Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-07-16
Tells OF Trip Home After An
Inspection OF The Interurbans

. I ne lnI6TuTDQHS
from the tri-cities, where they can
, make connections at any hour Of the
day for anywhere in the country.
Aledo is not troubled with the fears
which beset most smaller cities, that
the interurban connections with larger
cities is going to take business away
from it's merchants. They know bet
ter.
Alexis is another hustling town
which will be brought into close and
hourly connection with the tri-cities
and with Monmouth and Galesburg
by, the completion of the Southern. 1t
Is situated on the line of the Burling-
ton which runs from Rock Island to
Monmouth. It's business men put UP
the money necessary to buy bonds,
and secure the right of way, SO that a
connection might be made with the
Southern, and the work is progressing
as rapidly as possible. It's merchants
are daring the Monmouth merchants
to take their business from them.
It would be difficult to compare
business conditions in Mather as they
exist now, with what they were before
the Southern was built, because
Mather is creation of the Southern.
Here in the middle west where, years
ago, we ceased to experience the SEN
sations Of pioneer life, we read Of the
growth Of far western towns In
nights time, but here is an evidence
Of such growth within few miles OF
the tri-cities. Mather two years ago,
when your correspondent made his
first visit to the site Of the town on a
construction hand car. was nothing
but corn fields. Now it is thriving
town, and with we'll built stores and
houses dotted all over the prairie,
broad streets and the busy appearance
of a vigorous thriving community.
freight are shipped from the tri-c1t1es
every week to Mather, the materials
with which it grows, and in return 1t
gives it's toll of coal and the products
of prosperous farms.
Gilchrist and Norwood, the former
an old mining town, the latter
church, a general store and few
houses, have taken on new life and
are beginning to come to the city reg
ularly. The educational advant-
ages of the interurban and the new
railroad can be shown by an incident
which occurred ON the way into Rock
Island l was in the smoker, seated
behind a man with a number of small
children who had boarded the train
down the line somewhere. When we
ho KJoprorin canal and
Rock river, he turned and asked me
if that was the Mississippi don't
know whether he lived all his life IN
the community along the line of the
road or not, but the new line GER
tainly has broadeneG his knowledge OF
geography.
There is one marked difference he
tween the interurbans In Indiana and
most of those in Illinois on the one
hand and the Rock Island Southern
and the proposed NDavenport-Iowa City
line on the other l believe after
travelling over some 500 miles of in
terurbans in Indiana and Illinois, !
was not on one electric line VII III did
not parallel steam road. | cannot
remember of being out of sight Of a
steam road all the way from Indian
apolis to Chicago, and the same state
ment hold true on the Chicago-Joliet
line, the Aurora line and the Bloom
ington-Peoria line. 1t is also the case
wit. the Southern's line from Gales
burg to Monmouth Practically every
one of these lines has been success.
bringing new business to the towns
along the route and paying dividends.
The passenger business has been the
more important part OF the trafhc, ana
while small package freight has been
carried, the steam roads have taken
the larger consignments. The electric
roads, however are beginning to In
wade the freight business more and
more, especially for all small hauls.
The Southern, however, from Mon
mouth to Rock Island, cuts across a
new country, which has never had ad-
equate freight service. Connecting, as
an independent road, large railroad
centers. it is bound to have much
through business to be turned over to
the railroads at either end Of the line.
This same condition will hold good
with the proposed Davenport-1oWa
City interurban line. 1t will not par
allel any other road directly, being on
an average of five miles from the main
line of the Rock Island. 1t passes
a rich farming country, and
should be able to secure a generous
Of freight, enough with the
passenger business which is bound
to come, to insure the payment OF
good dividends.
Conditions in the communities con-
nected by interurbans in Indiana
through which I have passed In the
last week, are no different from those
existing in this community. The coun-
try is settled little more thickly IN
Indiana, but this Is largely due to the
themselves. With the
country surrounding the tri-cities as
well provided with interurbans, there
is no reason why Davenport, Rock
Island and Moline should not enjoy
the same prosperity and be just as
as any Indiana towns.
>-%~<>>>~es ,~
<>>>o<-
+ RICHLAND. +