Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 21, Number 67, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 May 1900 — THE RAILROADS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE RAILROADS

Work is being pushed upon the Rock Island extension from Kingfisher to Guthrie. A new station, to cost $30,000, will be built by the Chicago and Northwestern road at Beloit, Wis. It is said that tin* proposed electric railway between Aurora and Chicago via Wheaton will be built this year. Western roads are trying to rea<-h an agreement to contribute no cash toward the promotion of “street fairs” and similar enterprises. A plan is on foot looking to the consolidation of ail the elevated railroads of Chicago with an aggregate stock of more than $51,000,000. Tlie Burlington road will run summer excursions betw<*en Colorado and Chicago similar to those recently announced by the Rock Island. St. Louis traveling salesmen are trying to induce the railroads to issue interchangeable excess baggage tickets, to be sold at a discount. The “Soo" line ran its first, “homeseekers' excursion" on May 1 from the Nortliwe'At'to New York. Boston and several cities in eastern Canada. After several months of great inconvenience and marked financial losses the Chicago terminal lines have succeeded in lifting the blockade of freight cars in the local yards and have smothered the freight car famine out of existence. The Union Pacific has announced its intention of re-establishing the f<»eding-in-transit rule for stock, for which no additional freight barges will Im- made. The Northern Pacific inaugurated its double daily train service to the Pacific coast from St. Paul. Minneapolis and Duluth to Helena. Butte, Spokane, Seattle, Tacoma and Portland.• An order was recently issued by the Southern Railway, applicable to South Carolina and Georgia, prohibiting the use of cigarettes by employes and forbidding the future employment of cigarette smokers.