Evening star., 1924-03-29
STRONGLY PROTEST
CROSS-STATE ROAD
Proposal for New Line in Florida
Opposed by Two Companies
Before I. C. C.

The proposal of the Florida West
ern and Northern Railway Company
to construct a new cross-state line
has run into strong opposition from
the Florida East Coast Railway Com
pany and the Atlantic Coast Line,
both of which have filed protests with
the Interstate Commerce Commission
attacking the application of the COM
pany for federal authority to begin
work
Members of the commission said,
however, that no date had been set
for hearings or arguments. 1t will
therefore give consideration to the
case in the regular order of the COM
missions financial docket, the nature
of which makes a date for the hear
ings indefinite.
Reasons for Opposition.
Replying to the commissions ques-
tionnaire on the Western and North
ern application for a certificate
Coast and Atlantic Coast Line com
panies declared there could be little
real good to the country traversed
accomplished by the building OF the
proposed road. They were agreed in
the contention that the applicants
statements concerning the need for
another cross-state artery were erro-
|neous and each asserted that the pro-
posed road would take a share of the
traffic the two existing lines now
handle.
Coast company's reply, would not
perform any service not now per-
formed by existing carriers. 1t would
in general be competitive with the
lines of this respondent and the At
lantic Coast Line, and these two car
riers now provide line for move
ment for traffic between the east and
west coasts"
The western and Northern COM
pany proposed to build a line from
West Palm Beach to Coleman, a dis
tance of 205 miles, and to build lines
from Valrico to Welcome Junction,
ten miles, and from Callahan TO Cross
fourteen miles. In little OF this ter
ritory, the Atlantic Coast Line reply
rail facilities.
Atlantic Coast Comment.
In detail, the Atlantic Coast Line
referred to the territory TO be ira
versed by the Western and Northern
in this comment:
"The territory through which the
applicants railroad is proposed to be
constructed, which lies between this
respondents main line from Sanford
to Trilby and this respondents main
line from Sanford, via Kissimmee, to
Lakeland, is undeveloped, except to
the extent that the growing timber
within this territory has been here
tofore removed by the operation of
log trans or to the extent to which
the remaining timber is now being
removed by the present operation
of log trans. The applicants pro-
posed railroad through this region
will serve an undeveloped territory.
The applicants proposed railroad
southeast of Lake Istokpoga will, in
the lower Kissimmee river valley,
serve an undeveloped territory in which
there is growing timber.
Cites Character OF Traffic.
"The traffic which the applicants
railroad will develop will be north
and south freight traffic from the
forest and north and south traffic
from the farms growing fruits and
early vegetables. There will be an
insignificant amount Of local cross
state. traffic between the extreme
south Atlantic coast and Tampa The
traffic to justify the proposed con-
struction must be developed, because
there is not sufficient traffic in the
territory which is now served by the
Atlantic Coast Line and the Florida
East Coast railway to Justify the
construction OF competitive north
and south line"