The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1914-03-05
ELECTRIC ROAD
TO MADISON
LUCE LINE PREPARING TO Elk.
TEND ELECTRIC ROAD TO
THE SOUTHWEST
WILL co IS MILES STRAIGHT SOUTH
And Cross the South Dakota Central at
Rutland, Running Southwest From
That Point to Madison

In our last issue we mentioned the
probable extension of the Luce Line
southwest to Madison, and develop
ments of the past week indicate that
this is more than a probability. The
people south and southwest of here are
very anxious for the road, and citizens
of Madison are enthusiastic and stand
ready to purchase the required amount
of stock. Col. Luce met with the citi-
ger of Madison last Thursday even.
ing and found them very favorable.
President Hyde of the Commercial
Club of Bookings, and Mr.. Ough, rep
re%sentative of the company who makes
his headquarters in Brookings, have
been working south of here the past
week and have found the farmers
anxious for the road.
Tomorrow night a meeting will be
held at the Vinegar school house,
south of here in Moody county, at
which Col. Luce is expected to be pres
ent. Secretary Fowler of the company
will be present with the ~stereopticon
views of the line which he recently
showed in Bookings. On Saturday
afternoon a similar meeting will be
held at Rutland, where the road ex-
poets to cross the South Dakota Cen
trail.
OF course the route to Madison has
not been definitely decided upon, but
the plan now is to go straight south
from Brookings, along the Medary
road, for a distance of fifteen miles.
This would bring the road about
twelve miles east of Rutland. The
line would turn to the west here and
cross the South Dakota Central at the
latter town and run southwest from
there to Madison.
By going straight south for fifteen
miles the company would be in an ad-
vantageous position to build on south
to Sioux Falls when the opportunity
presented itself. The line would
also go through a splendid farming
section that at the present time is
from ten to twenty miles from a rail-
road. Connections with Sioux Falls,
Sioux City, and other points south
would be made by way of the South
Dakota Central at Rutland.
The Madison Daily Leader has the
following to say of the railroad meet
eng there on Thursday evening:
The railroad meeting at the opera
house last evening to consider the
Electric Short Line proposition vas at
tended by a large body of citizens and
the most encouraging sentiment pre-
vailed. Col. Luce, president of the
company, was present and addressed
the meeting, dealing at length in a his
tory of the project from the beginning
of the enterprise up to the present
time. At the close of his address he
invited members of the audience to
ask questions On any point they desir-
ed information and many questions
were proposed which were satisfactor-
lily answered.
"The company owns terminal prop
erty in Minneapolis which is valued at
8 1000, 900. This property is owned by
Col. Luce and his father and is not a
part of the, Short Line operating com
pany but is leased at a low rate to the
operating company on terms similar to
union depot leases. The company is
now operating ten miles of road out of
Minneapolis and has secured right of
way as far west as Bookings. Work
is in progress on a forty mile leg of
this distance out of Minneapolis. The
business men of Brookings and farm
ers adjacent to that city have pledged
$40, 900 for the purchase of stock in the
in consideration of the COM
pany building to that city. This is the
plan upon which the road is being
built. At the time the officials were
neeotiating with the business men of
Bookings, a delegation of Madison
citizens called upon them and solicited
them to extend their line to Madison.
Since the LIST of January the company
unknown to the citizens of Madison,
sent engineers over the route between
Rrookings and this city to determine
the feasibility of the extension and de-
cided favorably. Hence, Col. Luce's
visit to the city last evening in re-
Spouse to the invitation extended to
him,
"At the close of the public meeting