Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 January 1912 — ENCOURAGED BY LETTER FROM MAYOR OF GARY. [ARTICLE]

ENCOURAGED BY LETTER FROM MAYOR OF GARY.

B. J. Gifford Believes Extension of Line to Magic City and the Coal Efclds Is Possible. B r J. Gifford baa received the following letter from Thos. E. Knotts, mayor of Gary, and is very much pleased by the tone of it . Gary, Ind., Jan. 23, 1912. Mr. B. J. Gifford, Dear Sir: -. .7.'' ./ :■ 7'7 ~' : I bad the pleasure of meeting some parties from Rensselaer, Indiana and had a short talk with them regarding the extension of your railroad to our city and thence to the coal fields of the southern part of the state. Permit me to say in behalf of our city that we are willing to lend our assistance to such an enterprise. The city of Gary is five years old and has a population of thirty thousand. The Calumet region, that is, North and Calumet townships of Lake county have a population of one hundred thousand. Gary alone has enough factories now in operation or located to furnish a population of two hundred thousand. The pressing need now and will be for the next ten years, not more'factories, but more houses for our workmen, to live in. The steel plant alone uses 20,000 tons of coal each' day and when completed" will 'use 75,000 ton every day. This is equal td Sixty train loads of fifty cars each . twenty-four hours. No one coal line can furnish the coal alone. With a direct line as you will have, through the most fertile country in the world connecting the greatest factory district in the world with the cheapest coal supply in the country, in my estimation will he's great success. Anything that the people or Gary can do to help you, I am sure will be done. J y Yours Respectfully,- - T. E. KNOTTS, Mayor. It Is Mr. Gifford’s purpose to act along the line briefly discussed in the letter. Hq hopes to extend his road northward to Gary and southward to the coal fields of Indiana. Completed, tthq road would have the assurance of a marvelous freight would not do Rensselaer any good if they hit across the east end of the county. It is Mr. Gifford’s intention to build this line southward from McCoysburg, then the hope of Rensselaer is to have an interurban line constructed that will connect us with the north.