The Ordway new era., 1916-01-14

| the offices of the Midcontinent rail.
road. and dashed out to his runabout
| just in time to see Tim German driv-
ing around the corner in his liveried
| landau. He found in President ur-
| bank of the Midcontinent. spare man
who had worn three vertical creases
| in his brow over one thwarted ambi-
ton. His rich but sprawling railroad
system ran fairly straight after 1t was
well started for Chicago, and fairly
straight from that way point until It
| became drunken with the monotony OF
the western foothills, where 1t gangled
and angled its way to the far south
and around up the Pacific coast, arriv-
ing there dusty and rafting. after
thousand-mile detour from its course
but that road had no direct entrance
into New York city. 1t approached
from the north. and was compelled to
circle completely around. over hired
tracks, to gain ferryboat entrance.
Passengers Injured to coming in over
the Midcontinent, which was a we'll
equipped road otherwise, counted but
half their journey done when they
came in sight of New York. no mat
ter from what distance they had come.
"Out marketing for railroads today,
Gil?" suggested Allison.
Il don't know" smiled Urbank. 81
might look at few"
Here they are," and Allison tossed
him a memorandum slip.
Urbank glanced at the slip. then
he looked up at Allison in perplexity.
He had funny forward angle to his
neck when he was interested. and the
creases in his brow were deepened un-
til they looked like cuts.
Il thought you we're Joking. and I'm
still charitable enough to think so.
What's all this junk?"
Little remnants and job lots OF
railroads I've been picking up" and
Allison drew forward his chair. Some
bought outright. and in some hold
control"
"If you're serious about interesting
the Midcontinent In any of this prop
| erty. we don't need to waste much
time" Urbank leaned back and held
his knee. There are only two Of
these roads approach the Midconti-
nent system at any point, and they
are useless property SO far as we are
concerned; the l.. and c., in the East.
and the Silyerknob and Nugget City.
in the west. which touches our White
Range branch at its southern termi-
nus. We couldn't do anything with
those"
You landed on the best ones right
away" smiled Allison. However. I
don't propose to sell these to the Mid.
continent / propose to absorb the
Midcontinent with them"
urbank suddenly remembered Ali.
sons traction history, and leaned for.
ward to look at the job lots and rem.
nants again.
This list isn't complete" he judged,
and turned to Allison with a serious
question in his eye
Almost" and Allison hitched a
little closer to the desk. There ro.
mains an aggregate of three hundred
and twenty miles of road to be built
in four short stretches In addition m
this. have twentI-year contract
over hundred-mfle stretch of the In.
land Pacific. track right entry into
San Francisco. and this" he displayed
to Urbank preliminary copy of an
ordinance. authorizing the Immediate
building OF an eight-track tube through
crescent island to the mainland. POS
sibly you can understand this whole
project better II ! show you man"
and he spread out his little pocket
sketch
If it had been possible to reverse
the process OF time and worry and
wearing concentration. President Ur.
bank of the Midcontinent would have
risen from his inspection of that
map with brow as smooth as a
baby's. Instead. his lips went dry,
as he craned forward his neck at
that funny angle, and projected his
chin with the foolish motion of a
goose.
"A direct entrance right slam into
the center of New York;" he ex-
claimed, cracking all his knuckles VIC.
lently one by one. "Vedder court!
Where's that?"
That's the best part of the Joke"
eXulted Allison. with no thought that
Vedder court was, at this present mo.
ment, church property. Its Just
where you said-right slam in the cen.
ter OF New York; and the building
into which the Midcontinent will run
Its trains will be also the terminal
building of every municipal transpor-
tation line in Manhattan. From my
station platforms passengers from
Chicago or the far West will step di.
rectly into subway. L.. or trolley.
When they come in over the line
which is now the Midcontinent, they
will be landed. not across the
river, or in some side street. but
right At their own doors. scattering
from the Midcontinent terminal over
hundred traction linesi" His yoics,,