St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-10-04
Separating Branch Lines as a
New Company and PaPal-
Icing Old Lines.
Leaving the Government
With Nothing But a Gigan-
tic White Elephant.
Sensational Developments
Hay Be Expected During the
Next Few Months.

road deal is being manipulated west OF
the Rocky mountains which interests
every taxpayer to just the extent thaI
the general government is the creditor
of the Union Pacific railway, as the
scheme is the divorce Of all the Union
Pacific nOn-subsidized lines from the
subsidized system and the placing OF
the non-subSidiZed lines out of the reach
of the government against that day
when the Union Pacific shall be called
toareckoning from which there hall be
no escape. The name of the CONSOLE
dated system of lines divorced
from the Union Pacific is the
Oregon Short Line & Utah
Northern Railway company" 1t
embraces the Oregon Short Line rail-
way. running from Granger, w. l., TO
Huntington, Or; the Utah Northern
railway, narrow gauge road running
from Ogden, Utah, to Silver Bow. Ana
cOnda. Butte city and Helena, Mont;
the u ali Central railway, running from
Ogden TO Salt Lake City and thence to
frisco, in the southern part of Utah;
the Utah & Nevada and the Ogden 4
Syracuse railroads. The general Of
fees of the new system, which is cor
porati0n by itself, standing utterly in
dependent of all other corporations,
have been located at Salt Lake City.
The Oregon Short Line is the Union
Pacifc's route to Oregon and Washing
ton. and it connects with the Ore
CON Railway & Navigation COM
pany at Huntington. The Oregon
Short Line railway is the lessee of the
Oregon Railway q Navigation company,
and the Union Pacific has nothing to
say to the Oregon Navigation that does
not pass through the hands OF the Ore
gOn Short Line. This consolidation
strips the Union Pacific of all its feed
ing lines west of the Rockies, leaving
nothing except the main line terminal
ing at Ogden. The officers of the con-
SOlidated system, as it is known here,
are all Union Pacific men, and include
President Charles Francis Adams, who
fills the same position On the Union
Pacific, and George NJ. Cummings, gen
eral manager, also assistant general
manager of the Union Pacific. Edward
Dickinson, general superintendent or
the Union Pacific, is also prominent
figure among the stockholders Of the
consolidated system.
1t Is interesting TO recall right here
the manner in which theIUtah Northern
railway. one of the most important lines
divorced from the Union Pacific, was
built. The government was not given
to the practice of allowing the Union
Pacific to openly divide its surplus earn
ings among the stockholders in the old
days when tariffs were higher than the
Sherman pass (the divvy was usually
made, however, but wanted Them to
pay the interest on its debt and start a
sinking fund to pay back the princi-
pal. The government allowed the
Union Pacific to keep its road
In good repair. although it did
not permit the building of branch
lines. Accordingly the Union Pacific
railway. The main line of the Union
Pacific was then repaired" extensive
~. New steel rails of the best kind
were laid down, and rails just as good
as new were taken up. Sound ties were
replaced with new ores. and thus quite
a lot of good railroad material was pro-
cured without cost. and turned over to
the construction department of the Utah
Northern. which smiled from ear to ear
as one hand took from the other with
out money and without price. 1t is
even said that in their zeal to make re-
pairs to the Union Pacific main line
the Union Pacific people took up
sections of rails and ties with
out separating them, and piled these
on fat cars. then hauling them to the
junction with the Utah Northern and
turning them over to what may aptly be
termed the Union Pacific'S natural
child. This course was abandoned, as
and did not care to pay tine expense OF
separating the rails and ties laid on the
brOad-gauge standard of the Union Pa
cific. The freight on all this vast
amount of material handed over to the
Utah Northern was charged to profit
and loss, account of construction and
maintenance of way, and the Utah
Northern was not even called upon to
paw the rate of One-balf to ] cent pei
ton per mile, which railroads usually
charge for hauling the construction ma
terial of connecting lines. The equip.
ment of the Utah Northern was accom-
plished in the same general style as was
The construction of the road. The his
tory of the building and equipment OF
the Utah Northern was repeated in the
birth of the other lines in the now con
solidated system, but not to such flag
rant degree.
The immediate reason for the consoli
dalton. which Is now in effect, is the
failure of the Cultivate bill and the
general outlook in the relations of the
government and the Union Pacific. The
details of the consolidation were ar
ranged by lie Grande Young, of Sal
Lake City. anephew of Brigham Young
who is one of the leading corporation
10 of no 10 of
VOrce of these non-SubSidiZed lines from
the Union Pacific are liable TO be fol
lowed by a repetition of the deal will
the non-subsidized roads east of thu
mountains. A more important develop
ment is expected upon the completion
Of the new Pacific Short Line, nov
building from Sioux City west and from
Ogden east. OF course the Oregon
Short Line and Utah Northern railway
is a great system, but 1t must have al
eastern outlet, and if the Union Pacifi,
should pass into the hands of the gov
eminent, or if the government wer
to supervise the operation of the Uniol
Pacific little more closely the consol
Idaied system might not be able to plucl
It's parent so easily, which would be in
convenient for the stockholders in thu
consolidated system. These thing
have all been taken into consideration
and it has not been forgotten that tn
Union Pacific main line now owe
enough to build several main lines jus
like it, and that this same main line
competing with other trans-eontinenta
lines which were built at much les
cost in the days of cheap railroads. Tn
Pacific Short Line is organized to buil'
from Sioux City to Ogden, it passe
through a better country than tn
Union Pacific, and is many mile
the shorter line. At Sioux City
makes connection for Chicago and tn
East with as much facility and a
good results as does the Uniol
Pacific at Omaha or Kansas City. Thu
Pacific Short Line will also be in direc
connection with the Canadian Pacifi
system (when eompletedD at Sioux City
and will thus be able to raise NOR
trouble for the many associations Il
brood over. Here it is generally be
lieved that the Pacific Short Line
is really the Union Pacific, although
the Union Pacific people laugh and sa!
it is really the Chicago & Northwestern
which is Slvlv fillinp mn the oan hefweel