Page:Historic highways of America (Volume 10).djvu/125

Rh the McClelland House, Uniontown. The Ohio National Stage Company, with headquarters at Columbus, Ohio, operated on the western division of the road. There were many smaller lines, as the "Landlords," "Pilot," "Pioneer," "Defiance," "June Bug," etc.

Some of the first lines of stages were operated in sections, each section having different proprietors who could sell out at any time. The greater lines were constantly absorbing smaller lines and extending their ramifications in all directions. It will be seen there were trusts even in the "good old days" of stagecoaches, when smaller firms were "gobbled up" and "driven out" as happens today, and will ever happen in mundane history, despite the nonsense of political garblers. One of the largest stage companies on the old road was Neil, Moore, and Company of Columbus, which operated hundreds of stages throughout Ohio. It was unable to compete with the Ohio National Stage Company to which it finally sold out, Mr. Neil becoming one of the magnates of the latter company, which was, compared with cor-