Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1910-09-17
COTTON BELT
 IS AGGRESSIVE General Manager Britton and Other Officials Visit
 Little Rock. INVITES MOUNTAIN
MOUNTAIN
To Use Argenta StatiOns-Arkansas Development Pushed at This
 Time-Discusses Plans.

the Iron Mountain the North Side is clamoding for.
 The Cotton Belt will contir;le the grading for the network of switch tracks in the Argenta yards until the entire work of grading is sfully completed.
 The Cotton Belt is perfectly will ing to meet the Iron Mountain (Ark- ' ansas Midland) half way in establish ing and maintaining a direct passen- ger service from Little Rock to Hel- ena and return.
 The Cotton Belt is negotiating with the Rock Island to go into Memphis from Brinkley instead over the Iron Mountain tracks from Fair Oaks, thus saving about twenty-five miles and nearly an hours time. These negotia- tions, however, have not progressed so far that official announcement of ,, it can be made. It will probably become effective about April 1, 191L if successfully negotiated. Englan0 stuttgart Cut-U1I. The work of building the England Stuttgart cutoff and the Hagen branch from Stuttgart to Hagen is being pushed and will be completed by the last of the year.
 A platform east of the free bridge with two loading tracks, each about 200 yards long, and an extension of the platform west of the new passen- ger station are probably improve ments of the near future by the Cot ton Belt, This must be done to avoid congestion and to handle the rapidly increasing business here.
 Roads Good Will.
 Good will toward Little Rock and Arkansas, a desire to do everything possible toward the upbuilding and development of the Capital City and the commonwealth and an aggressive policy in the future is the firm and avowed intention of the Cotton Belt as expressed this morning by Vice President and eGneral Manager F. H. Britton of St. Louis, who came i'll last night at o'clock, on a special train and left today at 11:40 for Pine Bluff, Shreveport and Texas. Arrived Last Night. Vice President Britton's special ar rived at the Argenta station early yesterday evening and was pa"ked in the yard. He was accompanied here from Memphis by Assistant Gen sral Manager c. w. Nelson, who left al hour later for St. Louis, and by Di- vision Superintendent B. A. Peck, of Pine Bluff, whose car was attached 10 the train and who will spend sever al days on the trip with the mag nate.
 First Visit to Stations.
 Vice President Britton last night inspected the two handsome new freight and passenger stations, this being his first visit here since they were completed and opened. H. was greatly pleased with their spick anI span appearance and particularly with the reports of the splendid in crease in business since the opening and the additional freight trains put on. This inspired him to promise further improvements and enlarge ments as noted above.
 Vice President Britton was visited early this morning by Charles K. Lincoln and w. L. Reaves, the con- tractor. who is doing the extensive grading work in the yards. Accom- panied by Mir. Reaves, Superintend- ent Peck and Edwin Stewart, divi} ion freight agent of the Cotton Belt, MT. Britton spent an hour on tl.e Little Rock side, driving about tLe city in an auto. He has a warm spot in his heart for Little Rock and it's future, in which the Cotton Belt, by aggressive development and exten- sions is destined to play prominent part.
 Iron Mountain Welcome.
 The Iron Mountain has the priv ilege of using our new freight ans. passenger station for its Argenta ser vice. said MT. Britton. Tt is well come wherever it builds the small connection needed to obtain en- trance" The other matters men tioned were discussed by him.
 "The rumor published today that the Cotton Belt would purchase ex- tensive grounds for freight terminals in Memphis is untrue" said MT. Britton. T went over yesterday to note the work on the new Memphis