Knowledge that Transforms

The Mississippi River, marking the Missouri-Illinois state line, makes a striking physical and governmental division between St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois; but otherwise these two municipalities (together with the immediately adjacent Illinois manufacturing towns?Madison, Venice, Granite City?which are naturally a part of East St. Louis) form a single commercial and manufacturing district. In the railroad development of this district those lines entering from east of the river stopped at the east bank and built their terminals entirely on the Illinois side; while all lines entering from territory west naturally provided terminals entirely on the Missouri side where the main business development had taken place. In recent years some three or four lines have acquired terminal property on both sides of the river; but no one road owns or operates an independent means of crossing the Mississippi River throughout the nineteen miles of St. Louis river front.1 Several companies were organized from time to time to pro? vide means of crossing the river, and to provide railroad terminals in St. Louis and East St. Louis: the Wiggins Ferry Company (operat? ing ferries for cars, vehicles, and passenger traffic, and belt lines and team-tracks on both sides of the river) ; the Terminal Railroad Association (operating the Eads Bridge for wagon, pedestrian, street-car and railroad traffic and providing belt lines, team-tracks, freight-houses, and the St. Louis Union Passenger Station) ; the Merchants Bridge Terminal Company (operating the Merchants Bridge and some belt and terminal properties on both sides) ; the Interstate Car Transfer Company (operating car-ferries, and a belt line in East St. Louis). These all supplied facilities for parts of the business, and, some limited competition; but the general result of their operation, independently of each other and independently of the railroads, was much friction, duplication of service, and cumulated terminal