The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-10-10
jim HILL AND HIS ROAD.
Tho Great Northern Msgnato Gives So0o
Interesting News Aboat His Line.

The Great Northern Msgnate Gives So0o
Interesting News Aboat His Line
President sJim" Hill, of the Great
Northern, has been a much-interviswed
man since he stepped upon the soil Of the
Puget Sound region. It Ia the railroad
magnate's FIRST visit to that great country,
and everything has been an agreeable sur
prise to him. He has filled the newspapers
with many interesting details Of the Great
Northern's plans in that section. Mr.. Hill
and his party were in Portland last Tues
day and was interviewed in the Orsaonian:
Twill you build the Great Northern int q
Portland2" the reporter asked.
President Hill smiled, and, twirling his
eye glasses said very slowly:
LAS said, Portland ID remarkable city
and is one of the inducements that brought
our road to the far west. We have decided
to build to Portland, but the route We will
follow / cannot tell. Our engineers are
now in the field, operating along the Col
umbia in Washington and between SEATTLE
and Portland. Our idea of a road il one
from the Fraser river, in British Columbia.
to Portland, skirtinR the main line on
Puget Sound. We can, think. mako q
buOILoI AA0 Wy Woy Va 0pOA000 = NAl0y OOk0.
ing into Portland over the Union Pacific.
That would make the distance from st.
Paul to Portland 1850 miles. The Fair
haven and Northern, running from Fair
haven northward to the Fraser river, at
New Westminster, and the FAirhaven and
Southern, running southwark to Skagit,
now belong to us. but transfer will not take
place until the work Of construction is I'm
ished, which will be about Jan. l, 1891.
The Seattle and Montana runs from Heat-
tie north. connecting with the Fairhaven
and Southern. That gives line from Seat
tie to the Fraser river and We are now try
ing to find line from Portland to Seattle
ming into Portland?"
Il have no idea. We want the line all
completed before the main line reaches
here. The extension will leave our present
line at the head of Milk River valley, in
Montana, whence we shall build east and
vest"
Asked if he would require subsidy to be
induced to build to Portland, President
Hill said no, but they would require land
and would ask that no boom prices be
placed upon what they want. He intilnated
that 600 acres of land would not be any too
much for q large shipping point.
"What route will the Great Northern
take across the Cascades to the sound2"
mo route has been selected yet. We
have examined number of passes, but
must exhaust that question before deter
mining. So far the Snoqualmie has been
found to be the lowest pass. It's altitude
at the highest point is about $500 feet.''
lis the projected steamship line to Japan
a certainty?"
''We are to have line. The vessels will
be ordered this winter. The number Of
them depends upon other matters. To
make the line what it should be, five YES
sells would be required. They will be new
ones and az fine as any afoat."
President Hill was then shown Spokane
Falls dispatch published in the Sound
papers Monday. 1t said that the Chicago,
Burlington u Quincy road had foated the
Hunt bonds in London and captured the
Hunt system ahead 81 President Hill; that
within two years the 90 system would be
running trains into Portland with a branch
from Palouse to Spokane Falls. This 10
what President Hill said about this alarm
ing bit of news:
"The young man who wrote that was
very enterprising. You go to work and
write about line from Portland to Alaska
and your line will be built before the one
outlined in the Spokane Falls dispatch"
The point of the joke is that the Great
Northern and the Chicago, Burlington d
Quincy are working together and neither ID
likely to do anything detrimental to the
others interests. It is not to be supposed
then that the Chicago Burlington & Quincy
will build out this way, with the Great
Northern extending its system to the north.
west