The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-07-29
lnTERuRsANs AS CITY BUILDERS

Des MONIES Capital W. T. Buchanan I.
quotes Mr.. Henry E. Huntington, pres
ident OF the Huntington electric rail-
way system of Los Angeles, as saying
that interurbans are the principal
modern asset in the construction OF
metropolis. There Is nothing which
has been Invented by man that SO
quickly and so promptly produces an
increase In population for city as the
building of a network of interurbans.
It's power of connecting the loose ends
to be found in the suburbs and the
hanging together of village after vii
lage upon chain of transportation is
the marvel of the twentieth century.
Mr.. Huntington also remarked that
city that possesses good interurban
system IS sure of steady, permanent
growth in population and of an unus-
| ual increase in the value of its proper
I ty In the downtown business district
1t is evident that NJ. Huntington Is
firm believer In the creation of In
terurban systems for city. He has
put a greater portion of his fortune in
his project and In response to Mr.
j Buchanan's request gave him the fol-
! lowing facts of general interest:
The amount of capital stock which
he has issued upon his property is
s20. 100000 1t is also covered by a
consolidated mortgage for $40 1000. 600,
of which SIS, 494, 900 has been sold to
eastern investors.
In response to the inquiry as to the
number of miles in his system he said
that his mileage now reached 576
Stretched out In straight line it
would reach almost from Des MONIES
to Denver. OF course much of it is
double track and the longest mileage
of any of the lines Is 80 miles. 1t Is
composed mainly of small spokes run.
ming out in every direction When II
: came to the number of stations which
, the lines possess the startling figure
! of 355 was given by Mr. Hup tin gton' s
clerk. That is there were 355 places
: to which they sold tickets and from
I which they received passengers. The
. number of stations was almost equal
to that of a transcontinentai line Il
also indicates the thoroughness witt
q which the system covered its territory
Mr.. Huntington came to Los Ange
les In aol. He had Just sold out hi;
S San Francisco street car line becaus,
d OF the trouble he had with the unions
e There ere strikes as numerous a.
: there were pegs in the sailors shoes
He desired to get rid of this trouble
so sold the line to an eastern syndi
; cate and sought new field He enter
z ed Los Angeles and the day he di,
: opportunity knocked at the door o
that place He was young and full o
ambition. From that day to this rea
estate has been soaring and proper.,
Y sold at prices never dreamed Of H
s began by buying the Los Angelo
) street car line, the Pasadena and Nj
: Lowe road, Pacific Electric, Eas
Ninth street, Temple street cabl
y railway and the Brooklyn avenue raj
S way. The six lines formed the NJ
l. claus and from It came the SIS lines @
e railway which is owned by him in thf
city.
The cost Of construction of the sys
tenn is placed at $4,000 mile. but til
= general Impression is that It COS
y somewhere in the neighborhood O
q ST 900. But the fact which is by ia
IS the most important is that OF the nun
'e Der of stations To add 355 station
'r 10 the available resources of city i
S volume in itself and brought nor
ID business to the merchants than the
O. had any .dea of or ever dreamed o.
sr 1t made fifteen or twenty millionaire
b. and the city has been forging to tn
1t forefront ever since. The leaders ar
"a again in search OF an equally as goo
a thing 10 promote the city interest
and hope that the consolidation of tn
- city with San Pedro and Wilningto
: and the construction of the bigges
u harbor on the coast TO catch the Pan;
ma canal trade will push them m