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Toledo & Ann Arbor

Toledo & Ann Arbor image
Parent Issue
Day
1
Month
April
Year
1885
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Saturday cveniiig, March 21st, the Draeonlan Club, of Toledo, Ohio, gave Gov. Ashley of the Toledo & Ann Arbor H. R, a grand banquet. The cards were elegant, the meuu dclictous andthewhole affaira grand one. Hon. Chas., A. King, president of the club presided. The following is Gov. Ashley's speech. It is of euffieient interest to our readers to give in full: Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Club : For this very conaplimentary and unexpected entertainment, I am under many obligations, and thank you individually and collectively for your flattering reception, and you, Mr. President, for all your generous words of comuiendation and welcome. I have no set speech to make to-uight, and therefore shall not detain you long. Perhaps I can entertain you best by giving you a brief history of the Aun Albur road, from its inception until the present time, at least that part of it whieh raay properly be made public. If the inside history of it were written I fear it would read more like a section of the Arabian Nights than the actual history of a live railroad in Michigan. It was at the end of the political cainpaign in '76, tlirougn whicb I had gone witli a good deal of dissatisfaetlon, to mycelf at least, when I said that I would not make another political speech until Blich iBsuos weiu bofore th country as would i-nlist my beart and stir niy blood. My children at that time were in the University at Ann Arbor, and to reach there from Toledo it was necessary for me to go by way of Detroit. Sorne years before a road bed had been graded from Ann Arboi- to the state line, and a road bed grailed from Owosso to Alma, Qratiot coutity, Mich. 1 looked over this Ann Arbor enterprise and after careful investigaron, I said I would drop politics and see what I could do with this road. Kailroad managers of eminence had sent their engineers to examine this route, and I concluded that if Col. Scott, of the Penusylvania, and Mr. üarrett, of the Baltimore & Ohio, considered this a practical line, I need not he.sitate to take hold of it. I found, on examining the United States census reports, that the populatiou for tliirty years bas been following the direction of this proposed line. I wassatisfied tht any country with twelve miles of territory on either side of a railroad and a populatlon of 1,000 a mile tributaiy to it, could maintaln and support a line if properly operated. For more than a year I importuned men of wealth in the East for the money with Whicb to build the road. I did not atteinpt to raise the money in Toledo because I was known here as an ex-Congressman and not as a railroad man. At that time the Michigan Central was practically in the hands of a gentleman who had been a greal frlend of mine in public life, Mr. Giinnell. About the time I got my rails laid to Ann Arbor the rumor was current in the papers that Mr. Vanüerbilt was about to secure control of that road. I went to New York and Mr. Grinnell assuied ine that there was not the slightest danger of its goiug into his hands. I was told to go ahead with niy road and that a connection would be given me with the Michigan Central at Ann Arbor for Chicago and the East. In this Mr. Grinnell was honestly mistaken. The Ann Arbor road was tlius left without connection, either at Ann Arbor or Alexis. I Uien went to Philadelphia and made a baigain for the State Line road, wliio.h had been built by the Pennsylvania company, under the direction of Gen. Swayne, and that bargain saved the Ann Arbor from going into the hands of a receiver. The State Line road from here to Alexis, was the most valuable piece of property which the Ann Arbor road could have obtained. Then camc flnancial trouble, and the men who had advanced me money became anxious about it. I could not get business enough between here and Ann Arbor to make the road pay. It was not thought posslble tUat anybody would extend the Michigan Air Line road from Pontiac to Jackson. I could not get a dollar in Toledo for the extensión of the Ann Arbor road, and I must extend it or surrender. I finally organlzed a conipany and succeeded In grading the road bed from Ann Arbor to Pontiac, and built it as far as South Lyons, when the news came that the "Grand Trunk" was to be built to Jackson. Here was another embarassmcnt 1 finally sold the road-bed from South Lyons to Pontiac to the Grand Trunk for less than it cost me. It would have damaged the Ann Arbor property to have had another line built rarallel with it. Our road crosses, as you will ee by a glance at the map of Michigan all the other roads in that section of the state at right angles. Some years after I had bought the roadbed, from Owosso, north, an act slipped through the Legislature of Michigan allowing anybody to take and occupy a road-bed, that had not been used for ten years, so I was compelled to go up there and put my rails on that road-bed in order to hold it, as it had not been used for over ten years. In spite of this succession of discouragements and sceming disaster, I resolved to make this a living road, and that it should never go into the hands of a receiver. Toledo is the natural gateway for the commerce of Michigan, and the commence of that grcat state can be brought to Toledo by this road of ours better and cheaper than by any other route. When the Ann Arbor reaches Cadillac it will command a larger portion of the inlaud commerce of Michigan than any road of the same length in the state, for the reason that Toledo Is the naturil gateway soutbeast for its forest and other products. Now I would like to show what the road to South Lyons is doing. Our road is earning more per mile than four-lifths of all the lines in the United States. Our eurnings for 1884 are 21) per cent. over the year 1883. The Railroad Gazette for March (5 shows that our inorease per mile for January tuis year exceeds that of any road in the United States but one, wliose earnings are published, and there are over a hundred of thern, and I assume they are all published as ours is on the certificates of their auditors. My auditor, gentlemen, whoni you all know, is a man who makes no returns that are not true in every respect. The bonds of the F. & P. M. road sell at 112. It is a niuch longer road than ours, and therefore costs more to be inaintained. It costs a million dollars to put 00 miles of road down and in good shape for operating. Our road from here to South Lyons cost us more than üiat. Now, the D. L. & N. and C. & W. M.'and the F. & P. M. roads going luto a like terrltory have a south-bound tonnage of from 70 to 80 per cent, per year, and the D., L. & N. bonds are selling for 109. None of these roads have valunble termini ín large cities. We have a terminus here, and we cannot be excluded. We can make tliia the gateway of a largo per centage of the Michigan traille for the reason tuat we are the shorlest line. We can carry the products of the territory north of us throoffb the very country thnt consumes it - Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, etc. If the trafile is taken to Detroit from tliree to five hours are lost in crossing and going througn Canada, a country that adds nothing to your trafile, aml across one uiile of the uio8t expenslve road in the world; I mean the Niastara bridge. The extra expense per car over that line is about $-1.00 per car the year round, while the tax per car over our route, via the Maumee river, is butüOc. and nothing for returning emties. It would have been better for me in mere dollars and cents to have let tliis road pass into the hands of one or two syndicates that were after it. They thought they had secured it more than once but they were as often mistaken. I am contident the extensión of tuis road to Cadillac will niake lts bonds equal to the best railroad bonils In this country, and it will make the man who posteases stock in it, theownerof a good paying stock. ïhere is no reason why the Ann Arbor road should not be taken hold of earnestly by the people of Toledo. Those who do are certain to make money out of it, and I want sonie of my friends to have a sharc of the proflts. I can show jou with figures which are reliable that tlieie is money in it, if I cannot, theu I do not want you to take a hand in it. I gul the unió idea in my head when I flrst came up the Blaumee 30 years ago in a steamboat, which seems to have possessed a majority of our people from tbe ürst, that Toledo was to be future great. The different roads which have been built - Chicago & Canadian Southern which, fortunately for us, stopped at Fayette- the B. & O., 30 or 40 miles south of us, and which ought to have come here, and the rond built from Detroit to Butler by Mr. James F. Joy, one of Detroit's ablest and ttrongest men, must soon open onr eyes to the tact that great eities can only be built by business. These roads, you will notice, have not conti ibuted very largely to our becoming the Future Üreat. I it not about time that we liad a line whieli cannot be voiked against the welfare of Toledo by parties interested in rival cities? This, in brief, is the history of the Ann Arbor road. For the first two or three years it was a struggle to keep it out of the hands of railroad wreckers and men wliu wantec! to bc ïeceivers. I woulü Ilke to have pucu an interest telt in the Ann Arbor road, by every man, woman and child in Toledo, that they can answer any one from abroad, who apply to them for informaüon regarding its securities, "that its bonds are a tale and good investment," and also teil them that it is managed by prudent men, who are determined to make it a living road. IIow can you expect men who have no interest in Toledo to pinchase the bonds of that road, if the people heredo not? It requires a vast deal of woik to induce a man to purchase the bonds of a road, nnless the men in the locallty are interested with htm in the enterprise. I want to lift this enterprise up so high, that it will ntt require any talking to convince men that ils bonds are a good investment. I want to interest the people of Toledo in this enterprise, and if I can show them that Toledo can be made the gateway for the commerce of Michigan, ought I ndt to expect them to become identified with this road. I assure you that I csteeui very highly the honor you nave sliown me by this reception, and I shall be gratifled if hereafter I can have your active co-operation. I would not ask you to do this if I thought you would lose one dollar, nor if I did not believe that there is no enterprise in connection with Toledo which would pay you better. Mr. Ashley' speech, which was received with frequent and very earnest applause.

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Subjects
Ann Arbor Courier
Old News