The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1921-10-27
,BYERs PLANS REVIVAL OF
CATTLE INDUSTRY IN S. w.
Kansas Railroad Builder Plans Mil
lion Dollar Company

has a ldlSe IdHCh oOuIu VI bluCiai
and is interested in the cattle bust
ness as well as the railroad business.
The fact that he got large railroad
loan from the government and has
been able to go back and get large
sum from the same source to put this
cattle loan company is proof that he
stands high with government offic-
ais, and that they do not question his
ability,)
A new stock company, which will
have as it's aim the financing of the
restocking of cattle ranches in west
ern Kansas, is now being formed by
o. P. Byers, with the assistance of
loans from the War Finance Corpo-
ration in the amount of from $780,
900 to $1,O00,000, according to a
dispatch from Washington yesterday.
Mr.. Byers, who is the president of
the Wichita e. Northwestern and 9th
er railroads of this section of the
country, has been in Washington for
the past week visiting officials there.
On Thursday he visited Senator
Charles Curtis and Congressman j..
N. Tincher, and on Friday appeared
before the War Finance Corporation
with his request for loan.
The formation of this livestock
company and the restocking of the
farms of western Kansas, is the lat
est of the deals of Mr.. Byers for the
improvement of this half of the
state of Kansas.
This Hutchinson man is now en-
gagged in building an extension on
the Wichita & Northwestern railroad
and in constructing the Oklahoma q
Kansas railroad, which is the only
railroad construction at present be-
ing done anywhere in the United
States.
The Wichita e. Northwestern is
the oldest of the Byers' roads, having
been originally built as the Anthony
& Northern. The new Kansas & Okla
homa road was recently begun and
the preliminary work is being done
out of Liberal pushing north towarc
the Colorado line.
Besides these two roads, third il
contemplated to be built by the enc
of 1922 under the name of the Liber
al & Garden City This road, if bull
will run north from Liberal thru
Haskell county terminating in Gar
den City.
The Wichita Northwestern nov
J. runs from Pratt to Kinsley and LaI
a ned. and an extension is being bull
to La Crosse. This IL mile exten
sion north from Vaughn will con
meet the trunk lines from the Louisi
II ana district to the Puget sound. To
j. day shipments between these dis
3 tricts are sent $50 miles out of thu
way because of lack of connection
The surveys have been completed
and the work has been started.
The new Kansas & Oklahoma rail
road will consist of 225 miles Of road
from Forgan, Oklahoma, the north.
western end of the Missouri. Kansas
& Texas to Trinidad, Colo, IN the
heart of the Colorado coal fields. This
line will pass thru Liberal and Hugo
ton in Kansas. At Liberal, a con-
nection will be made with the Rock
Island and at Hugoton with the
Santa Fe.
From Hugoton. the road will run
thru Morton Co., Kansas, and thru
Baca and Las Animas counties in
Colorado. The financing of this new
road will be done thru aid voted by
the counties and townships thru
which it passes. No bonds are being
put on it, according to Mr.. Byers.
A mile of steel is now laid along
the line out of Forgan and Is miles
of grading has been completed about
Liberal. Track has been laid half a
mile east Of Liberal and mic west
IF the ci'-
IT, ia.u ul the Kansas & OK
lahoma follows in most part the
Rock Island survey Of 1887, when it
was intended to run the present FL
Paso line of the Rock Island thru
Trinidad, but could not because of
failure Of bonds at Fargo Springs.
o. P. Byers who makes his head !
quarters in suite of rooms in the
Hoke building in Hutchinson. is the
president of both the Wichita &
Northwestern and the Kansas & Ok
lahoma His son, Walter P. Byers, is
vice president and superintendent
Of construction.
In his younger days, Mr.. Byers
dispatched trains in the old Kansas
Pacific. He was superintendent in
the construction of the Rock Island
south to Dalhart, Texas, having had
q 4 Il. A