The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-08-06
IT HAS NO SIGNIFICANCE
Meeting of Distinguished Rail-
road Men in Butte.
SIMPLY A SOCIAL AFFAIR
The Hartman Alaska Expedition Was
Complete Success-Valuable
r Collections Were
Gathered.

A big party of the most distinguished
railroad men ever seen together in
Butte were in the city yesterday and
last evening. The gathering included
+. II. Hartman probably the most
eminent and one of the wealthiest rail-
road men in the United States, chair
man of the executive board of the Ore
soh Short Line, president of the Chi
| cage q Alton, director of the Union Pa
cific, and prominent on the official
boards of half dozen other roads:
with him We're c. S. Mellen, president
| OF the Northern Pacific; j. w. Ken
| drick, second vice president J. NJ Han
naford, third vice president; F. II. Nc
Henry. chief engineer; M. c. Kimberly,
| general superintendent; w. G. Pearce
| of Tacoma, assistant general superin-
| tendent; Charles Russell of Missoula,
! division superintendent. The Northern
! Pacific party and Mr.. Hartman ar
| rived from the West on special train
| last evening, and they were met in
Butte by the general officers of the Ore
| gon Short Line, among whom were w.
| H. Bancroft, vice president and gen.
| eral manager; S. w. Eccles, general
| traffic manager; d. f. Burley, general
passenger and ticket agent; E. E. Cat
| win, general superintendent; j. f.
| Dunn, superintendent of motive power;
J. V. O'Melveny, chief engineer, and
| Harry Tooker, stenographer.
| THE meeting in Butte" said a promi-
nent Short Line official, has no other
meaning than that we came up here to
meet Mr.. Hartman and take him back
to Salt Lake with us. e.He is the head
| of the Short Line family and is just re-
| turning from his trip to Alaska. of
which you have read in the newspapers.
| He went west on a special train with
party of about so who went as his
| guests. From Seattle they went TO
Alaska and returned on special
| steamer chartered by Mr.. Hartman.
| On his return Mr.. Hartman met Mr..
Mellen and became his guest and came
east with him far as Butte, and will
| go south with us on our special train.
| Mr.. Harriman's special train and the
| party which accompanied him went
east over the o. r. & N. and stopped a
while in Salt Lake Friday and then
| proceeded east.
| mo. l assure you the meeting here is
| entirely a social affair and railroad
| business has nothing to do with it,"
! said the Short Line official in answer
| to a question
The Oregon Short Line party arrived
| in Butte by special train at an early
hour yesterday morning, and Mr. Har-
| riman and the Mellen party came in
| from the West about II o'clock last
| night President Mellen's party stopped
only long enough to exchange greetings
| with the Short Line officials, and then
proceeded East with their special over
| the Northern Pacific. Mr.. Hartman
| and the Short Line officials will go
| South to Salt Lake this morning.
The Hartman expedition to Alaska
-.
titic purposes and in both respects was
an entire success, says Mr. Hartman.
The party left Seattle on May 81 and
on their return there, July 30, they had
covered over 5000 miles. Many points
that had never before been explored
We're visited. Large and valuable COL
lections We're made in zoology, ethnol-
ogy, botany and vertebrate. Many
birds and mammals heretofore consid-
cred rare We're found. A trip was
| made through Boring sea to Siberia
The results of the expedition from
scientific standpoint will be of the
| greatest value. 1t is understood that
the entire cost of the trip was borne
| by Mr.. Hartman, but he modestly con-
sders that small part of the contribu-
| ton to science
President Mellen and his party have
| just made a visit to the Clearwater
country, but there is nothing new to
tell in regard to the situation there. In
an interview on other railway topics,
Mr.. Mellen said that work is now I'M
der way on the new line between Mis-
soula and Pasco. The new road will
cross the Bitter Root range in Idaho
and strike the Clearwater branch east
of Lewiston. THE country to be traV-
eled, said he, lis covered with tim
Der, but aside from it's lumber it's re-
sources are undeveloped. 1t is possible
that it will develop into a mineral pro-
ducing country. The object in build
| ing this line is to shorten the main line
| so miles rather than to develop the
country.
THE Northern Pacific IS spending a
great deal of money in betterments ana
improvements. OF the $25, 00O,0 900 set
aside for this purpose in the plan of
| reorganization, $1,500000 is available
every year, and to this was added dur
ing the present year enough from the
earnings to bring the total expendi-
lures in this department up to $4,000
900. We have now only a few hun
dred miles of line on which to lay the
heavier steel rails that are being laid
in place of the old rails. The grades
are being reduced, trestles filled in
steel bridges and stone culverts erect
ed in place of wooden ones, and the
property generally placed in better
shape.
| The business done by the Northern
| Pacific this year is very heavy. July
| will show an increase of 100000 over
| July of 1898 In gross receipts, and we
| thought last July was the greatest
| month we had had or would likely have
| for long time to come
| 1.-The wheat crop in Dakota and Min
| nesota, though not advanced enough to
make a prediction safe, will, if present
| indications are fulfilled, be as heavy as
| last year The season is three weeks
| late. Washington's crop, l should
| guess, will be % per cent. less than last
year. There is, however, a large
| amount of last years wheat unmark-
eted so that the wheat-Carrying traf-
| fic this year will practically be as great
| as usual"
| Mr.. Mellen spoke of the negotiations
| that are now under way with the
| Union Pacific by which he hopes to be
| able to enter Portland over the o. r.
| & n. from Wallula junction. That
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