The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-11-17
ROOM FOR ORE DOCKS
WITNESSES SAY THE DULUTH 81
IRON RANGE COULD HAVE
GOTTEN 1T
WHEN THAT ROAD WAS BUILT

There We're Eight hundred Feet
Available Between the Elevators
and Rice's Point - Additional
| Grant Hearing Before Special
Commissioner Harrington.
The taking of testimony in the Du-
| luth & Iron Range railroad land grant
I case before Special Commissioner A A.
/ Harrington, representing the United
1 States court, which was adjourned
| from last Saturday, was resumed yes
/ terday morning at the office of Davis,
| Kellogg & Severance The morning
session was devoted to the introduce
/ ton of testimony on the part of the
/ state in regard to the cost of the
! bridges and culverts on the line sur
veyed on behalf of the state between
4 Duluth and the northeast corner of
! township 60, section II, and which, the
! state contends, should have been fol-
/ lowed by the Duluth & Iron Range in
| the construction of the road as being
! the most feasible and shortest route
| between the terminals as named in the
| land grant to the road
During the afternoon c. R Stone
who assisted in the states survey, was
| given q long inning in regard to the
! grading and character of the proposed
| short line, and when he was permitted
| to withdraw on account of exhaustion,
the engineer who. on behalf of the
state, had figured on ore docks at the
Duluth terminal TO the route surveyed
| by the state, was taken in hand by
! Attorney Frank Kellogg, representing
/ the road, in an endeavOr to show that
| at the time the Duluth & Iron Range
| road was built there was no land in
| Duluth harbor available for ore dock
| purposes.
j. H. Armstrong. who has been in
! charge of the states survey, was the
| first witness placed on the stand when
the hearing opened. He continued his
! testimony regarding the feasibility of
| constructing a road along the route
| proposed and submitted a detailed esti-
/ mate on the clearing, grading and
bridging on the line suggested by the
| state with an aggregate estimate OF
| 1921. 440.
VALUE OF LUMBER.
G. A. Duncan, a Duluth lumberman,
| testified on behalf of the state as to
the value of the lumber required in
| Mr.. Armstrong; estimates to construct
| the road. He was armed with figures
and memoranda giving the values in
| 1881. 1888 and 1885, and made compar-
isens with present prices that showed
| the former prices to have been slightly
| higher than the latter. At the con-
! cluSion OF Mr.. Duncan'S testimony a
recess was taken until D. m
! When the hearing was resumed, Q.
| r. Stone, who was associated with J.
| II. Armstrong in making the survey
! for the state, was called to testify in
regard to the general character and
availability of the proposed route. The
! line surveyed was something over sew
| enty miles long and in the plats and
profles this had been divided into sec
| tons of 100 feet each and the entire
! line was gone over in detail by sec
| lions. 1t was slow and monotonOus,
| as the questions were decidedly eX-
! plicit and the witness was compelled
| TO pause frequently to consult the
| transit books and plats. He enumer-
ated. In response to the questioning or
| Attorney General Childs, ali those
| places on the route surveyed by the
state which he deemed sufficiently
| suspicious to need further examination.
| In regard TO the swamps encountered
| he felt that there was nothing insur
mountable or that was not susceptible
| to drainage.
"As to all the places you have desig-
! mated would you desire to make a
| further investigation before building
the road?" asked Attorney General
| Childs.
Some of them should be sounded
with a rod" responded the witness.
Are these places you have testified
to having examined places that you re-
| garded as suspicious?"
THAT is the idea"
do you mean to say that all the
places you have named are suspi-
| cious?"
Il could go over them all any way
Unless a further examination disclosed
| that they might be improved upon"
SWAMP AT MUD LAKE.
The witness stated that at Mud lake
| there was a piece of bad swamp which
| 1t was necessary to cross, between 800
on 400 feet in length. The depth was
probably considerable, as the swamp
Is a sort of arm of the lake. He had
cut a hole to make a sounding. but
was unable to find bottom with the
means then at hand. consequently had
noted that a short detour would lessen
| the trouble and expense of crossing
| the swamp.
The increase in the length OF the
road caused by making the detour
you suggest would not be material
then?" suggested the attorney general.
NO, sir"
Another bad place on the route was
a deep swamp with a stream to be
| crossed diagonally. This. however. the
| witness thought could be obviated by
a slight deviation from the line. al
though bridge had been provided for
! in the estimates.
You have testified TO several places
along the line run by you where you
would desire to make further investi-
cations before building a road?" asked
Gen. Childs
Yes, sir"
Did you endeavor to inform your
self as TO those places?"
Yes, sir"
AS a former employe OF the st. Paul
& Duluth road were the swamps great
er in extent or worse in character on
that road than on the line you have
surveyed2'
Much greater"
The maximum grade on the line run
! by the state was stated by the witness
10 be Ia per cnt going north from Du-
ruth TO 60-12, with a maximum grade
OF l per cent at the north end about
nine miles from the northeast corner
Of COLI. From that point south the
maximum grade was about 8 per cent.
Are you prepared TO say that il is
feasible and practica bic to construct a
railroad on the line surveyed by you?"
Yes. sir"
The witness had worked in North
! ern Wisconsin on the construction OF
/ the Omaha road in 1882 and stated that
/ his estimates on the cost Of construc-
ton. in which he had cola borated with