Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1883-10-11
WHY WILLARD IS UNDER A
CLOUD,

ihO bii"bciIh'd ttit liam winch w
publish on our outside contains four
charges made by stock holders of the North
ern Pacific against Wizards management
as President Extravaganza in
rushing the building of the road so rapid
ly, as to induce congressional investiga-
ton, at great expence. Second-The
construction of branches at high costs Of
rental to the Northern Pacific Third
Projecting terminal facilities at Portland
to cost 81, 000,0 Fourth-The want
of good judgement in the selection of his
inferior subordinants 1t is claimed that
he has expended from Sl0,000,0oO to
$4,000, 900 more than was necessary.
These are grave charges to be made
against financicr who is using others
money, and as truly said in the dispatch,
how is Willard to answer these charges
Every man in the country is ready to
commend the energy he has shown in the
construction of the road after he took
hold of the work, following the survey
which had been previously made But
then what financier could not have done
this with an unlimited amount of money
and credit to back him and no one to call
him to an account while carrying out his
plans. Place the same opportunities be-
fore hundreds and we may say thousands
Of skilled men in the country, and they
could have done as much and some of
them more and some others at far less
expense. In the first place his projects
outside Of his duties to the Northern Pa
cifc stockholders have taken too wide a
field. He has attempted to build up a
western terminus not contemplated by the
charter nor the old stockholders. lie has
attempted the concurrent construction of
a system Of railroads outside of the North
ern Pacific system and as it would seem
by the dispatch drawing largely upon the
rental Of the Northern Pacific, and the
great number of his outlined and survey
ed routes on the Pacific side no enc of
which he has completed and made pro-
ductive as yet, but merely projected to
make it appear that he had the field of
this whole northwest for building railroads
or in other words that his incorporation
filings and surveys were all that was nee
cssary to constitute such prc-occupancy
that no other road could interfere and
disturb his possession, whether or not the
roads were to be built within the. next
20 years, and in. making these demon
STATIONS great amount Of experimenting
has been done at heavy expense which has
been of no practical benefit in securing
the best routes. Up to the present time
he has not attempted the construction Of
a single line where the products of the
country are the most promising, save per-
hsps, the eastern end of the Palouse
branch and to reach that he passes over
from go to 20 miles of comparatively
desert land, without water even for drink
ing purposes in dry weather The Day
ton branch was built by the o. II. & N.
Co. and the Pendlcton road was built by
the same company and both are feeders
of the q. r. Il N. Co. S road down the
Columbia, and not of the Northern Pa
clfc direct. His engineers, although good
engineers, have made decided failure ii
laying out these feeders SO as to secure
the best local traffic of the country at the
least expense of building. This has been
mainly attributed to general want of
knowledge of the topography and geog-
raphy Of the country before they instituted
their surveys, or from the fact that these
lines they have been called upon to survey
had been projected upon paper in articles
Of incorporation, as necessary to be made
between points that We're named by par
ties who really had no practical knowl-
edge Of the country to be supplied with
railroads. If We have heard the remark
once we have heard it made scores of
times by settlers who know the country,
that engineers had made the most egrigi-
Gus bhnders in the direction and manner
of projecting the railroads in this Column