The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-02-07
LAST HOPE CONE
McAdOO Refuses To Save West
ern Kansas Railroad.
Nothing To Stop Junking of the
C. X. & o. Now.
PEOPLE DIDN'T SUPPORT IT
Farmers Preferred To Use the
Big Railroads.
ROadbed May Be Used as a
Highway.
PEOPLE DIDN'T SUPPORT IT

Washington, Feb. Years ago a
railroad was built from Garden City,
north thru Scott and Logan counties,
Kansas, to Winona, the keystone
Trust company of Louis taking the
mortgage bonds, and the people along
the way subscribing bonds and per
sonal notes to help in its construction
The Santa Fe. having a branch from
Great Bend stopping at Scott City.
they purchased that part from Gar
den City to Scott City, giving it a
completed line. That left the fifty
one miles of road from Scott City to
Winona as a separate railroad. While
this ran thru the center of Logan
county seat, and on fifteen miles to
Scott City, yet the farmers and people
did not patronize it, but would haul
their products to the Union Pacific at
Winona or Scott City on the Missouri
Pacific, and if they had stock to ship
would drive their stock to these
points. AS a consequence the road
was dependent on tho outside world
for support, and that proved very
small. only $50 cars of freight in a
whole year and few passengers, not
even paying for the fuel used in the
locomotive hauling the train. Then
the road went into receivers hands
and as tho trust company got no in
terest, it forecloSed it's mortgage in
the United States court, and sale was
ordered. Then Judge Pollock gave
the people aechance to buy in the road
for. a small sum, the trust company
being willingto lose much, but the peo-
pie took no interest, and finally the
read was sold at public sale for less
than half its cost for material alone.
Matter Up TO McAdoo.
Then came the order of the presi-
dent taking over all railroads, and
the county attorney of Logan county
eSted on the plea that the road was
a military necessity for the Gan den
City sugar plant to ship its 400 cars
of sugar year to Omaha, and the
matter was referred to the office of
the general director of railroads at
Washington, and a hearing had, when
it was shown the people did not even
patronize the road as passengers or
as freight or stock shippers, and that
the sugar plant did not and would
not use it, as it saved many days to
ship it's freight direct from Garden
City over the Santa Fe to Kansas City
and direct to Omaha, and no troops
or munitions of war or supplies would
be shipped over the road, so the fol-
lowing decision was posted in the Of
flee of the director of railroads:
In re Colorado. Kansas & Okla
nOnld railroad, running from Scott
City to Winona, Kansas.
The road does not fall within the
purview of the presidents procla-
nation and the government does
not desire to exercise control over it,
This decision now takes it out of
the government railroad control and
whenever the government and rail-
roads can allow the use of the freight
cars to haul the thousands of tons OF
rails, spikes. plates. ties and every
| thing belonging to a running railroad
it will be torn up and shipped east to
the present owners, and used in rail-
| road building or repairs elsewhere.
Make 1t Highway.
1t was plainly shown that after
building it the people took little inter-
est in keeping up the road by patron
iZing it. That few travelled on it, even
, in going to the county seat, but rather
used their automobiles. Farmers
would haul their loads of grain to the
other roads and stockmen drive their
stock there, instead of loading at their
nearest town, and now the road they
SO literally contributed for in notes
ana bonds will be soon a matter of the
past, and the people are talking of
making a good county road of the
roadbed when the rails and ties are
taken UP.