Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-02-27
Henry Bling May Build an
Electric Railroad
BRIDGES
With the Northern Pacific Branch
Competing Lines After West
ern Smelling Roads.

Henry Filing, the we'll known banker
and capitalist, is said to be seriously con-
templating the construction of an electric
railroad from the terminal of the Gaylord
& Ruby valley road at Twin Bridges up
the Ruby valley to some convenient point,
probably the mouth of Alder Gulch, near
Laurin, and possibly Virginia City. 1t is
known that Mr.. Filing has made some
arrangement with the Northern Pacific
company for rails, with the understand
ing that if the road should be built 1T
should be of standard guage and heavily
ballasted in order to permit the use OF
the track by the Northern Pacific rolling
stock should any emergency demand it.
A survey has been made of the proposed
line, which if constructed will skirt the
Tobacco Root range, and an expert rail-
road electrician has been asked to make
an estimate of the cost of construction.
The plan contemplates several power
stations, one on Wisconsin or Mill creek,
near Sheridan, one IN Granite creek, a
tributary of lower Alder Gulch, and II
at some point yet to be decided upon.
The road would tap a very rich and fer
tile section of Montana, and would pe a
feeder for the Northern Pacific company,
which concern, it is said, is very anxious
to see it built.
The fact that the Great Northern has
made such rates on ore shipments over
the Spokane Falls & Northern from Brit
ish Columbia that the Oregon Railroad q
Navigation and the Northern Pacific are
excluded from getting any OF That busl-
ness of transporting ores to smelterS,
yub;1o tho Ereof NOrthprn gets IT ALL, is
stirring up some disturbance in smelling
localities. The Salt Lake Tribune of re-
cent date says:
THE loss to the Northern Pacific and
the Oregon Railroad & Navigation was
great. and this loss is shared by the Ore
gon Short Line, the Union Pacific and the
Rio Grande Western, which in the past
had handled large amounts of ore from
British Columbia in transit to the Colo
raod shelters. A heavy tonnage OF this
ore passed directly through Salt Lake, via
the Western, but this has all been sud-
denly stopped, and the Great Northern
and the Canadian Pacific now control the
business. a
Mr., Hill was ever known to be a rail-
roader who continually kept his eyes on
the track ahead, but as long as he did not
invade local territory he was not regard
ed as a competitor. In the present case
however, he has severely cut into the
freight traffic of the three Utah roads to
such an extent that they will be upheld
in taking retaliatory measures
After describing the Spokane Falls d
Northern system and telling of the GUAM
tity Of ore it handled from British Colum-
bia, the article continues:
"For many reasons the Colorado smelt-
ers were in a good position to secure a
large percentage of these ores. From now
on they will not be able to bid for the
,,,;,o-, o,,I II ic NraEnmp0 that Mr.. Hill
is working solely for the long hau to the
Chicago smelters, to the exclusion or all
other cities on the central circuit, Whlch
includes Omaha and Kansas city.
"By a circuitous route, however, Mr..
Hill could lay down the ores in oman
and enjoy the long haul from BRUSH Co
lambda as far as Sioux City, via the sew
eral lines in which he is interested"
The officers of the new Kootenai Valley
railroad are Will III. Thompson, president,
F. w. Bobbett, SECRETARY and treasurer,
and w. H. Knowlton, chief engineer.
There is no vice president. While Mr..
Thompson and Mr.. Bobbett are both onl-
cials of the Great Northern system, 1t Is
announced-and the announcement is be-
lieyed by railroad men-that the Great
NOrthern's interest in the kootena1 VAL
lev is not direct. There is, now
ever. a traffic connection between the
Great Northern and the new road, ana IL
has been found advantageous by the eng
Iish capitalists behind the Kootenal VAL
lev line to use the machinery of the Great
Northern organization at this end. MI.
Thompson is counse for the Great North
ern for the state of Washington and Is an
officer of most of the companies in the
Spokane Falls & Northern SYSTEM, owned
by the Great Northern. Mr.. Bobbett is
secretary and treasurer of the Spokane
Falls & Northern.
The committees Of flremen who went to
st. Paul to petition the Great Northern
and Northern Pacific railways for an ad-
vance of pay, have returned to their
homes, leaving the matter in the hands
of the railroads. 1t is believed a slight
advance will be a
NOT YET SETTLED.