relations between the great lakes
and a rapidly developing section in the
southeastern corner of the country. That
section is believed to handle more than
$JO000O.0O0 worth of trade annually. Some
statiSticians estimate 1t as high as a bill
lion dollars worth and hitherto ii has
been conducted almost entirely with Bal
timore, New York and Boston. Every
commercial enterprise in the southeast
has sought financial encouragement and
assistance in those cities, and has taken
it's products there for sale and bought In
those markets everything except what the
east does not produce. and for that the
people of the south Atlantic coast have
gone to st. Louis and Chicago. This new
connection OF the Illinois Central should
do much to change this habit. and few
years Of that energetic work for which
Chicago Is famous ought to divide this
immense trade. The Illinois Central
freight department has already COM
menced to work up the business. and the
eighty cartDaxas that were dispatched on
the first day Of the line was open indicate
that they have begun well.
The distance from Chicago to Atlanta
is 1913 miles. The distance from New
York to Atlanta is $40 miles. showing an
advantage of. 143 miles in favor of Chi
cago. and. the difference in distances to
Savannah Is the same.
The Southern Markets.
The Illinois Central will continue to
send through freight trains without
breaking car loads daily from this time
on from Chicago to Birmingham and all
the intervening points between that place
and Savannah The markets down there
call for an unlimited amount of grain.
flour and other breadstuffs, all forms OF
provisions and packing-house products.
machinery and agricultural implements
and every variety of general merchan-
disc manufactured in the west. The re-
turn freight will be garden truck. fruit.
fertilizers. lumber. building material.
granite marble cotton goods from the
southern mills and other products of the
southeast
Everything that is said of Chicago ap-
plies to St. Louis as well, because the
connections are the same
Through passenger trains are now run
ming solid from Chicago to Birmingham.
and soon will be running to Savannah.
Through sleepers are going that way now.
and hereafter that will be the route of
the greater part of the tourist business
between Florida and the northwest.
Two Lines Across Continent.
Mr.: Hartman has two lines across the
continent west of Birmingham-one by
way of Chicago and the other by way OF
New Orleans. The first is by the Central
Pacific to Ogden. the Union Pacific to
Omaha. the Illinois Central to Chicago,
and on to Birmingham. and from there
the Central OF Georgia railway to Sa-
vannah. The other route is by the South
ern Pacific to New Orleans, the Illinois
Central TO Birmingham and the Central
Of Georgia to Savannah. connecting also
with; the Louisville and Nashville for
Cincinnati. Louisville and other northern
points. and the Southern railway for
Washington. Baltimore and New York.
Mr. Hartman recently came into the
control of the Central Of Georgia railroad
by~purchasing the holdings of the South
ern Railway Company. The latter cor
poratton owns what is known as the West
Point Terminal Company. incorporated
in Virginia. to hold the stock of q num-
her of properties which now comprise the
Southern system The state railway COM
mission of Georgia forced the directors
ot the southern company to. dispose OF
the control of the Central of Georgia be-
cause IT is parallel and competing line
to some of its other properties. Mr. Har-
rinan bought the stock, and thus was
able 10 complete the first transcontinental
system ever controlled by single man
or company. of which he is very proud.
In order to avoid any interference in
Washington the different properties will
he conducted independently, as at pres
eht- But it not only gives him a great
deal of qualification to be the first man
TO span the continent. but enables him to
handle traffic great deal more econom-
leally by sending solid trains over his
OHu tracks.
50: The Pioneers.
The managers of the Louisville and
Nashville system. early 1881 were
pioneers in giving outlet from the
great lakes to the south Atlantic coast
and. in furtherance of that project. &C.
auired from the late w. NJ. Wadley a
joint control with the Central of Georgia
railroad of the old Georgia railroad be-
tween Augusta and Atlanta. Later by
purchasing majority Of. the stock OF
III. Nashville. Chattanooga and ST. Louis
railway and by leasing from the state
railroad which connects Atlanta and
Chattanooga. this company was enabled
TO extend it's lines from the Ohio to the
Savannah river. and was kept from ex-
tending them to Charleston by a queer