USA > Illinois > Will County > History of Will County, Illinois, Volume One > Part 30
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(2) During this time the physical condition of the roads has been kept at the highest point in history.
(3) The service rendered to shippers was better than ever before. The amount of service rendered by the aver- age train on an hourly basis was the greatest in his- tory, and more cars were handled per freight train than ever before.
(4) Altho the gross earnings of the roads were falling the average wage paid per employe rose to the highest point since 1921. Thru increased efficiency, and neces- sity for fewer employes, the total amount of wages paid was the smallest in six years.
(5) Latest statistics indicate that the downward trend of car loadings may now have been reversed. For the weeks ended July 7 and July 14 car loadings were higher than for the corresponding weeks a year ago.
"Depression in the coal industry was in a large measure responsible for the falling off in freight carried by the eastern roads. Also the volume of general merchandise shipped up to a few weeks ago has not been as great. However, improvement
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in the steel trade and somewhat better general business activ- ity supports the view that a trend toward improvement is gaining in the eastern sections. Nevertheless, during the first five months of the year the roads of the eastern and southern districts showed a decline both in gross earnings and in net, even though they succeeded in making substantial reductions in operating expenses.
"In the western district, however, the roads increased their net earnings eleven per cent, while their operating expenses were reduced 11% per cent. The excellent harvest of winter wheat in the southwest has recently greatly benefited the car- riers serving this section. The improvement in net earnings is all the more striking because these roads a year ago were suffering from the flood conditions. Now in addition to carry- ing a bumper wheat crop they are called upon to move material and labor to the flood reconstruction work.
"Weather conditions in the northwest have recently been quite favorable to the crops. Traffic outlook is consequently improving. Inasmuch as net earnings began to decline last year about this time, the better crop prospects should make possible favorable earnings comparisons for the next few months for the northwestern carriers. In Canada, conditions so far have been much more favorable for the railroads this year than in the United States. Both Canadian Pacific and Canadian National Railways' gross earnings have been run- ning about 10 per cent above the first six months of 1927. With the outlook for a good wheat crop in the western provinces, car loadings should continue to improve on these Canadian roads and earnings should correspondingly benefit.
"It now appears likely that nothing more will be done to- ward the solution of the eastern consolidation program until fall. Undoubtedly the clearing up of this consolidation mud- dle would be a great help to the roads, but it is a very complex and involved situation which may require a considerable time
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longer to solve. The Interstate Commerce commission so far has not shown a tendency to accept the programs set forth by the leading eastern systems. Speculation in railroad securities on the basis of possible consolidation is, therefore, hazardous, especially at this stage of the market.
"Aside from the vexing consolidation problems the rail- roads have to face the fact that their freight traffic is not in- creasing as fast as it was before the war. From 1920-1927 freight business of all the railroads increased less than 1 per cent per year, whereas from 1906 to 1913 it increased nearly 11 per cent per year. Doubtless the automobile and the motor truck have had much to do with this decline. Certainly the private automobile and the bus have cut down passenger traf- fic. Also a large part of the short-haul freight business is done by truck rather than by rail. On the other hand, the automo- bile is directly responsible for increasing certain kinds of freight. Since 1913 the tonnage of stone, sand, and other road building materials has increased 85 per cent. Had it not been for the motor cars most of the materials would not have been needed, because they are largely used in the construction of roads. Also it is the motor car that has made necessary ship- ments of steel for the manufacture of motor cars, tires, and motor vehicles themselves, are an important source of freight tonnage. The fact that freight tonnage is not increasing as fast as it was before indicates the change to truck service.
The following account of the history of the Rock Island Railroad is taken from a recent publication by that corpora- tion entitled "Seventy Years of Service" by F. J. Nevins.
"On the evening of a June day, 1845, several men walked up the path from the Mississippi River to Colonel Davenport's home. It was on the island in the Mississippi River. To the right was Fort Armstrong, built in 1816 by the U. S. and now known as the "Guardian of the Mississippi". To the eastward was Rock Island formerly known as Farnhamsburg. To the
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northeast the buildings in Moline, reflected the warm glow of the setting sun.
"Among these men were Judge James Grant, Ebenezer Cook, and A. C. Fulton who came from Davenport; Lemuel Andrews and P. A. Whittaker, who came from Rock Island, bringing with them N. D. Elwood from Joliet, Charles Atkin- son from Moline and Richard P. Morgan, a civil engineer.
Judge Grant spoke at some length. He visioned the vast expanse westward to the Pacific Ocean and beheld in his dream, the magnificent empire which has since grown upon these roll- ing plains. He proposed that they inaugurate a movement to build the railroad connecting the Lakes and the Mississippi. He foresaw the need of transportation in the development of the great West. Increasing population would demand more rapid transportation.
The men before him were silent as each recalled that in 1837 the State of Illinois made an appropriation of $10,500,000 (not in the treasury) to build 1341 miles of railroad. They recalled that bonds were sold amounting to more than $5,000,- 000. They recalled the short line of railroad from Springfield to Meridosia, which was operated at a loss for a short time before it collapsed.
Mr. Whitaker spoke for the whole group when he said, "Regardless of our sad experience in Illinois, we must fall in line with this march of progress to the Mississippi, and who shall say that it shall not go beyond?"
The next morning the men from Illinois were on their way to Springfield to secure charter rights for the Rock Island and La Salle Railroad Company. Twenty months were to elapse however, months spent in discussion and political con- siderations, before this memorable meeting became fruitful.
By Special Act of the Illinois Legislature, approved Febru- ary 27, 1847, this railroad was incorporated with authority, as detailed in the Charter, to construct a line of railroad "from
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the termination of the Illinois and Michigan Canal" at La Salle, to Rock Island on the Mississippi River, the capital stock being fixed at $300,000.00.
The responsibility of selling the shares of the Corporation was assumed by a commission composed of Messrs. Joseph Knox, F. R. Brunot, N. B. Buford, Wm. Vandever and Nath- aniel Belcher, of Rock Island County; Joshua Harper and James G. Bolmer of Henry County; Cyrus Bruant, John Stev- ens and R. T. Templeton of Bureau County; and John V. Horr and Wm. H. W. Gushman of La Salle County, all within the State of Illinois, and the subscription books opened during February, 1848.
Strenuous days followed. It was found to be a difficult mat- ter to interest capital in so uncertain a project as a railroad and, particularly, one having none but waterway connections at either terminal.
Those whom we have met at Colonel Davenport's home, and their friends, however, were not delinquent in their duties regarding organization procedure, for they met at Rock Island early in 1848 and elected Directors and Officers in turn, as follows:
President-James Grant (of Iowa).
Treasurer-A. K. Philleo.
Secretary-N. B. Buford.
Directors-James Grant, Ebenezer Cook, N. B. Buford, J. N. Allen, M. B. Osborne, Charles Atkinson, John Stevens, Jus- tis Stevens, L. D. Brewster and Lemuel Andrews.
Mr. Wm. Bailey was the Directors' first nominee for Treas- urer, but resigned later. Mr. Philleo had previously been ap- pointed by the Commissioners to receive subscriptions. Mr. Churchill Coffing served as Treasurer from April through December, 1851. In the absence of any legal department, Mr. Buford furnished the legal counsel needed.
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Mr. Richard P. Morgan was chosen as the Chief Engineer, and he shortly entered the field to complete a preliminary sur- vey of the line between Rock Island and Peru.
The sale of the stock of the Rock Island and La Salle Rail- road progressed very slowly-$50,400 being pledged in Bureau County, $20,000 in Henry, $25,000 in La Salle and $75,800 in Rock Island counties; $128,300, or practically all of the re- mainder was subsequently purchased by residents of Scott County, Iowa, of which Davenport is the county seat.
The various meetings and periods of discussion held on the part of Judge Grant and his colleagues, failed to inaugurate any concerted plan of actual construction, and early in the year 1850 open dissension was expressed by some of the towns that long ere this had anticipated the coming of the railroad.
It was about this time that Mr. Henry Farnam of New Haven, Conn., and who had had considerable experience in railroad construction in the East, came to Chicago.
While his main interest at that time was the proposed con- struction of the Galena and Chicago Union, he possessed a slight knowledge of the La Salle line.
The wonderful advantages of the entire line so impressed Mr. Farnam that he prevailed on Mr. Joseph E. Sheffield, a man of wealth and a sincere friend of the former, to come to Chicago and inspect the proposed new line. This Mr. Sheffield promptly did, and placed his approval on the entire plan.
The discovery of gold in California, January 24, 1848, when James W. Marshall picked up from under his shoe the first gold nugget at Sutter's Ford, had electrified the world. All eyes were turned across the valley of the Mississippi to that "truly golden land beyond," and from all points they came- the rich, the poor, the good and the bad.
Like a dreamer suddenly awakened to actualities, the pro- motors of the Rock Island and La Salle Railroad felt the poten-
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tial call, and forthwith the board of directors held their first session at Rock Island on November 27, 1850, petitioned the United States Congress for right-of-way and applied to the Illinois Legislature for an amendment to their charter, au- thorizing a change in title and rights to build to Chicago.
The Legislature of Iowa was also memorialized with a view to building a depot in Davenport, and with the right to trans- port their own passengers and freight across the Mississippi.
The morning of October 1, 1851, gave promise of a cold, rainy day for the little City of Chicago. The dense, dripping fog blowing in off the lake and the chill in the air that bespoke the coming of winter, afforded little comfort to those who trudged along the wooden sidewalks of the town.
Around a vacant piece of ground just west of Clark Street, and south of Jackson a number of idlers were standing-men off the lake boats, timber cutters, awaiting passage northward, and "drifters" from nowhere in particular-watching two men as they waded into the muddy lot and began erecting a gaudily painted sign. They had never seen one reading just like this before:
"Good railroad work for the winter. Apply to Sheffield & Farnam, contractors, the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad at Twelfth Street."
Mike was there, Tony was there and Dominique and Pori- firio, and it was not long before they were asking two questions, in one common language-"How far?" and "Where?" The throng of idlers melted away, tramping northward along the muddy sides of Clark Street to Twelfth Street, seeking the "good work for the winter." And thus was formed the nucleus of the first "railroad camp" of the great "Rock Island Line." Work was starting "then and now."
Out of the prairie near Twenty-second Street, at the limits of the town, a number of men were organizing. Mule and ox teams with slip scrapers were beginning to follow the plows,
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as the latter turned up the earth in the borrow pits alongside the slightly raised railroad embankment, then gradually as- suming shape. To the east, through the rising mist, could be seen the sparkling white caps of Lake Michigan and over to the northwest the sluggish water of the Chicago River flowed slowly toward the lake. From the few scattered houses round- about, no recognition was had of this propitious occasion. The usual band was absent; speeches and flowers were lacking.
Mr. Farnam and Mr. William Jervis, the chief engineer, were discussing some project, when Congressman ("Long John") Wentworth, a warm personal friend of the former, came driving out the Vincennes Plank Road from the river, and turning his horses across the vacant land lying eastward of the new railroad embankment, soon drew up beside them.
At Twelfth Street and the river considerable activity could be noted. A schooner, the "C. Y. Richmond," was moored in the slip which extended eastward from the river to Clark Street. From the hold of the vessel iron rails were being hoisted out and piled on ways near the river's bank. These rails- the first shipment received-were manufactured by the Ebber- vale Company of London, England, and were brought to New York largely as ballast in empty sailing vessels. Here they were transferred to smaller boats and brought to Chicago by way of the Erie Canal and Great Lakes. It was decided that from this point, the rails would be moved to the front, either over the track previously laid, or by means of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. The rail weighed 58 pounds per yard and cost originally $55 per ton. This price was afterwards increased to $70, which action cut materially into the finances of the company, but apparently it was not considered as an unmixed evil, because Mr. Flagg, the treasurer, in a letter to one of the directors stated, "It is so high that it will at least keep out competition for a while."
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Approximately 17,000 tons were thus brought from Eng- land for the first miles constructed; 10,000 being delivered dur- ing 1851 and 1852, and the remainder the following year.
From another schooner alongside the "C. Y. Richmond," cedar cross ties, cut from trees along the lakes, up toward what is now Evanston, Illinois, were being unloaded. They were six inches thick, seven inches wide and varied in length from eight to ten feet.
Soon a small army of men were diligently engaged in this work of railroad building, under Samuel B. Reed, an engineer of unusual ability, but the winter proved to be a severe one and delays and hardships were many and exacting. In Decem- ber, 1851, the grading was completed to a point five miles south (now Englewood) where the trains of the Northern Indiana Railroad were wont to come from Toledo, Ohio, and stop. Re- gardless of the snow and chilling rain, regardless of the wind- shipped stretches of unprotected prairie, the work forged ahead until in January, 1852, rail was laid, spiked and bolted to the proposed point of connection with the Northern Indiana line. On May 22nd of that year the trains of this latter line began to use the single track into the Chicago and Rock Island depot at Twenty-second Street, and later at Twelfth Street, which arrangement continued until five years later, when a second track was laid into the city from the point of connection, five miles south. The event was announced by President Jervis as "a continuation of the great line of railroads from the south shores of Lake Erie and Lake Michigan, coming into the city and using the tracks of the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad Company, a distance of six miles. The two roads will occupy the same depot, and a complete commercial connection has been established between the two companies to their mutual satisfaction."
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And that depot! A plain structure of wood, sixty feet long and twenty-five feet wide, enjoying the luxury of coal oil lamps and a clean coat of whitewash !
October, 1852, saw the last rail joined up and spiked and the track surfaced to permit the operation of trains between Chicago and Joliet.
Addison R. Gilmore (the first superintendent appointed, and who served but a short while) had reported to both Mr. Far- nam and Mr. Jervis the impatient demands made upon him by the residents of Blue Island, Mokena and Joliet for some actual evidence of a train, and after a general conference on the part of the president with the contractors, it was decided that sched- uled passenger and freight service should forthwith be inau- gurated.
A locomotive named the "Rocket" and one of three secured from the Rogers Company, pending delivery of the eighteen originally ordered and, which were then building, was prop- erly groomed and decorated to handle the memorable train, the first to operate over the iron rails of the great present-day railroad system and which left Twenty-second Street, Chicago, Sunday, October 10, 1852, at 10 a. m.
Although the small frame depot at Blue Island was in no way ready for occupancy, the one at Mokena hardly started as yet, and realizing that no provision for turning the locomotive at Joliet as yet existed and that the return trip to Chicago must necessarily be a "backup" run, the insistence of Superin- tendent Gilmore prevailed, and it was definitely decided that steam transportation should be started. Mr. Huntington, the first local agent, had been installed at Blue Island a day or two before.
When the "iron horse and its train of living freight", as stated by the "Chicago Daily Democrat," reached Joliet and stopped in front of the small, one-story frame depot, then parti-
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ally complete, located just west of Eastern avenue, between Clinton and VanBuren streets, many conflicting emotions arose within the breasts of those who witnessed its coming. Exhila- ration and enthusiasm of the young was intermingled with the thankfulness of the mature, at witnessing this unbelievable thing. Dying pessimism gave way to envy and ridicule on the part of those whose investments were identified with the Illin- ois and Michigan Canal-because public sympathy still remain- ed divided between the canals and waterways as being the proper means of transportation, leaving the railroads to serve only as auxiliaries.
As the train was about to leave on its return trip to Chicago, a grayhaired gentleman, accompanied by a girl of thirteen, hastily boarded one of the coaches. This little girl afterwards became Mrs. W. W. Stevens, now a resident of Hubbard Woods, a northern suburb of Chicago, and who well remembers the notable event and many of the prominent resident of Joliet, who, gathered on the depot platform, purchased tickets from the newly-appointed station agent-Mr. M. M. Marsh-and joined the historic party.
"I recall," she stated, "Mrs. Hugh Henderson, Mrs. George Woodruff, Sr., Mr. and Mrs. Harvey E. Lowe, Mrs. J. P. Mc- Dougal, Mrs. C. D. A. Parks, Mr. and Mrs. A. F. Patrick, Mrs. Edmond Wilcox, Mr. and Mrs. William Adams, Mr. and Mrs. E. C. Fellows, Mr. and Mrs. T. B. Reed, Mrs. Francis Nicholson and Miss Kate Nicholson. On our arrival at Chicago, the Sher- man House received the party and served a sumptuous dinner to the visitors, after which a sight-seeing tour of the city was made, terminating in a theater party later on."
Henceforth, and during the seventy years that have elapsed, not a day has passed without witnessing the coming and going of one or more trains of this great railroad in and out of Joliet.
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The first section of the present system of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company was built in 1886 between Joliet and Aurora by the Joliet, Aurora & Northern Railway Com- pany which was acquired by the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Rail- way in 1888. The Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway was organ- ized March 18, 1887, and is incorporated under the laws of Ill- inois. The road was opened in 1889 from Spaulding through Joliet to McCool, Indiana, and from Walker to South Wilming- ton, Illinois. The Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway owns 212 miles of main track and 767 miles of second main track and side tracks.
The Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway forms a belt line around the City of Chicago at a radius of approximately thirty miles from the center of the City and connects with all the railroads entering the City of Chicago. Its northern terminus is at Waukegan, Illinois, on Lake Michigan, where it has ex- tensive docks, and water as well as rail connections. It extends to the southwest and south through various small towns, and swings to the southeast and east through the City of Joliet, passing directly east through Chicago Heights to the Indiana State Line at Dyer, Indiana, thence northeasterly, terminating at Porter, Indiana. Another line extends from Griffith, Indi- ana, to Cavanaugh, where it branches to Hammond and Whit- ing, Indiana, and connects with the Chicago, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway, extending to Gary, Indiana, and South Chi- cago, Illinois, which property is operated by the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway under a long-term lease. Branches extend from Normantown to Aurora, Illinois; from Walker to the coal fields between Carbon Hill and South Wilmington, Illinois, and from Rockdale Junction to Rockdale.
In Joliet, connections are made with the Joliet & Blue Island Railway, which property is leased to the Chicago, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway under a long-term lease and by that rail- way leased to the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway.
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The Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company also operates over the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad through a track- age agreement made by that company with the Chicago, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway, the privilege covering practically the entire system of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad in Illinois and Indiana.
The Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway also has trackage rights over the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad from Whiting, Indiana, to McCook, Illinois, and for short pieces of track over various carriers near Chicago.
No passenger trains are operated by the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway. A very heavy freight traffic is handled over portions of the main line, especially between Joliet and Gary, Indiana.
CHAPTER XV.
THE BAR IN WILL COUNTY.
PREVIOUS TO 1884-EARLY DAY . LAWYERS-JUDGES-MEMBERS OF WILL COUNTY BAR
The following account of the Bar of Will County; previous to 1884, is from the Historical Edition of the Joliet News, edited by James H. Ferriss, and published in 1884. Mr. Ferriss was a good student of human nature and keen to detect super- ior qualities. His account of the early bar must be a part of Will County History.
"From our earliest history we have had able, acute and eloquent representatives of the legal profession. It is no dis- paragement of the present ones, to say that the first have not been surpassed in all our history. The first one in point of time was Mr. Elisha C. Fellows, who came first to Channahon in 1834, and hung out his shingle soon after in Joliet; and from that time until a few years since he was known as one of our shrewdest, busiest and most successful lawyers.
While at Channahon he married a most estimable lady- daughter of Judge Peck, an early and most substantial citizen. He was especially noted as a criminal lawyer, and generally on the side of the defense. For a brief and curious portion of his life here, Mr. Fellows was a preacher of Millerism and an Abolitionist. He was a native of Columbia County, N. Y., and died at Lockport, Ill., in August, 1876.
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William A. Boardman came here in 1836. He was for a time a partner of Judge Henderson. He had a strong and original mind, a quaint and homely style of address, and often raised a laugh at the way he put things. He removed after a few years to Lake County, where he held the office of County Judge. He married a sister of Henry Fish, Esq. His death occurred suddenly, while visiting friends in this county in 1872.
One of the strongest law firms we had was that of Newkirk & Wilson. Newkirk came here in 1836, a new fledged, but in- dustrious and well read lawyer. His peculiar characteristics were conscientious devotion to his client's interest, strict atten- tion to business, and tenacity of purpose. He left here after about ten years, and is now a resident of Hudson, N. Y. His partner, John M. Wilson, recently deceased, came here in the summer of 1835, and did not for a couple of years enter upon the practice of his profession, in which he became eminent. He removed to Chicago and became Judge of the Superior Court.
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