The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1916-07-13
ST. County, THURSDAY 13 191t
ELECTRIC RAILROAD.
Detroit, Armada, Yale. Harbor Beach
Railroad Assuming TangibIs Form

NdiiOdu <tSouuthS AdubtDis EOiH
On Saturday last representative
from the Expositor Office called on Mr..
Jacobson, the man at the head of the
organization that is promoting the pro.
posed railroad from Detroit up into the
Thumb district with a view to ascer-
tanning what the present status
of the road was Mr.. Jacobson was
then engaged with his counsel in per.
fecting the legal formaities connected
with the enterprise preparatory TO sub
mitting the proposition to the Railroad
Commission at Lansing, in order to get
the States approval Of the enterprise.
Mr., jacobson explained TO the writer
that all arrangements had been made
TO dispose of the securities, just as soon
as they had been approved by the state
officials, which would be within the
present month. Just as soon as this
was done, they would be ready to take
up the matter of securing the right OF
way for the road and such bonuses as
the different places benefited by the
road were willing TO contribute.
In regard TO the matter Of bonuses,
Mr.. Jacobson explained that under
present conditions, il was practically
impossible to build railroad without
them; that statistics show that there
was less railroad built in the United
States last year than during any year
since the civil war. This is due to the
fact that in Michigan and nearly all of
the other states of the union, sO-called
"Blue Sky" laws have been enacted
which require all such enterprises to be
approved by the state before any stocks
or bonds can be placed upon the mar
ket and that the state is so strict in its
enforcement of this law that it is i'm.
possible to adequately provide for the
initial expense OF organizing these
propositions, and in order to make these
enterprises such that any man, or group
of men, with organizing ability to
take hold Of them, it is absolutely
necessary to secure from the different
places benefited, q substantial bonus;
that without it the road could not be
built
Now, we have talked with business
men from Marlette, which is town
substantially as large as we are, and up
to short time ago was considered as
good town, commercially speaking,
and they have uniformally told us that,
due to the fact that the Handy Bros.
road had cut them off on the north and
east, their business is ION the hummer"
and that unless they get an extension
of the ID. U. X. from Inlay City, which
they hope to get in the near future,
their town is doomed. We are SO situ-
ated, that to our mind, Marlette is an
exact parallel with us, and what the
Handy Bros. road has done to them il
surely will do to us. 1t isn't a question
as TO whether We accept or reject
proposed improvement, it is a question
of WHETHER OR NOT WE EsTAY ON THE
MAP commercially.
We must not be in the position of the
fellow who bought lock for the barn
after the horse was stolen but we must
take time by the forelock and prepare
for this contingency land we feel that
we may properly say calamity by put
ting our shoulder to the wheel and
raise the bonus asked by these men.
We can do it, and ii is up to US. When
II Is question OF such vital importance
to us, we can well afford to be liberal
because In this case contribution is, in
our opinion, just as necessary as medi.
cine for sick man. We ere not sick
yet but let us play safe and take the
anti-toxin now and save ourselves a
great sick spell later
These gentlemen who are behind this
proposition, will be among us again
shortly and we trust when they do
come our citizens will be in a frame Of
mind which Will produce some results.