Barbour County index., 1910-05-11
Miniature R. R. "War" at Kiowa

The Kiowa, Hardtner and Pacif-
ic and the Atchison, Topeka and
Santa Fe Railway companies met
on the field of battle at Kiowa
the first of last week. There was
a display of firearms but not a
single gun was discharged.
The trouble arose over the Santa
Fe's refusal to allow the new road
to cross its tracks. T. E. Luttgerd-
ing, manager of the K. H. & P.
Construction Company, put his
men to work at putting in the
crossing early Sunday morning and
when the Santa. Fe learned of it
a freight car was put on the track
obstructing them. An irresponsi.
BILE sympathizer then made trouble
which is told in last weeks Kio.
wa Jour nal, as follows:
This chap, it seems, was deter
mined that the crossing should be
made right away, and so informed
a Santa Fe detective, who was
guarding the right of-way. He
remarked that if someone would
give him twenty dollars he would
see that that train on the crossing
moved away. The detective said
he had notion to call the bet,
and the conversation at once be-
came acrimonious.
Just then the special, which was
holding down the crossing, pulled
up out of the way of the south
bound freight, which had been
waiting on the siding, and the
crowd scattered in order to let
the freight have right-of- way.
This one man, however, who had
a hand full of large spikes,
waited and as the train came along
at the rate of probably twenty
miles an hour, suddenly placed the
spikes on the rail. The detective,
however, had seen him do the
stunt, and rushed in and scattered
the spikes, and then took care of
the wouldbe train wrecker. He
chased him off the right of way,
using his gun as a persuader.
Some of the crowd resented this
show of gun play, and suggested
that the detective be given a lesson,
but nothing of that nature was
done, fortunately.
Deputy Sheriffs Gesner and
Middleton of Kiowa were smmon-
ed to preserve the peace, at the re-
quest of Supt. Shaffer of the Santa
Fe,and they guarded the place day
and night until Tuesday when
Messrs. Luttgerding and Bennett of
the Construction Company were
placed under arrest by depu-
ty sheriff from Topeka, Ben
Judkins who took them to that
city to answer to a charge of
contempt of court before Dis
trict Judge Dana of Shawnee
county. They gave bond for their
appearance for trial later and re-
turned home Thursday.
About the same time the Santa
Fe relented, removed its cars and
permitted the crossing to be built.
The reason for Luttgerding's and
Benefits arrest was the fact that
an injunction was pending in the
Shawnee county district court to
prevent the crossings being built
and the haste of the d defendants
called out the warrant. The hear
ing was once postponed and at the
time of the trouble was set for
hearing Saturday, May 9TH.
Following the release of Lutt-
gerding and Bennett and after the
crossing was built, both sides en-
tered into an agreement to stop
work until a final decision by
Judge Dana, which will be render
ed on Saturday.
The Santa Fe did not gain any
thing in the proceeding. Public
sentiment in Barber and Woods
counties is strongly against it. 1t
is well known that this great COR
poration has a swine nature; it
seems to have been impressed with
the idea that the earth and the
fullness thereof belongs to it and
others have no rights whatever.
For genuine cussdness you can
always bet on the Santa Fe with
safety.