El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-01-26

Omaha Bee, in a recent interview pro-
DheSied that the VanderbiltS would
take the Union Pacific main line off
the governments hands at foreclosure
sale within a few weeks. Then will
begin the construction of through
line to Los Angeles from Utah which
will give the Union Pacific the shortest
line to southern California from Chica-
go. The government directors took a
spin over the line the other day and
made the run from Omaha to Ogden,
1893 miles in % hours. or about 40
miles an hour: and it is claimed that
this gait could BE- kept all the way
through between Chicago and Los An
geles.
The main line to California will run
via Salt Lake City over the old Utah
Southern to Milford. where under the
last year or two of the Adams admin
stration an attempt was made by the
Union Pacific company to extend
through to BarstOw on the Atlantic &
Pacific system, thus giving connection
with Los Angeles over the Atlantic &
Pacific and Southern Pacific roads.
Three or four surveys were run from
Milford to Claver valley down through
Pahranagat valley, Indian Springs
valley and south of Death valley to
Barstow, skirting many of the more
prominent mining districts in southern
Nevada, and grade costing one mil
lion of dollars was constructed by
contractors from Milford, Utah, to
Glover valley in Nevada, with a
brauch to Bullionville and Phoebe,
the great mining camp of that country.
But just then Charles Francis Adams
was retired from the presidency, and
Jay Gould took his place, and not only
was the grade abandoned, but the
eight miles of track laid out from
Milford was taken up and the rails
shipped into Kansas for use on the
KaJ sas Pacific. The grade was utiliz-
ed as county road, and very good
road it proved too. And now after
these years of waiting the onward move
will be once more made. The aband-
onment Of the proposed extension was
4 severe blow to not only Union Pacific
interests. but to the territory OF Utah
TO say nothing of the loss of money in
unrealZed interest on the million of
dollars locked up in that long grade
The building of this extension will be
d gOdsend to Southern California and a
help really to the other competing
through lines in this way. Coal in
Southern California is a very scarce
article, so scarce and costly in fact that
it pays TO ship from Australia, and it
has been no unusual thing for coal to
with the new line from the Utah coal
fields opened the price of coal will go
down to less than one half the above
figure. This Will help the Southern
Pacific and Santa Fe companies. Then
there Will be an opening to the smelterS
for countless mines in southwestern
Utah and southern Nevada: and the
southern California fruit crops will
secure Il straight shoot to the northeast
tv + inf
in reaching the Chicago market, so it
is claimed.
1t is interesting to Ell PasO people to
know in this connection, that the chief
engineer who conducted the surveys is
the present chief engineer of the Coz
ralitOs road, Fewson Smith: and it is
possible that the re-eXtension
under the Vanderbilt interests NAV
take him back 20 Salt Lake City.
The new management of the road will
develop the unbOunded oil resources in
southern and Central Wyoming, of
which so much has been said, and
which are claimed to be more extensive
than the oil regions of Pennsylvania
Close traffic arrangements with the
Chicago & Northwestern road may be
looked for, as a controlling interest in
that corporation has long been in the
hands of the New York Central and
Lake Shore interests: so that the Hud-
son River, New York Central, Lake
Shore u Michigan Southern. Chicago
Y Northwestern and Union Pacific will
all be operated practically as Que road.
The road between Ogden and Milford
IS at present part of the Utah Northern
" Oregon Short Line, which was re
Gently cut loose from the Union Pacific
system on a foreclosure sale, and if
suitable arrangements can not be made
with the present holders of the proper
ty, a new survey will be in order. But
no parallelling will be necessary, it is
believed. The Oregon Railway and
Navigation company running between
Portland and Huntington by rail and
between Portland and San Francisco
by steamer, has also been cut loose
from Union Pacific control and is run
ming on its own hook. The Denver,
Pacific and Gulf including the Wyo-
ming Northern and the lines in Colo
RADIO except the Denver Pacific to
Cheyenne, are now grouped in
system by themselves, aud feeders in
Nebraska ard Kansas are being left to
take care of themselves. The latter
Will probably be rea Osor bed under the |
The headquarters of !
the great through line will be in Chi |
cagO with a large branch office in |
Omaha. The acquisition of the Boston |
and Albany, already partly in the |
lahuS OF the 'NanderbiltS. Will secure |
direct Boston connection for the Union |
Pacific.
L. S. ThOrne, traffic manager, and
B. 5. Sargent, general freight agent of |
he Texas q Pacific railroad, have
been indicted at New Orleans by the
ederal grand jury. charged with vio-
atIng the interstate commerce law.
The acts Of managers Of several other
oaGs are also being investigated and
'ther indictments may follow.
The new steel bridge which spans the
san Pedro river at Benson, is now
bout completed and will be ready to
eceive trains very soon. This bridge
5 substantial structure and, like an
be bridges of the Southern Pacific
is put up to stay.
There is a very heavy travel between
ne Atlantic coasts and the Pacific.
asst nights east bound Limited CARR =
IL passengers, and tonight's west I
ound has six cars and SO people. The
ain viii leave here with double
eader.