The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-09-25
INDUSTRIAL Community
IS PRACTICALLY ASSURED

Deering Implement Company, Swift
and Company and Armour and Com
pany were present, besides several
other manufacturing interests.
The plan as outlined to represen-
tative OF The Gate City this morning
is as follows; All the land lying from
the Wabash bridge for distance of
property of the new company. 1t ex-
tends an average distance inland from
the river trent of about $500 feet.
Along the river front is to be built a
nine foot dixie to protect the inclosed !
land during high water. Sand from
the river in front Of the dixie is to be I
pumped back into the Enclosure, max
ing a frontage on the river for fac
tories and bringing the ground inside
to level with the top OF the dke.
Through the center of the tract will
be built main line track dividing
the tract into two parts, one of which
will be reserved for factories needing
river frontage and others that are
not in need of such facilities. This
plan can be so arranged that the
creek, known as the main slough,
can be dredged sufficiently to allow
q string of barges to be pushed into
the canal for use by the various in
dustries.
The Wabash and the Pennsylvania
| lines have promised their cooperation
and will lay their tracks to conform
with either arrangement.
/ 1t was stated around town today
that there was some talk Of the Santa
lFe joining the Baltimore and Ohio
4 at Beardstown, via Keokuk and bridg-
ling the Mississippi at a point just be-
low the Des Moines river south OF
! Keokuk, thence running through Ced-
1 ar Glen and onto the high land. 1t
was declared that this plan would give
the new industrial community four big
railroads, one of them coast to
coast road and would vastly increase
the desirability of the location.
Cheap power and excellent trans
/ pcrtation facilities and the compare
i lively easy method of arranging the
location are said to have been the
reasons for Mr.. Chapin's interest
in the deal and his subsequent work
liz. interesting the other corporations.
Policeman In the Deal
4 The visit of Assistant Chief of Pc
'llice Schuettler of Chicago, here q
few weeks ago was in the interest OF
the Armour interests, Mr.. SchuettleI
being close to one Of the heads of the
4 cerporations and being known as 2
shrewd real estate man. That his re
port was favorable to the local pro
! iiect Is shown by his firm being rep
PRESENTED at today's meeting.
The land that is included in the
, options, which Mr. Marsh and Mr.
, Howard hold, was valued, a few years
; ago at about eighty dollars per acre
, The price named in the options viii
: average nearly $3.50 per acre, show
J in disposition on the part of tbs
) promoters of the project, to protect
} the owners of the land and allow then
!, to make good profit on land thai
, has been heretofore valueless as {
+ producer.
ri Mr.. Howard is at the meeting a
t Chicago today and will wire Mr.. Marsf
before night as to the success or fail
ure Of their plan. That Mr.. Marsh ex
. poets the deal to be contaminated to
! DAY is shown by the fact that al
!. though one of the options, which h
9 holds, expires Monday, with a pay
J. ment of nearly $4,000 for privileg
!, of renewal, he was sitting at home a
: calm as If a deal involving millions
of dollars was not at stake and in NJ
way concerned him. His converse
ton shows enthusiasm but not Of TIL
: speculative kind To him the matte
!. is as good as settled and is the on
sure thing in this world. His heal
ers would never suspect that
> thought of possible failure ever enter
ed his mind. He merely mentione
the matter Of the expiration OF tn
} option as incidental to his talk on tn
n subject of securing the right to bu
} and not as a special occurrence.
8 When asked how much none
u would eventually be involved If hi
t plans mature, Mr. Marsh said Why
with the men behind it representa-
e unlimited capital, it would not be foo
d ish to say that from twenty to thirt
II millions would be invested within
D few years
1t keokuk VIII Benefit.
s. The possibility Of Keokuk feelin
n hurt over the fact that the industria
Il community was to be built across tn
river was suggested to Mr.. Marsl
IT but he laughed at the suggestion
1t saving that it would make no diffe
N euce to Keokuk for with the bridg
s. right at hand and ferry there woul
m be no reason why Keokuk should ne
r. derive the same benefits that sh
IN would with the big scheme on he
ID side of the river. He also cited til
ID Industrial Associations cooperate
a. in the scheme as proof Of their conf
It, dence in the plan.
As Mr.. Marsh, whose acquaintance an