The Mena weekly star., 1911-08-17
LITTLE ROCK IS
 LOOKING ID WEST
General Shaver Talks With Capital ci'y Board of Trade Regarding Western Railroad-Secretary
 George Brown Is Interested.
From the Arkansas Democrat.

rAoih the AfkanSas Democrat.
 Among the many visitors at the
 Board of Trade today was none
 more welcome than General R. G.
 Shaver of Mena, the veteran Con-
 iederate general and one of the
 most prominent attorneys of south
 west Arkansas, man who knows
 every foot of that part of the state. an enthusiastic Arkansan, and who
 IS more than anxious to see Little
 Rock connected by rail to his city. Why said he to the business men present, nothing Little Rock lcould do would add more to her prestige and the volume of her com mefce. You owe it to us to get in the harness and help some sort of Ian enterprise that will get the rail- road built from Mena over to Hot Springs. The distance is short, the trade would be great, and 1t would open also to Little Rock the greatest
 slate region in the world. There is
 no slate quarry anywhere that will
 begin to compare with those de-
 posits. That part of the state is rich agriculturally, I tell you, but
 we need connection with you've
 need development there are four
 or five rivers down in there and a
 great area of rich bottom land and
 great quantities of as fine timber
 land as you ever saw. And talking about fruit land, the world cannot beat 1.-the greatest peach orchards are all to be seen right there in that section of the state."
 After securing a promise to have the proposition taken up, General Shaver left in company with Gen. J. F. Smith, whose guest he is dur ing his visit to the city, and will leave Sunday for Nashville to attend court.
 At the conclusion of the confer ence Secretary Geo. R. Brown ad- vised the Democrat representative that the question of railroad build ing in southwest Arkansas is at present more or less shrnuded in There are four big con- panies interested, the Iron Noun tain, the Rock Island, the Kansas City Southern and the Frisco, and the lord only knows what their plans are," said MT. Brown. We have the question up now with MT. Cravens regarding the Dierks line from De Queen, but everything is as quiet at present as a graveyard. Of course we know that the Kansas City Southern doesn't care to see the line built from Mena to Hot Springs or they would have put it through while they had the char ter and before the authorities can- celled it and turned the proposition back to the people of Mena. Why, they don't want to build it is a problem too hard for melt is claim ed by the people of Mena that they have some sort of deal with the other roads, but what degree of truth there is in it we do not know lin any event, the road is not being built. The trade of that section is largely going to St. Louis and Kan sas CiIy--it would nioeeherfnn sas City-it would come here if it were given the chance. The Board of Trade will take the matter up with both the Iron Mountain and Rock Island railroads, as we'll as with the people of Mena, and en- deavor to ascertain what is con- Little Rock wants the business and will do it's part to in duee the building of the road in question, or am other railroad that will increase the local commerce.