The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1921-01-13
THE GOLDEN BELT RAILROAD
OF KANSAS

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Hays newspapers announced that
party OF gentlemen started from
Hutchinson, drove to Great Bend.
then northwest to Rush county. to
Pfeifer, north to Munjor. to Toulon,
Catharine, the Saline TO PlainTille,
and back by the west road through
Buckeye. Big Greek, Hays, and back
to Great Bend on the west side and
had found splendid railroad route
right through the Golden Belt wheat
fields of those counties. But that
nothing could be done while railroads
were under Government control.
That ceased and since then some of
these parties and their represent
atives have been over the route and
selected just where they wanted to
build q railroad from those wheat
fields. right down through Ellis, Rush
and Barton counties to connection
with the Santa Fe Railroad leading
direct from there to the Gulf of Mex
leo, or at Hutchinson with the Rock
Island running to Galveston, New Or
leans and Memphis, or crossing the
Missouri Pacific in Barton county
direct to Memphis and the lumber and
cold fields Of the southeast
AS the Railroads are now under the
direct control of the Interstate Com
merce Commission at Washington,
and not wheel can be turned, rail
or tie, locomotive or car be
bought; not a bond or stock sold
without their consent and approval,
that had to be sought. They fled their
application some time ago. On Nov
ember Srd, 1920, some gentlemen
met in the Brunswick Hotel Annex in
Hays, and organized The Golden Belt
Railroad OF Kansas, adopted their
bylaws and elected their officers
and have had that room as
their Office since that day. where their
maps and papers have been kept, and
bidders have been coming.
As required by the regulations Of
that commission they have CORE
sponded with parties who furnish cars
and equipment for Standard Guage,
Trunk line of railroad and everything
needed, got the desired information,
as it had to go into that report, for
the Interstate send out Question
airre of 81 questions, all about the
proposed road, and these must be
answered under oath Twelve copies
must be sent. TO them, one for each
railroad it is to cross; one to be filed
in the Office of the Governor of each
state the road proposes to build in;
and it is this map, filed with the Gov
ernor of Kansas, that brought out the
news of last week in the Kansas City
paper, as the Directors and Officers
could not breathe word until the
Interstate Commerce Commission
had examined the papers and found
them o. K and sent, out the notices
for publication IN each county the
road goes through; and this week
that notice appears in each county
paper in another column, to let people
know who may want to object. They
were received at the Office of the
company last Thursday and ordered
printed.
The only unfortunate part was that
the company could get no assurance
from the State Educational Board
that If the road was built they could
get a lease of a 5O-foot right-of-way
strip across the Fort Hays Reserva-
ton so it could build from Hays
direct to Munjor, and it caused the
application TO read to build north
from Munior to Catharine and Buck
eye townships to terminal point
near .Hyacinth, and Spur track of
four miles to Hays, and this can come
IN from the Catharine track north of
TouIon. The Directors want it to say
HAYS, with the Office IN HAYS.
All the application asked was an
ASSURANCE from the State Board
that WHEN the company had carried
out its Hays Petition contract to
build from Railroad connection in
Hays, had erected a $4,000 depot in
Hays, bought 5 acres of terminal
grounds IN Hays, and built to the
Reservation LINE then we could have
a lease to cross the Reservation to the
Munjor road, at whatever rental was
fair to both parties, for the land can
not BE SOLD. We believe yet the
Board will give the Directors such an
assurance so the material can be
ordered shipped TO HAYS rather
than the Toulon connection,
Last week the City Manager and
City Commissioners were taken by
the right-of-way Director, Mr.. Zeig-
Ter, in his auto and shown the route
and the streets desired to cross from
the Reservation to the Railroad track,
and they readily promised an ordin-
ance granting the privilege whenever
the new road was ready to ship
material to Hays to unload and build.
Great Bend has done the same. In
this way, as soon as the Interstate
! Commerce Commission have granted