The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-10-29
BRANCH LINES TO BE RUN
IN THE SACRAMENTO
VALLEY.
ONE RESULT OF THE NEW ROAD
HUNTINGTON WILL NOT WAIT FOR
ANOTHER LINE TO INVADE
HIS TERRITORY.

Now it is the turn of the Sacramento
Valley to boom.
The railroad that is to deliver the great
basin of the San Joaquin from the clutches
of the Southern Pacific of Kentucky bids
fair to open up things in different direc-
ton.
The new road has scared the monopoly.
1t realizes that when the Valley railway
begins to haul wheat out of the big basin
and to build up towns where there are
| nothing but ranches now, other people
with money to invest will see that Califor-
MIA railroads are good things to have, and
this state of affairs worries the Southern
Pacific as much as an honest Board of
Railroad Commissioners.
The Sacramento Valley is one of the
choicest bits of Mr.. Huntington's domain.
To be sure, the great river interferes some
what and keeps rates down so that CoIusa
and Glenn counties do not suffer as MERGED
and Fresno have suffered, but the farmers
on the great northern plain have felt the
grip OF the monopoly hard enough to make
them vince. They have asked in vain for
branches and connections that will save
them the long team hauls to the depots,
and the people of the west side particu-
larly have long been wanting a decent
train service.
Now it seems that they are to have all
they asked for, and their good fortune is
attributable entirely to the building OF the
San Joaquin Valley railroad. 1t would not
| take much to send spur up from Stock
ton to tap the rich country lying inside
| the long oval between the Willows track
| and the main line of the Southern Pacific
and the land to the west as well, and Mr..
huntington knows that rights of way and
| contracts would be granted new line as
gladly as they were granted down the San
Joaquin. The Valley road is a costly
lesson to the monopoly and one by which
it proposes to profit. 1t wants no Sacra-
mento Valley railroad.
Just now the Sacramento Valley country
is a-buzz with rumors of new branches Of
the Southern Pacific. Nobody outside the
yellow building knows just where the
| branches are to run, but ali the valley
towns know where they ought to run and
are living in hopes and expectation.
When a railroad runs where no railroad
ran before land jumps in value. Hence the
significance of the reported purchase by
| Coils ?. Huntington of the great Glenn
tract The price paid by the railroad for
| the enormous ranch is supposed to be an
| even million dollars. How much it will
be worth when it is subdivided into small
| farming tracts with branch roads running
among them, with here and there nice
little town, with town lots for sale by the
railroad land department, Mr.. Hunting
tons secretary has already figured out, and
| though his computations have not been
made public anybody can tell that the
big purchase cannot be losing invest
| ment.
| Moreover, the people on the west side
believe that another of their hopes Is about
to be realized, and that the Willows branch
| will shortly become the main line of the
Oregon express, as the Tracy and Newman
line became the regular route of the Sun
set trains. This will give them quick and
frequent connection with San Francisco.
| AS it is, the Willows merchant leaves
home at II 80 P. NJ. and reaches San Fran
cisco about O. clock in the evening, after
the business houses are shut up. The up
train leaves at o'clock in the morning,
| before the wholesalers are at their places
| of business, so the merchant has to stay
over another day. In this way run to
the City and back, 140 miles each way,
spoils three days. The man who leaves
| Willows at half an hour after noon on Mon
day does not get back to his store until 2
o'clock on Wednesday. When the main
| line runs that way he will be able to make
eral hours in which to attend to his bust
ness in the City.
! Naturally the purchase of the big ranch
is looked on as significant sign of the
progress of the west side of the Sacramento.
The purchase has not yet been made pub
lie by the railroad, but in the valley towns
| 1t is spoken Of as an accom- plished fact.