Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-07-18
President Mellen Making q
Tour of the N. P.
WILL GO TO THE COAST
Northern Pacific May Build a Line
Into the P0tlatch Country
Great Northern Designs.

President w. S. Mellen Of the North
ern Pacific railway, who has been pay
ing Butte one of his ~semi-annual visits,
left for the west at 1870 today on his
special train, going to Helena over the
Great Northern track. Accompanying
Mr.. Mellen were J. w. Kendrick, second
vice president. and who is practically
the manager of the Northern Pacific sys-
tenn; w. c. Kimberly. general superin-
tendent; w. G.. Pearce, assistant general
superintendent; E. H. McHenry, chief
engineer, and H. J. Horn. superintendent
of the Montana division of Livingston,
who will cave the party at Helena and
return to his headquarters. General
Agent Merriman, the local representative
of the was in conference with
the officials for several hours this morn
ing, and stated that no special signifi-
canoe attached to the visit, as the officials
We're simply making a tour of the road.
H. H. %Shepperd, western travelling pas
senger agent of the Chicago & Alton
railroad, with headquarters in Denver,
is in the city.
A dispatch from Kendrick. Idaho, to
the Spokesman-Review says that it has
been given out positively hat the North
ern Pacific means to build a line up the
Potlatch to the white pine belt this year.
The course Of events in the last few days
has indicated this move with no uncer-
tainty. The surveyors began running
lines UP the river on Monday morning,
and are doing the work in such a perma-
nent way as to dispel the rumor that their
object is only to get the lay Of the coun-
try.
Thu purcNa sing agent of the Northern
Pacific has just returned from a trip into
the country along the route that the Pot
latch line will take, and is perfectly salts
fled with the resources of the country
that it would tap, and particularly it's
timber. Timber is what the Northern
Pacific is hustling for. as in the next five
years it will be necessary for them to re-
tie Their entire system. They have let
contracts for ties to the amount of sew
eral hundred thousand in the Clearwater
country, and camps are located in all the
timber sections.
1t is given out now since the surveyors
of the Potlatch line are at work and are
the locating corps of engineers for the
Northern Pacific. having located the
Clearwa ter line, that the latter line was
built to tap the timber resources of the
Bitter Root mountains, because of the
need on the part of thecompany for ties
and timber, but they have struck a snag
in the government forest reserve, which
includes the timber belt where they most
expected to be able to get their largest
supply.
The Potlatch line, it is figured out now
provides a way for the Northern Pacific
to come in direct touch with the Missoula
CUTOFF in the Occur d'Alenes by following
the old Mullan trail after reaching the
head of the Potlatch. Along this route it
would be able to get plenty of timber.
The Spokesman-Review correspondent
learns from good authority that the ac-
ton of the Michigan lumber men in Sc
Letting the Potlatch as the base of their
operations was due to their information
received at St. Paul that the Northern
Pacific would tap the white pine belt this
year, and that l.. G.. Hanaue of Luding-
ron, Mich, who is at the head of big lum-
her interests, went to Lewiston to go into
the milling business, knowing that the
read would be built and his logs could
be hauled to that point.
The Great Northern is a prominent fac
tor in the development of the K%ootenay.
says the Fort Steele Prospector. It is
now learned that this great corporation is
now back Of a scheme to build a line from
kalispell, Mont. to Golden, on the main
line of the Canad an Pacific ra :lroad. Such
a road will open up a virgin field of min
eral richer than any other section of
British Columbia.
M0NEY R0vnN Ann kARKEr2