USA > Nebraska > Lancaster County > Lincoln > History of the city of Lincoln, Nebraska : with brief historical sketches of the state and of Lancaster County > Part 19
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HON. G. M. LAMBERTSON.
he equipped, and then was elected Colonel of the regiment. The "Home Guards" were immediately called into service by Governor Morton to repel the invasion of Indiana by John Morgan, which the guards aided to thoroughly accomplish.
He now resides with his daughter, Mrs. G. H. Elgin, at Southport, Indiana, and is enjoying the well-earned profits of a busy early life.
The mother of Mr. G. M. Lambertson was born in Kentucky, in 1818, and was the daughter of a Baptist minister, who preached in Kentucky and Indiana, named Lewis Morgan. She was a woman of energy, courage, and positive thought, and had power to influence those
198
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
with whom she came in contact. . She was devoted to works of char- ity, religion, and the elevation of her fellow man. Her death occurred in 1877, at the age of sixty years. Her children were G. M. Lam- bertson, Mrs. G. H. Elgin, now of Logansport, Indiana, now aged thirty-seven; Mrs. U. M. Chaille, living at Indianapolis, aged thirty- five ; Mrs. I. B. Lavelle, of Louisville, Ky., aged thirty-three; and Dr. O. F. Lambertson, of Lincoln.
Genio Madison Lambertson was born at Frankfort, Indiana, May 19, 1850. He began his education in the public schools of his State, and later became a student in the Baptist college at Franklin, Indi- ana. He then attended Wabash University, at Crawfordsville, Ind., for six months, and then entered Chicago University, from whence he graduated, in 1872.
He then studied law with Messrs. Overstreet & Hunter, leading attorneys of Franklin, Indiana, and having carefully fitted himself for a legal career, he selected Lincoln for his future home, and located here June 1, 1874.
He began his life work as a clerk in the law office of Lamb & Bill- ingsley, and later became a member of that firm. In December, 1878, Mr. Lambertson was appointed United States District Attorney for the District of Nebraska, by President Rutherford B. Hayes, and con- tinued in that position for eight years, with high credit to himself. In this position he made a State-wide reputation. At the close of his second term he was tendered a temporary reappointment by President Cleveland, but this he declined.
From the expiration of his second term, in February, 1889, he has been steadily engaged in the practice of his profession in this city. He now ranks among the most able and successful attorneys of Lincoln. Among his most recent important achievements was the procurement of a writ of habeas corpus from the Supreme Court of the United States for the liberation of the Councilmen from the jail at Omaha, wherein they were incarcerated by order of Judge Brewer, of the United States Circuit Court, for alleged contempt. Mr. Lambertson also repre- sented the city before the Inter-State Commerce Commission, in its suit to require the Union Pacific railroad to deliver shipments from San Francisco at Lincoln as cheaply as at Omaha, when the merchan- dise passed through Lincoln in reaching Omaha, and pro rata when shipped otherwise. The Commission sustained the proposition ad-
199
LINCOLN POLITICALLY.
vaneed by Mr. Lambertson and the city secured the relief demanded. He was appointed City Attorney in 1888, and Mayor Graham reap- pointed him to the same office in the spring of 1889. In this position the business men of the city consider him a prudent and safe adviser.
Mr. Lambertson was married on June 10, 1880, to Miss Jane Gun- dry, daughter of Mr. Joseph Gundry, a prominent capitalist of Min- eral Point, Wis. She was born at Mineral Point, Wis., August 29, 1855, and was educated at Kemper Hall, Kenosha, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Lambertson rank justly among the most respected people in the best social eireles of the city. Their children are Margery Eliz- abeth, born August 23, 1881, and Nancy Perry, born August 26, 1883.
Mr. Lambertson is a prominent and respected member of the Bap- tist Church in this city, and he is ever ready to contribute to the progress of the city and welfare of mankind by both voice and deed.
200
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
CHAPTER XV.
LINCOLN'S RAILROADS-WHEN BUILT AND THE BONDS VOTED THEM -THE TERRITORY INTO WHICH THEY PENETRATE -THE COMMERCIAL ADVAN- TAGE GIVEN LINCOLN BY HER RAILROAD LINES-HER TELEGRAPH AND EXPRESS SYSTEMS.
As a railroad center all must concede that Lincoln stands at the head among Western cities. Her great lines of road reach out in every direction, controlling for her the trade of a territory vast in ex- tent, unlimited in resources, and wonderful in its possibilities. The showing which can be made demonstrates conclusively that Lincoln is the heart of the most complete system of railroads over which com- merce passes to and from any trans-Mississippi city, and the best dis- tributing point in the western half of the United States. That such is the fact makes it of interest to consider in detail the lines of road over which our commerce passes, when they were built, how they came to be built, the inducements offered them to come, and the other facts in connection therewith which suggest themselves to the inquir- ing mind.
First, let attention be called to Lincoln's Eastern connections. Three great trunk lines from the East operate their own tracks into the city : the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, the Fremont, Elkhorn and Mis- souri Valley, (Northwestern,) and the Missouri Pacific. Lincoln is the terminus of the Missouri Pacific's northwestern line, which gives the city an outlet direct to the Gulf and the Atlantic. In addition to these the Omaha & Republican Valley branch of the Union Pacific is virtually an extension of the Rock Island and Milwaukee roads, and it may be considered a certainty that the Rock Island will come into Lincoln soon over its own track. Thus it will be seen that this is virtually the terminal distributing point for seven great railroads. There is no distributing point west of Lincoln in all the vast region that lies between the Missouri and the Rocky mountains, and Lincoln and the cities on the Missouri reach too easily into the territory of Denver on the west to leave a field for the growth of any new city of importance in the intervening territory.
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LINCOLN'S RAILROADS, ETC.
Prior to 1869 the sound of the locomotive engine was unheard on the prairies of Lancaster, nor had its shrill notes echoed through the streets of Lincoln. But at that time a change was accomplished. The Legislature of 1869 started the building of four roads by appro- priating 2,000 acres of land to each mile of road constructed in the State within two years. These four roads started from points on the Missouri river and headed for Lincoln. The first was the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad in Nebraska, which started from Platts- month; the second, the Atchison & Nebraska, from Atchison; the third, the Midland Pacific, from Nebraska City, and the fourth, the Omaha & Southwestern, from Omaha. To-day these all belong to the same system ; but they started as competitors, and the race was to get for each as much as possible of the 250 miles that would exhaust the 500,000 aere appropriation.
The B. & M. had a further inducement to come in the shape of bonds voted by the county to the amount of $50,000.
Then the Atchison & Nebraska was voted county bonds to the ex- tent of $120,000, and the Midland Pacific was tempted by a bonus of $150,000.
The Midland Pacific gave promise, in consideration of so large a bonus, to locate large car shops in Lincoln, but the promise was never carried out. The road was, however, extended to York, and the $150,000 has proved to be a good investment.
When these lines had been completed into the city from the east and southeast, and the B. & M. had been extended west to Kearney, the. people began to realize that the city was already a prominent railroad center, and could be made the hub of the State by a continuation of the efforts to attract new roads. Great enterprise was shown in this di- rection, and the reward came in due season. For several years hard times and poor crops interfered with railroad building seriously, and no change was made in the map until 1879. In that year the city gave $25,000 in bonds to aid the Lincoln & Northwestern in starting its line to Columbus, and when that road was under way the Union Pacific retaliated by sending a branch of its own down from Valpa- raiso, and extending it to Beatrice a few years later. An extra in- dueement in the shape of a bonus was given by the city for the Valparaiso line.
When the revival of business and restoration of confidence came,
14
202
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
between 1876 and 1878, the B. & M. began a movement that made it the greatest system in the State. The Nebraska railway was leased, and important extensions were projected. Among the first was a line from Hastings to the Republican Valley, which in time developed into a great through road to Denver.
The Lincoln & Northwestern, a northern branch of the A. & N., was built from Lincoln to Columbus, in 1879, and in the following year the B. & M. secured possession of the entire property. This was not regarded as favorable to the city at that time, but later events have shown that it considerably increased the importance of Lincoln, considered from a railway standpoint. The city became the hub of the B. & M. system, six lines belonging to that company running out in all directions. The operating head-quarters were located here, and in time the offices of the general superintendent, the superintendent of telegraph, the general baggage agent, the chief engineer, the sta- tioner, the car accountant, and other officers, whose duties extend over the entire B. & M. system, were removed from Omaha and Platts- omuth and permanently located in the fine building erected in 1880 for a passenger depot and head-quarters building.
After the Union Pacific had been secured and had been extended south to Beatrice, and into Kansas, there were still a number of roads that the city greatly desired. The roads were willing to be courted, and the wooing went on for several years. The Missour Pacific was the first to capitulate, building a line from Weeping Wa- ter to the city in 1886, after receiving a donation from the city of $70,000. But a few months later the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley was also completed to the city, coming from Fremont, and re- ceiving a bonus from the city of $50,000. The effect of the building of these roads was tremendous. The following spring saw the great- est activity in real estate the city has ever known.
THE BURLINGTON ROAD.
Lincoln is particularly interested only in that portion of the B. & M. system west of the Missouri river .. The total length of the various B. & M. lines is 2,753 miles, and it is practically traversed by trav- eling men representing Lincol jobbing houses. On only a few miles of road southwest of Omaha, a few miles west of Atchison, and a short stretch of road east of Denver, are the jobbers of Lincoln un- able to do a profitable business.
B AMARAL
B. & M. DEPOT.
204
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
The impregnable position held by Lincoln as the distributing center of all the vast territory covered by this system, can be better under- stood by studying a Burlington map than by reading pages of argu- ment. It will show that the main C. B. & Q. line from Chicago enters Nebraska at Plattsmouth, twenty miles south of Omaha, comes directly to Lincoln and west to Denver. Lincoln is situated almost midway between these great cities, being 555 miles from Chicago and 484 miles from Denver. From this city four additional trunk lines extend in as many directions. These, as well as the main line, cover a large territory with their branches. Taken in the order of their im- portance to the city, the Wyoming branch ought to be considered first. This is an extension of the old Midland Pacific from York through Aurora and Grand Island, up into Custer county, and on to the new city of Alliance, in Box Butte county, 360 miles from Lincoln. From Alliance, a branch is now being constructed to the Black Hills, in Wyoming, 168 miles to the northwest. Another line will, without doubt, be pushed west from Alliance, perhaps to the Yellowstone re- gion, and on to a connection with the Northern Pacific. This road traverses a very promising region. Between Lincoln and Broken Bow the country is famous for its fertility. Between Broken Bow and Alliance the live stock industry will always thrive. The Box Butte region is excellent for agricultural products again, and Wyom- ing is rich in minerals and has inexhaustible beds of coal. Lincoln is the terminus of this road. All trains are made up here, and the entire line is managed from this city. Two passenger trains cach way as far as Ravenna and one the remainder of the distance to Al- liance, enable the people along the line to communicate easily with Lincoln. Freight trains are obliged to make an early start in the morning for the northwest, and in the shipment of goods on this line the Lincoln jobber is from twenty-four to forty-eight hours ahead of all competition. The entire road looks naturally to Lincoln for sup- plies.
Another long line on which the city finds a ready market, reaches to Cheyenne, Wyoming, a distance of 488 miles. The natural course of traffic on this line is west to Crete, twenty miles on the main line, south to De Witt, thirty miles, thence west through Strang, Edgar, Blue Hill, and Holdredge, all junction points for north and south branches of the same system, and into Colorado and Wyoming, where
205
LINCOLN'S RAILROADS, ETC.
Cheyenne is the present terminus. The country traversed is excep- tionally fertile, and the towns are thriving. Lincoln jobbers sell goods on the entire road.
The main line west ought to be mentioned as the road upon which the best cities of the western part of the State are situated. It runs to Denver, 484 miles, and the Lincoln jobber is able to cover 400 miles of it with profit to himself and his customer.
It will thus be seen that the B. & M. has three great lines running west out of Lincoln, which extend the entire distance across the State, which are connected by branches at frequent intervals.
The Burlington is moving toward northern Nebraska. Branches have been extended from Central City in three parallel lines, and it is probable that the road now in operation from Lincoln to Columbus will also be pushed into the North Platte region.
The southern and southeastern portions of the State are gridironed with B. & M. lines, and as all roads once led to Rome, so they now lead to Lincoln. Nebraska City, fifty-five miles east, on the Missouri river, has the original Midland Pacific branch, which is now connected with the "Q" system in Iowa by means of a magnificent steel bridge opened in the past year. This gives Lincoln another connection with Chicago.
The Atchison & Nebraska became a part of a system connecting St Joe, Kansas City, and Atchison, with Lincoln, and also with Den- ver, by means of a line through the southern tier of counties of Ne- braska, meeting at Oxford with the main line from this city. From this southern trunk three important feeders extend into Kansas.
Some idea of the strategic position of the city with respect to these lines may also be gained from a visit to the offices and yards and shops. Nearly 100 trains enter the city daily on the various lines, but not a single locomotive passes through. The train crews have their head-quarters here, and the number of employés stationed here to look after the business of the company is nearly 800. The yards are the most extensive in the entire system, forty-two miles of track being inside of the yard limits.
The Lincoln passenger depot is the best owned by the system, and is the center of more business than any depot occupied by a single railroad in the country. Twenty-five passenger trains arrive and de- part every day. One-half of the people entering the State come through the gateway called Lincoln.
206
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
As a means of showing the business done here by the B. & M. system and the increase of business during the past three years, the following table will be of service :
YEARS.
NO. CARS. TONNAGE.
18=6.
12,651
136,565
18-7
20,889
217,518
23,477
257,690
Totals.
57,017
611,773
During 1888 the average number of men employed on the B. & M. in Lincoln was 793, to whom an average monthly wage of $43,443.50 was paid. Within the city limits are forty-two miles of track, a very large showing for a city of this size.
THE UNION PACIFIC.
This road has usually been considered an Omaha road, and many are now firm in the belief that the U. P. would do nothing for Lin- coln beyond that which is absolutely necessary to its own welfare; but the facts are that the Union Pacific is becoming a more important road to Lincoln every year, and the management is looking toward Lincoln with favor as time passes. The road appreciates that Lin- coln is an important and growing commercial center, and is willing to give all the facilities that are afforded by its immense system of road in Nebraska and Kansas. As evidence of this, the treatment given Lincoln upon the opening of the K. C. & O. railway may be cited. This road was built to occupy vacant territory in the southwest. Ex- tensions were made from Fairfield west to Minden, and thence south- west to Alma. At the same time the road was built east and north to a connection with the O. & R. V. at Stromsburg. During the build- ing of this line Lincoln looked upon it with suspicion. It was to be a part of the U. P. system, and that, in the minds of many people, meant that its business must go either to Omaha or Kansas City. It was something of a surprise, then, when the road upon completion was operated as a line running directly out of Lincoln. Through trains were put on running from Alma to Lincoln by way of Stromsburg and Valparaiso. A car goes to Omaha, but the solid train, with this ex- ception is run through to Lincoln. That it increases the railroad busi-
207
LINCOLN'S RAILROADS, ETC.
ness of the city not a little is shown by the fact that this train carries, according to the statements of the conductors, 150 passengers per day on an average. Equal facilities are given for reaching that line with freight, and thus it turns out that one of the most important extensions made by the Union Pacific for several years is practically a new line ont of Lincoln.
This city is situated on the branch connecting the Nebraska and Kansas divisions of the road, and is about midway between them. Direct connection is made with the roads traversing the northern tier of counties of the State of Kansas, and distributing rates are given that enable the Lincoln jobber to reach that territory on advantageons terms. The Union Pacific system in Nebraska includes the main line from Omaha west and a number of important branches. On all of those lines the Lincoln merchant has nearly the same facilities and rates as are enjoyed by Omaha. In connection with the Rock Island the road forms a through line to Chicago, and a good portion of the "in" business comes over this road. For "out" business this system is very important. The main line and branches traverse nearly forty Nebraska counties, nearly all of them favorably located and capable of sustaining a large population. Lincoln goods go out over the sys- tem to Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and Idaho, according to the state- ments made by the jobbers and also by the agents of the company. The buiness of the Lincoln offices has increased steadily since the road was built into the city. When the Missouri Pacific and the Elk- horn were completed to this point, they shared with the older roads the Eastern traffic. The Union Pacific was able to give them a liberal portion of it and still receive for its own share a much larger tonnage in 1886 than in 1885, and a still greater increase in the two following years. Although the exact figures of the business cannot be given, the local agent, Mr. Miller, gives the information that the increase has been most wonderful in the past three years. This city has through trains or excellent connections on all the roads of the Union Pacific system, which includes over 1,000 miles of road in this State and fully as much in Kansas, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and Idaho, all regu- larly traveled by salesmen from Lincoln jobbing houses.
208
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
THE MISSOURI PACIFIC.
When Gould built his first Nebraska extension, in 1880, he thought that Lincoln was too insignificant a city to reach with his main line, and he therefore passed it thirty miles to the east. This was a mis- take, as the managers of the road soon discovered. In a few years a Lincoln branch was projected, and in 1886 it was completed to this city. This line caused not a little of the unparalleled prosperity of the last three years. By giving a direct road to St. Louis shorter than the Omaha line, it placed the jobbers at an advantage which they under- stood and knew how to use. Freights on all southern business are now the same as to Omaha, and as the out rate is lower than from Omaha, the Lincoln jobber is very well cared for on all goods from the south- ern market. The road was also important in opening up the coal fields of the south, and in bringing the yellow pine and oak and other hard woods of the Missouri and Arkansas to Lincoln. The impor- tance of the traffic from that region is great, and it is swelling in vol- ume from year to year. The system includes about 7,000 miles of road. Kansas City and St. Louis are reached by two daily trains. Through ears run from Lincoln to Kansas City, where close connee- tions are made for trains to all points on the system, east, west, and south. This has become a favorite route for the traveler who does not care to pass through Chicago, but would prefer to visit the cities further south. The road has also done a large California business in Lincoln, taking the traveler over the southern route.
The Missouri Pacific was wanted by the city because it was thought that it would be particularly valuable in bringing in coal and lumber. The books of the freight office show that it has filled every promise in this regard. Yellow pine, hard wood, coal, and southern products, form the bulk of the business. A considerable amount of miscella- * neons freight is also brought from the east ria St. Louis. By com- paring the record of the year month by month with that of 1888, it is found that the business of the Lincoln freight office has increased fully fifty per cent for the entire year.
THE NORTHWESTERN.
Previous to 1886 the wholesale trade of the city of Lincoln was con- fined to the south half of the State of Nebraska. The territory occupied was known to be by far the most fertile portion, but still it was felt that
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LINCOLN'S RAILROADS, ETC.
much advantage would result from a connection with the entire State. A line reaching the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley was par- ticularly desired, as that would not only give access to the entire Elk- horn system in Nebraska, but the Northwestern system reaching to Chicago and to the great lumber districts of the north. At one time a company was organized to build the Lincoln & Fremont road, in order to secure such a connection, but the enterprise failed. It is, per- haps, well that it did, for in a short time the city was able to attract a branch of the road.
Lincoln became a city on the Northwestern lines in 1886, the Elk- horn railway building a branch from Fremont. Direct connection was thus obtained with a system of road covering 7,005 miles, 1,252 miles of this belonging to the Elkhorn, over 1,000 being in Nebraska. The main line extends from Blair, on the Missouri river a short dis- tance north of Omaha, to Fremont, on the Union Pacific in Dodge county. From that point it follows the valley of the Elkhorn river toward the northwest, and traverses the entire northern portion of the State.' At Chadron, in the extreme northwest, a branch diverges to tap the Black Hills, while the main line continues until the Wyoming coal fields are reached. There are numerous feeders : one connects Lincoln with Fremont, another gives Omaha connection with the main line. It will be seen that the branch to this city is in general direction a continuation of the main line. It places Lincoln practi- cally the same distance away from the main line as Omaha. The two competing eities have the same out rates and the same train service. They are on an equality in battling for the business of Northern Ne- braska.
In the year 1885 the State Legislature of Nebraska passed a law adopting the commissioner system of railroad control, a system which so far has proved to be the best devised for regulating and controlling the operations of railroads. The State Constitution expressly forbids the creating of any new State offices, and hence to get around this con- stitutional impediment, the law provides that the Board of Commis- sioners shall consist of the Secretary of State, Auditor of Public Accounts, Attorney General, Treasurer, and Commissioner of Public Lands and Buildings, who shall appoint three secretaries, to whom the duties of the board are in a large degree delegated. Accordingly the
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