El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-10-20
THIS ROAD
LOOKS GOOD
Denver T. Rio Grande Official
Says His Road May Come
SOUTHEAST To Ell PASO
Connection to be Made With the
White Oaks-Extension of the
Rock Island Not prObable-Au-
thOritdtive Statement.


Special Core spondepce of the HERALD.
DENVER, Colo, Get. efficiently,
while talking to an official of the Den
yer and Rio Grande railway, and not
wishing TO insist on direct answer to
q question which he might not care to
give out at this time, 1 drew a card
from my pocket and made rough map
of possible extension OF the Denver
and Rio Grspde rail way as follows:
Staring from Santa Fe, N. M, (which
is the railways present terminus In
New Mexico, a line was drawn across
TO Albuquerque and down along the
70 Rio Grande valley to Ell Paso.
After making the sketch, it was
shown to the official with the question,
"Don't you think that before very long
your company will take up the matter
OF extending its line south from Santa
Fee to Ell Paso and will not the line as
drawn be the most feasible route for
the roAd?'
The matter of building an extension
as given has been bruited as a pos
sibility for years and the writer
thought certainly that if ever the ex-
tension was made, one of the principal
reasons for it would be to have d.
rect line to Albuquerque and to reach
the agricultural country and towns
along the Rio Grande now touched by
the SANTA sc railway
The official said nothing at hrst. but,
taking the pencil and card from the in
quisitive mans hands, proceeded to
draw another map.
Using the Santa Fe terminus as q
starting point, line was drawn across
the country direct from Santa Fe to
White Oaks leaving Albuquerque for
ty miles to the west and from White
Oaks south along the route of the Ell
a
Paso.
"When the eXtensi on to Ell Paso is
made" he then said, (which will come
sooner or later, this l think will be
the route chosen" That will enable US
to tap the great mineral district at
White Oaks and the coal fields and
rich mining country to the south as
ct Ell Paso.
eff consolidation is effected at White
Oaks with the Ell Paso and Northeast
ern that will leave us only q COM
parstively short stretch of track to
build. If Albuquerque is reache d, "
he continued, 81 think it will be by q
branch line only, running from point
between Santa Fe and White Oaks"
At present, the San Louis Valley,
the Rio Grande railway passes is
shipping many carloads of flour to
southern New Mexico and Ell Psso,
and Denver is making strenuous efforts
to secure the wholesale business with
the southwest and Mexico that now
goes to Kansas City and. eastern points.
So considerable pressure is being
brought to bear on the Rio Grsnde
company to build this extension
This will give Colorado the advan
tage of two railways to the southwest.
The Rio Grande railway company
realizes that if It ever expects to make
its present division to Santa Fe pay
ing venture it must go farther and
there is very little doubt that the ex-
tension will be made and that at no
distant day.
President 'Purdy, of the Rock Is
land railway, was in Denver during the
week and in an interview denied the
rumor that bis company intended to
reach into Mexico or to cross the Pa
cific.
''If we can attend to the business of
the growing region through which our
lines now pass he said, 1--WE will be
doing we'll enough for a numbe for
years to come"