The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-01-22
MONEY IN NEW RAILROADS.
REMARKABLE RECORD OF 1898 AND
GREAT PROSPECTS FOR 1899.


and All the south Active-Odd sta
tistIcs of Last Years Building.
Minnesota Leads the UniOn-BaiI-
road Building as barometer or
Business Prosperity.
New York, Jan. 2O-New railroad build
ing. which has always been a delicate ba-
rometer of the times, shows in a remark
able way the return of commercial conf
dence.
The year that took the palm over all
others for new construction was 1887, when
tho nations railroads were increased by
12,S7S miles. This was also a year of
marked general prosperity. From that
that year there was a swift decline in
railroad building until in 1892, the year be-
fore the panic, the aggregate was 4.409
miles. Then with the rapid smothering
Of general prosperity, railroad builders al
so felt the pinch, until in 1895, we built
only ,CO3 miles, the lowest record in thir-
" years. Since that year with the re-
turning confidence i'm general business
there has been a slow recovery in rail-
road building, so that the year just closed
presents the best record since the panic,
with total increase of 2,S67 miles.
Curious Distribution of New Rail
roads.
The new mileage Of 1893 was very I'M
equally distributed. More than a fourth
was built in the four states of Minneso-
IA, Texas, Louisiana and Alabama And
II required thrty-three states and terri
tories to make up another fourth Of the
increase. Territorially, the South and
West received the largest increase.
In New England Maine alone was rep
resented, with an addition of 1913 miles to
her railroads. New York added "a miles
Pennsylvania 80 miles and the two Viz
gnias 81 miles.
Minnesota Leads the Union.
The state which leads the list is Mime
sofa, with 253 miles. More than half Of
this was built by the Great Northern
which completed an important link be
tween Duluth and the wheat valley of
the Dakotas. The Kansas City. Pitts
burg and Gulf, which promises 10 be an
important rival to the Illinois Central in
the North and South trade. has compIet-
ed its connecting line above Kansas City.
ana now runs trains from the Gulf Of
Mexico to Omaha and Quincy. Ill A
project of the near future is to build
connecting link which viii give the com
pany access to the grain centers of ST
Pau and Minneapolis
Down in the Southwest a number Of i'm
poriant roads have been carried forward
The st. Louis Southwestern has Just com
pleted an important 1913 miles link between
Sapulpa. Ind. Ter. and Oklahoma City.
The El Paso and Northeastern is running
line 100 miles long from Ell Paso. the
western extremity Of Texas. northeast to
White Oaks, N. NJ. About 100 miles of the
track is laid. The Pecos Valley and
Northeastern has more than half complet-
ed an extension of 20G miles from Roswell
n. NJ, northeast to Amarillo, Tex Ii is
understood that the Atchison is back of
this line. The ChoctaW, Oklahoma and
Gulf has added hfty-three miles TO its cas-
tern end and has pushed forward as far
as Weatherford. Okla Ter This company
has just bought the Little Rock and Mem
phis, and is building connecting link Of
1855 miles from its eastern terminus to Lit
de Rock, whence the newly purchased line
will take its trains into Memphis. Tenn
The company will then have a continuous
east and west line nearly 700 miles long
Texas Fertile in Schemes.
There are railroad schemes almost with
out number for Texas. Chief among these
| are The Galveston Brazos and South
western, which has graded most of its
llue from Galveston west. over 200 miles
TO San Antonio; the Guadalupe Valley,
building from Galveston west about 100
miles, TO Victoria. and thence north. about
80 miles, 20 Smlthville; also the Gulf, Bra
EOS Valley and Pacific building from Hen
| rietta south, 400 miles, to Valasco.
Chief among the new Western roads is
the san Francisco ana San Joaquin Val
| ley. This is backed 10y the Spreekles SUI
| gar kings, and was begun several years
| ago to break the monopoly of the South
| ern Pacific in California. The line so far
completed runs from Bakersfield, Cal,
| northwest to Stockton From Stockton
the road is being carried west through
| mountains. over trestles and across al
most bottomless swamps to Point Rich
mond on San Francisco bay, whence fer
nv connection will be made with San Fran
cisco. Besides one tunnel more than a
| mile long, there viii be four
others ranging in length from 350
| feet TO 1900 feet. This property has re-
Gently been bought by the Atchisou to
| give that system an outlet to the Pacific
coast. a gap Of over eighty miles remains
between the two lines. however, which il
would have been necessary 10 build over
! a difficult mountain country, with lit1e
local traffic, and at a cost of between s..
600 $50 and Sc 100000 had not the Southern
! Pacific made a virtue of necessity and
! given the Atchison trackage rights over
its own connecting line
\ WOmen's Railroad.
From Stockton east a railroad is build
| ing which possesses unusual interest from
the fact that it's chief promoter is wo-
man. Mrs Annie Klein Rikert of San
| Francisco Nearly al. the officers ana
directors associated with her are also wo-
men. The intention is to run the road