The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1899-02-16

The great railway field of the fu- +,
ture lies in our young northwest
with slumbering resources that can
be matured into such wealth within
its own area (and not dependent up
on commerce from distant points,, as
no section of the proud East ever
dreamed of. The states formed of
the old "Oregon Territory" which
Whitman saved and which our gov
ernment wished to trade to England
for a few fishing banks, have such
vast, such diversified and unmeasur-
able natural elements of teeming,
throbbing, fortune making riches OF
commerce, population, industry and
civilization, that railway capital can
no longer afford to overlook the op-
portunities here presented. This
magnificent northwest OF ours, we be-
leve, is destined within the next few
wears to become networked with rail
ways, much as the more eastern sec
tions of our country. We can hear
on sll sides the sounds of the coming
rsil-lsying activity. Some of the
present projected enterprises may
never materialize, but not all. of them
are dreams The Oregon Pacific,
Columbia Southern, in Oregon, Nam
pa & Owyhee Northern Extensions,
Market Lake Branch, Nevada Short
Line branches, to the southeast, the
o. r. & N, Great Northern and
Northern Pacific movements in the
north, are all based upon such devel-
opment possibilities as justify their
construction over and over With
all the arms and branches that will
make up the network, the immediate
securing Of the keys to the trunk
lines that must become the main ar
teries Of this future system should
naturally be the first thought of rail
road magnates. In our railway news
in last weeks issue it will be
noticed that a Lewiston-Huntington
connection is spoken of. A railroad
man in New York, who Is inside rail-
way circles and thoroughly posted on
railroad politics, recently wrote TO a
party in Weiser as follows:
The U. P. management from Adams
time down have been convinced that the
d r & N. line from UmaLilla TO Hunt
ington was a mistake The line should
have followed the Snake river canyon all
the way from its mouth to Huntington
route 80 miles longer. but. though ex'
pensive, a water grade and the proper
thing for trunk line. The matter now
is premature aud will be for some years
yet-but eventually it will be done. The
necessity for heavy train load and low
operating expenses will force it. Tha
line is a part OF the future policy of thu
u. P. system.
So while tue authority quoted states
that it is premature, conditions ar'
such that il may come about unde
u. 2. paternity-the more likely nov
that the 0. r. & N. and U. Z. ar
coming into the same hands, Incl
dentally it is not likely these road
would permit one Blake to intrud
upon a route they intend to sccup
themselves. The construction O
this piece of trunk line would be O
great benefit in developing Idaho a
it would be practically north an
south road which would draw til
state together and facilitate inter
cousre and commerce. Itwould moi
however, it could not, because OF tn
natural configuration Of the country
touch the vast empire Of Washingto
county and Central Idaho lying mort
of Weiser. That would require al
other line. And be it noticed that th
water grade down the Snake efec
only the through traffic business
and as far as covering the 500 mill
of traffic yielding territory betwee
Butte and Sacramento. it leaves Il
situation as before-simply crosse
the narrow way.
The line which is to become Il
vertebrae, the spinal column of th
empire, from which the ribs will e.
tend each side in this future syster
must necessarily be = line direct fro