The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-02-17
COL. CLOUGH ARRIVES
Great Northern's Vice-P President
Talks of the Road.
ROUTE ToPoRTLANou UNSETTLED
Engineers Examining the Linc-Canadiau
Pacific Cars Soon Comins--Track
Rushing westward.

Colonel w. r. Clough, vice president OF
the Great Northern railroad; +. III. Beck
Ter, chief engineer; Captain John Gordon,
of Buffalo, general manager of the North
ern Steamship Company, which runs the
Great Northern's lake steamer line;
L. p. Richardson, private secretary to
President Hill, and Mr.. and Mrs. Charles
L. Spencer, of Gray's Harbor, who are
Colonel Clough's son-in-law and daughter,
arrived in the city on the private car
Manitoba on the midnight train on Sum
day and are at the Rainier. Colonel
Clough and Mr.. Becker spent the greater
part of yesterday in consultation with the
local officials of the company. while Cap
tain Gordon, who is making his first visit
to the Sound, looked over the city with
Messrs. Spencer and Richardson.
Colonel Clough was interviewed last
evening by Posr-IErELLIGENcER reporter
and talked pretty freely of the affairs of his
company. He said: Zone of the princi-
pal objects of our visit is the transfer of
the Fairhaven & Southern and New West
minister Southern railroads. An examina-
possible, and. if it is found in accordance
with the contract. it will be taken over at
once. We shall start for an examination
of the road in day or two.
1.-THE progress made on the Seattle Il
Montana road is all that could
be expected considering the weather.
The grading Is nearly completed
as soon as the bank is dry enough. Tho
line which'we are building on the shore is
somewhat more expensive than an interior
line. because it is tirst-class line. Such
line Is always more expensive III the be-
ginning but is much cheaper in the long
4 e Al I, L.
no better line in any. part of this country
than the Seattle e. Montana. It is practic-
ally water grade. 1t is always the policy
of the Great Northern to get the lowest pos
sible grade and the best possible line I
trust it will be completed not later than
June l. but that depends on the weather.
If the rains continue it may be later. The
rails are ready to ship at weeks notice.
We expect to allow about two weeks for
laying the track. We don't expect to
make any large improvement OH the depot
ground or the tide fiats by that time; that
will be the work Of years.
mo application has yet been made by
the Canadian Pacific Railroad Company
for the privilege of running cars into Seat
until the main line of the Great Northern
is completed across the mountains, the
Canadian Pacific will necessarily form
link in its route between the Sound coun-
try and its Eastern lines. should assume
that common interest would impel each
likely that the Canadian Pacific cars will
come through to Seattle over the Fair
haven 4 Southern and Lake Shore roads
before the Seattle & Montana is finished"
what is being done about the Portland
liner"
ut is under consideration. The ar
rangement between the Union Pacific and
I,oE fov LOT bot hn
latter should have an oppo rtunity to ex-
anime and consider the proposed routes
before going on with construction, and the
Great Northern has never had that chance
till within the past few weeks. The sub
ject of the route is..nOw under consideration
and. being q matter of very great conse-
guence, will receive very careful study.
Whether the result will be the re-
sumption of work OH the existing
line or the abandonment of that line
and the location of new one
is something that cannot be. decided for
some little time yet. Examinations are
now being made with the view of getting
at all the possibilities afforded by the
country between the two points. It has al
ways been the theory of the Great North
ern that straight line is the shortest dis
lance between two given points. It is
quite possible that intermediate points
may justify deviation from the straight
line, that depends on the Importance of
the town and the distance added to the
line"
"Various reports have been afloat, first
that Mr.. Bogue and then that Mr.. Becker
will have charge of the construction of the
line.
'.What is the fact of the matter?''
Neither Mr.. Bogue nor Mr.. Becker has
authority on the line yet as far as the
Great Northern is concerned. Work is
stopped on the entire line and will remain
stopped until the subject of the most feast
BILE and advantageous route has been de-
cided."
How is work progressing on the main
line ?'
1.-THE main line from the East is pro-
crossing. with great rapidity. One hun
dred and thirty miles Of track have been
laid from the eastern end, and the grade
has been completed from the end Of the
track to the summit Of the Rocky noun
tains. From the summit to the kootenai
river the line is covered with graders. As
fast as the location is decided on, the line
will be put under contract and covered
with men.
'sThe line has not been decided on far
ther than the eastern line of Washington.
and it will not be practicable to do so until
a decision has been made as to the pass in
the Cascade range which will be adopted.
That will probably be decided within the
u
for the last year, collecting information as
fast as possible on which to base decis-
ion. We do not expect to find pass in
the Cascades which we can traverse with
out a tunnel
"The expectation is that the terminal
shops and yards will be at Smiths cove
and in all probability they will be the main
ones for the Sound. The official terminus
of the Great Northern has been declared in
its Pacific extension mortgage to be at
Seattle and was fixed long ago
II do not see why the harbor line dis
pute should delay the compile ton of che
road. We DO not have any hesitation
about the security of our rights on Rail-
road avenue. The Great Northern has not
devoted any consideration to the organiza-
ton of terminal company, but we are
not opposed to entering into such organi-
cations with other companies, for we are
interested in terminal companies in the
Eastern cities jointly with other roads,
captain Gordon is general manager of
the Northern Steamship Company, our
lake steamship line. and is looking ont for
the interests of his line by bringing it to
the notice OF this country as part of the
through line from the Eastern seaboard to
the Pacific. He came here also to look
over the ground in the general interest of
our water lines. Arrangements for the
steamship line to run from Seattle to Asia
are now In progress. but no definite ar
rangement has yet been consummated
I'VE are making every effort TO get our
transcontlnental line finished by January
l, 1898, and by that time, trust. a Port
land line will be finished; still, that NAV
be somewhat delayed by various compli.
cations"
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