The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1878-05-03
The RaIIroAd war IN Col

OhlNAOs
There began in Colorado, last
week, what for a few days prom
iced to be q war between two rail-
roadside A. T. s 5. F. and the
Denver & Rie Grande (narrow
gauge.) Both these roads now run
to Pueblo, and both are ambitious
TO go to Leadville, some 200 miles
west of Pueblo, and the center of
one of the richest mining regions in
Colorado, and one which railroad
would enormOusly develop. To get
there road has to pass several We
ry difficult points, the worst being
the Grand Canon pass of the Ar
kansas river, where that stream
flows between banks of perpendic-
ular sides 5000 feet high. The
road which gets the right of way
through that pass is master of the
situation. They have been watch
ing each other like q couple of I'll
gers ready to spring, as it was I'M
derstood that when either moved
to extend its line to Leadville the
other would move also for the same
purpose. April 22d Col. Strong
put 200 graders at work to extend
the A. T. & S. F. road from Pueblo,
and the D. s. r. G. road immedi-
ately put its force at work, and TO
gain q march, sent a force to the
canon pass and found the A. T. &
S. F. men already at work there.
Injunctlons and counter iniunctions
were resorted to, each road did its
best 10 secure workmen, and to
overawe the other by superior num-
bers, but the result seems to be that
the tact, enterprise, and determine
ton of Manager Strong and Super
intendent Morse of the A. T. s. S.
has carried the day. They have
got the largest force at work, their
men hold the important points, they
have already done the most grading,
they haye the sympathy of the
people at Pueblo, Canon City and
LeadYille and all along the
route the injunctions against
them have been Dissolved, and
the iniunctions against the D.
s. r. G. prove effective. Itlooks as
if the A. T. s. s. F. will hold the
fort all the way from Pueblo to
Leadville. They are even survey
ing a route from Pueblo to Denver,
to make direct connection with the
Union Pacific, and as a flank move
ment on the ambitious narrow
gauge.
In this important enterprise, the
sympathies of the people of Kansas,
and especially of the people along
the line of the A. T. s. S. F., are OF
course with that road, and they
will rejoice in its complete success
They look upon it as the greatest of
all through routes from the Mis-
souri, river to the Pacific ocean, and
they have no interest in seeing its
prOgI ess westward barred by any
rival road. They will hail with
great satisfaction it's uninterrupted
extension to the Pacific, to Denver,
and down the Arkansas to water
navigation with the gulf, and they
look upon it, when so completed, as
the most gigantic of all railroad
enterprises for the marketing OF
Kansas products and the develop
ment of Kansas property. With
the management of the A. 7. s. S.
F. as applied to Empoiia, we have
had occasion to find fault, and shall
not fail to criucIse that manage
ment whenever it appears TO US IN
fair or impolitic. But Emporia is
only one point on the A. T. 81 S. F.,
and its interests are of course iden-
teal with the most complete sue
cess and development of the al
ready great railroad highway of
Kansas. Our people all along the
line of the 4. T. & S. F. watch
with interest its extension and ap-
prove of any lawful efforts of its
officers to overcome all competition,
and to pass all barriers in the way
of their great projects. We bespeak
an excursion train to the Pacific
within five years, at rates which
will enable large share of Empo-
ria and Lyon county to take the