Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-11-28
NEWS.
TRANSPORTATION NOTES.
Extension of the Wisconsin, Central to
Paul.
IEau Claire Free Press.

IEau Claire Free Press.
The engineers employed by the Wiscon-
sin Central Railroad company to discover
and lay out new line between Chippewa
Falls and st. Paul, north of and nearly
parallel with the Omaha road, are still en-
gagged upon their labors. What their dis
coveries have been, or what their conclu-
sions, has not yet been made public.
The absolute certainty of the extension
of the Central to st. Paul has inspired
prominent citizens of Eau Claire to direct
The attention of President Colby to short
er and better paying route, which would at
the same time better subserve
the needs of this unsurpassed lumber
metropolis. In briefly outiin-
ing the better route, for the contemplation
of the managers of the affairs of the Cent
raj, as well Is for the purpose of attracting
to it the earnest attention and active eff
forts of ell who should be interested IL its
selection, the Free Press reflects the wishes
and aims OF mIl.-owners and other leading
business men who are more familiar with
the topography and resources of the pro
posed route than it is. First, il is OBJ
served that the distance between Eau
Claire and St. Paul, on a direct line, is
something less than the distance be-
betweed Chippewa Falls and st. Paul
st. Paul is IN town %, range 10. Eau
Claire is in town 81, range 8. Chippewa
Falls is on the line between towns % and
%, range 8. The reader may easily draw
the imaginary line and calculate the re-
spective distances. But it is not to be as
sumed that a railroad can be constructed
on direct line. It ID, however, quite as
probable that the route which would be
favored and supported by the growing in
tere5ts of Eau claire, Fall City, Menomo-
ME, the Eau Gale country, River Falls,
and other towns and regions of CONNER
cial importance, would be quite as direct
and quite as short as that upon which the
Central engineers are now at work.
Such is the general outline of the route
suggested by several well-informed and
influential gentlemen who have studied
the mutual interests of the railroad COM
pgDy and the public, and for which they
are able to make convincing if not con-
elusive arguments. Beginning with the
indjsputabe fact that the city of Eau
Claire is the best objective point in the
northwest which may be made by any
trunk line of railroad, for both freight and
passenger traffic, they urge upon the Cen
trel q further consideration not to be over
looked By it, that TO start from Chippewa
Falls would be practically to abandon its
ten miles of road between that
city and this, and to lose the immense
lumber traffic it would be certain to obtain
from Eau Ci:ire II the extension were
made from this point. They then point
out as a further indisputable fact that the
local traffic for through line CT railroad,
continuing from Eau Claire towards st.
Paul, and leaving the Omaha line north of
iU-takiDg in or touching the points
already named and others IL its course,
whish are trade centers, with both timber
ed and agricultural lands at their backs
would Sol much better feed and sustain q
railroad, that comparison between the
advantages of the route proposed and that
being surveyed is at once cut of.