Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1879-08-04

the situation.
LIVELY RAILROAD CONTEST.
Blair and the st. Paul Company Putting
in their Best Licks through the News
papers, hile tho Milwaukee Company
Keeps Silent, But Makes the Dirt Fly
talk Seems Cheap at Sioux City.
Special Telegram to the st. Paul Pioneer-Press.
Sioux City, July 31.-The contest be-
tween the St. Paul & Sioux City and the
Milwaukee & St. Paul for the available
routes to the Black Hills, across southern
Dakota has been watched with a good deal
of interest from this quarter-which is the
present terminus on the Missouri river of
the former road. A third competitor has
recently entered the field. who promises to
make the fight a lively one for the Milwau.
kee & st. Paul.
1t will be remembered that the Milwau-
kee & st. Paul having reached Canton, on
the eastern border of Dakota, with
its Iowa and Dakota division, whence
it was expected to follow a line
which it had surveyed in a westerly d.
rection suddenly through an immense
force in the grading of a line northwest
from Canton to a point a few miles west Of
Sioux Falls and thence west on the line
which had been staked out by the St. Paul
& Sioux City in the direction of the Black
Hills. They had graded a large part of
this line to Firesteel, on the james river,
when for some reason, then mysterious,
they suddenly withdrew their whole force
from this line and commenced to grade q
line in hot haste before they had surveyed
it from Finlay, on their original line west
from Canton in a southwesterly direction
towards the valley of the Niobrara.
The pretext for this sudden change Of
front was that the government would not
let them cross the Sioux reservation, which
covers all the approaches to the Missouri
on the east side in the contemplated direc.
ton Of its line. The real reason was they
had discovered q new enemy in the field
preparing to take possession of the Niobrara
valley, one of the most fertile districts of
the west, which stretches for over three hun
dred miles west of Yankton, which lies up
on the route of their original and natural
line, and which they had temporarily aban-
doned in order to crowd the st. Paul s.
Sioux City off the track it had staked out
west of Sioux Falls. This new enemy is no
less a person than John l. Blair, who owns
more railroads than n man in America,
not excepting Vanderbilt. Blair has recent
ly purchased a controlling in the Southern
Dakota running from Sioux City to Yank-
ton, and in the Sioux City & Pembina rail-
road, running north from Sioux City up the
west bank Of the Big Sioux to Beloit near
Canton. Mr.. Blair also owns the Sioux
City & Pacific railroad connecting Sioux
City with Omaha, and the Iowa Falls &
Sioux City railroad leased to the Illinois
Central. 1t will be seen, therefore, that MI.
Blair has very large interests centering in
Southern Dakota terminating at Yankton,
and the lines connecting with it, he holds
the key to the Niobrara valley and is far in
advance of any competitor who might be
seeking to take possession of that fertile
valley.
While Merrill, therefore, was fooling
away his time in grading northwest from
Canton in order to appropriate the route
previously surveyed and located BY the St.
Paul & Sioux City, Blair was quietly loca-
ting a line for an extension of the Southern
Dakota a short distance up the James river
and thence west to the Missouri in the d.
rection of the Niobrara valley.
The movement was kept very quiet, but
the Milwaukee & St. Paul people heard of
it, and saw themselves menanced by the &C.
cupation of the territory in whose posses
sion they had thought themselves secure.
This is the true reason of their sudden
abandonment Of the Firesteel line and the
concentration Of their entire force upon the
grading of a lev line in the direction of
the Niobrara valley. But if We will look
at the map you will see that Blair with his
line already finished to Yankton and we'll
underway west from that point is some
sixty miles ahead of his Milwaukee COM
petitor in the race Of track.laying for the
Niobrara valley, while his surveyors, who
are now locating their line through that
valley, are forty.eight hours ahead of the
surveying party of the Milwaukee & St.
Paul. Blair is 80 far ahead as to deprive
the race of much Of the interest that would
be felt if it were closer.
But the Milwaukee boys have succeeded
in waking up this powerful railroad poten.
tate who thinks they are invading territory
that Z aturally belongs to the system of roads
controlled by him, and he is after them with
q very sharp stick. But the race of railroad
building between the two rival %potentates il
not confined to the western corner of the
Dakota vineyard. Ihave already said thai
OAd1E udS puEcLdSeu b COuLfOlllnR interest,"
in the Sioux City & Pembina railroad, run.
ming from Sioux City up the valley Of thu
Big Sioux. This road was completed las
winter to Beloit, near Canton, where tn
Iowa & Dakota division of the Milwaukee
& St. Paul crosses the Big Sioux. Blair il
now making preparations to extend thi
road up to Sioux Falls and thence to Elan
. dreau, the objective point for which tn
Southern Minnesota division of the Milwau
kee & St. Paul and the St. Paul & Siou,
. City are nov running race from Hero,
Lake. What makes this northward exten
sion Of the Sioux City & Pembina to Elan
dreau very interesting is that for som,
seventy miles its line will be in close prox
Unity to and parallel with the projected
route Of the Southern Minnesota, whicl
after reaching F!andreau, il is proposed I,
turn southwark along the Big Sioux river t
'ISioux Falls.
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