Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-09-18
THE STRAIGHT LINE Sc.
CURED
ELBOWS NOT IN ORDER!
STEVENS POINT LEFT OUT IN
THE WET, ALL COLD
AND HUNGRYp
ALL ABOUT IT!

ALL ABOUT TT!
It is reasonably certain that we can
take the cars a. Knaw,soa by the LIST
Of Dacember next, aud that trains will
run to Waasau before the lst Of next
August, We can then reach Madison
in six hours, milwaukee, in nine hours
or Chicago in twelve hours. We will
be able to send lumher to market d.
reetly southwest through Iowa aud
Missouri, or anywhere "wsstward ho, "
as web as south through Illinois or
eastward to meet demands, With
these prospects wishia view, the clang
Of machinery alang tho rapid Wisean>
sin, and prosperity is no vision before
the eyes Of our woskingmen. but is at
once a Fseti fact. We assert it with~
out fear Of being thought ever-entho-
siastic, that Marathon county, and
particularly Waasau, now offers better
Inducements for capital Investments
than any locality within thousand
miles Of it, But our present subject
is the s's.raight line" and all about It,
The Wisconsin, Valley Rail Road was
originally projected from Tomah to
Wausau, The opening Of last spring
found the limo Of the read about three
taur.hs graded from Tomah to Grand
Rapids, or Centralia, aud this mainly
through efforts and means Of Grand
Rapids men aud a few others enGstad
on the line. This portion Of tho Roaa
about forty miles-was finished.
ironod, equipped for business, and run
ming before the l5.h Of June last. and
tho grading commenced towards Waa-
sau. Then followed the midsummer
heat with its swarms Of flies aud mus
quitoes making it terrible sor mon and
teams to exist in the woods through
which the line passed. but the work
progressed until tho Sd Of September
last found the grade we'll on towards
completion as far US the crossing of the
Wisconsin Central track, about twelve
miles west Of Stevens Point, the line
Of tho Road running across the elbow
formed by tho Wisconsin river at Ste
yens Point and aiming directly from
Grand Rapids to Wausau, crossing the
Wisconsin river at Knowlton or Mos
inoe. This was very satisfactory to
all the world but Stevens Point. And
for the very reason that it was very
satisfactory as aforesaid, it was not at
all satisfactory as aforesaid to the peo-
pie Of Sterens Point. They had said
that ''no Rail Road Company having
money and brains enough to build a
Rail Road would leave their city on
the long side Of right angled Rail
Road triangle" And great big whales
and wiggiers listened. But the Fates
were not bent. The triangle is located
and Stevens Point can be found upon
the hypothenuse. They offered eighty
fre thousand dollars-or offered to
raise ito aid the Company in max
ing the elbow. If they dad done no
more they might have been successful,
but they exaggerated their local advan-
tages and business to such an extent
that it became necessary for some Of
the upper river lumbermen 20 squeal
or be squeezed out Of the reckoning al
together 1t would occupy forty col
umns Of this paper to set forth all the
false statements made to Hon. James
L. Joy, the financial manager Of the
Company, to induce him to stop the
work on the straight line and run by
the way Of Stevens Poiut. increasing
the distance to Wausau eight or ten
miles. AS type Of the whole we
will give their statement, 'that only
one tenth Of the freight coming by rail
to Stevens Point passed on up the riv-
err The numbering business was rep
resented as central and concentrated in
their mills, when the old McIndoe mill
at Wausau alone has cut out more lum-
Der the present season than all the mills
at Stevens Point together. The true
figures are fourteen million at Stevens
Point, against nineteen million at Nc
Indoe's mill alone at Wausau, to say
nothing Of the other mills here, all do
ing heavy seasons business. We
venture the prediction that the Schol-
field mills and the Kelly mills on the
Big Eau Claire have more capacity and
will produce more lumber than all the
mills at and within ten miles of Stevens
Point.
The efforts Of Stevens Point had
we'll nigh gained the victory before our
citizens realized what was going on.
The work was progressing slowly on
the straight line. A survey had been
ordered and made by the elbow and an
easy grade had been found. Nothing
had been said or done to show that we
were opposed to the elbow route and in
fact it had been represented, that at
least one Of our Wausau millionaires
had abandoned his properly at Wau-
sau, and commenced at the "Point" by
the erection of new mill. But our
business men took up the subject with
vigor, solidity and means. They went
en- masse to Grand Rapids and met Mr..
Joy and the officers Of the Company
there on the Sd inst. Tie conference
occupied some time, Stevens Point be-
ing represented by its Goliath, and