Jasper County Democrat, Volume 15, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 June 1912 — Advantages of the Interurban Railways. [ARTICLE]

Advantages of the Interurban Railways.

The innumerable advantages of interurban lines running through the country and connecting various cities and towns are likely to be little thought of day by day, but reflection brings to mind the great importance of these lines of steel which Lave been laid within the recent years: Lord Byron in one of his famqus p.ems depicted the terrible effects o: darknets and described the appalling effects upon the human mind and existence of total darkness, permanent, with no hope of light ever again being enjoyed to cheer, comfort, and inspire the human -rac_; ,i .X: . - ; It is hard for one to conceive the practical effects which would result if every mile ot interurban line was suddenly torn from its place, the operation of cars, freight and passenger, abandoned and resort be again made to the primitive methods of years ago. The people were justly impressed by The vast importance of the building oi steam roads. So. have they been impressed with the far reaching results of the .onstruction of interurban Hues, and it is -tot difficult to realize that they have become as much of a necessity in the conduct of daily human life almost as light, heat, air and food. Indiana is highly, and even especially favored in th 6 matter of interurban railroad construction. This is the same as sayipg that she is particularly favored among her sister states of the Union. It is another way o; saying that she is at the front rank in progress, comfort, and material developement. It also means that in an education! and social scale she ranks first of any commonwealth in the Union. Chief among the systems of Indiana is the Union Traeion line of Indiana. Its lines enter every principal point of the state north and east of Indianapolis, and its connections are not to he surpassed to reach any terminal in this or adjoining states. These connections are such that the best time schedule is turrjshd the traveling and leisure seeking public a- well as the shippers of freight and merchandise. ’

The owners' and tenants on farms' are the first to voice the universal appreciation of modern interurban lines to maie possible the rapid and 1 inexpensive communication between' Hie ,eqr>]e of the different localities. The farmer now finds ii a matter of course to which he really gives but little thought save upon particular occasion; or for special reasons to drive to ihe station nearest his :arm where he hitches his horse and issoon whirled to the city or town in which be wishes to do his trad-, ing. He ;s back home with his supplies about as soon as in former years he could have driven over to! the farm of a distant neighbor to' borrow a plow point. It is impos-! sibie and even uhecessary to enum-; erate she manifold advantages of the interurban line to the farming communities, not only for trading, but .or visiting and trafficing. The traveling man would now find himself lost without the frequent service which is afforded him by the interurban lines. He can! cover more towns than ever before' in the hisiory of commercial travling, and when through with the day s work can reach whatever point is most pleasurable for him to spend the night. The ease with which traveling is accomplished from point to point 1 increases the business of the hotel! man oyer what it would be if they had to depend upon patronage under old-time methods of transportation. The facility and promptness with which the merchant and business man receive his goods by freight and express over the interurban lines makes his heart glad and he feels his dependence upon a system that enables him so quickly to fill the order of a customer placed by the telephone or telegraph and suppliedby the traction freight or ex.mess service "* The lines make the country clubs a possibility, enable the attendance upon weddings and social events in near-by cities, and swell the patronage of the theatres along the system thus imparting the social culture and additional pleasure to life. The staid old village which may have remained for years stationary before the advent of an interurban line upon its approach suddenly takes on a new life. Enterprises are formed, values increase, and new life is manifested upon every side. Improvements become the order of the hour and investments are attracted which before have not so much as-been contemplated. In the larger cities and division points buildings are erected which represent a greater or less outlay of money, and the expenditure of capital thus made quickens the activities of trade in every direction, benefits bnsiness. helps labor, and promotes the general prosperity of the community. Not to be overlooked ib the constant influx of capital expended for maintenance and operation of a traction line which is distributed periodically the length of its system. It goes without saying that with the banishment of an interurban line the communities through which it passes would not be the same a§ now. It is impossible to calculate the benefits a system bestows from end to end, but they are of vast extent and manifest to even the most superficial thinker. The equipment of the Union Traction service is being constantly bettered and improved. Its properties are being enlarged and value added to them and in the same proportion the pa oner for all these increases and “betterments is ex-j pended localities and people are being benefitted and enriched . An interurban line may be compared to a stream over the bosom of which is constantly passing richly laden crafts discharging their precious cargoes without disc rim-

ination along the entire route. j The L nion Traction system has developed until it is capitalized and pays taxes throughout Indiana on| 39,000,000. This is no small itemj in the financial economy of thestate. This is beneficial to everyi county and every city, and each! district and municipality is the bet-] ter for the presence of the lines of the compattjr;' ”" j First of any in the world, the; Union Traction Company will operate steel cars some of which ■ equipment is ./already at Anderson, trd which it is expected to have] in . u .ff. bjr August 1. The] possibilities of ttis new equip--ment are the greatest and its in-F stallation indicates what the future' means in internrban transportation ! in expedition and safety. The Lnion Traction Company is now the owner of 365 miles of track which is made up of lines originally constructed from Indianapolis 1 to Logansport and Peru and from' Middletown, to Alexandria, and Tip- 1 ton besides lines acquired by pur-' chase from Marion to Wabash,' Muncie to Bluffton, and Mancie to Union City. i Charles L Henry. Anderson. Ind., was promoter of the construction' of the first traction line in the 1 ttate extending from Anderson to' Alexandria. Two years later, Jan- 1 uar J r 1- 1900, witnessed the inaug-f uration of service upon the Indi-! anapolis and Eastern road. One! year later. January l, 1901, the' original line of the present system, | known as the Union Traction Com-j pany of Indiana, entered Indianapolis, !nd., embracing later the In-j dianapolis. Muncie, and Alexandria-, Marion divisions. The line from Indianapolis to Peru via Kokomo .was opened De-| cember 3, 1903. j The growth of the business of; the company has been little short of remarkable. Last year the sta-j istiis carefully collected showed, that 520 passenger (trains daily was] the number in and out of the ter-! initial station at Indianapoolis. and! that the freights arriving end de-] parting each day numbered 65, j The future contains incalculable ivos-ibilities. When it is remember-j ed that that thousands of dollars I are already invested in company' buildings at various stations with l their architectural adornment of! th: cities where found, the thous-' ands of dollars expended for shops,] car barns and terminal facilities,' as well as the thousands of dollars invested in transportation and ship-! ping equipment the very great importance this company bears to the many communities of the state! which it traverses is the more im-' jjressively comprehended. . 1 The company sustains to every! e,iy. hamlet and localitv with' v>hieh it is related the fullest meas-! ure of good will. It shall ever' cultivate and increase this sentiment as the months go by. It is mindful of the interdependance of company and the people of the localities which it serves. It is in-' debted in many ways /or their! friendship, co-operation and he!p- ; fulness in discharging the obliga-: lions imposed upon it by the terms! of the franchise under which it op-i erates. Hence it solicits upon the! part o: the traveling and shipping! public the utmost confidence and helpfulness in its power to bestow. I To the 'co-operation of the Indiana public the company will owe the development which it is striving to! attain at the nearest possible time] in the future, and it should be remembered that the greatness off the company and its operations will be the greatness of the people themselves whose servant it is. In the operation of any enterprise there are certain to be imperfections and defects which are regrettable despite every effort expended to render tbe operation as perfect as possible and as nearly ,ree or ground for just complaint as it can be made. Upon the assurance being given that every means is employed and every thought given to render the public the best service in every way the company bespeaks charity for any unavoidable short comings, and solicits the assistance of all in making the Ln.on Traction Company of Indiana the pride of the state, and one of the best and most dependable enterprises within the confines of the commonwealth.