Willmar tribune., 1899-06-28
new RAILROAD PROJECT.
The Promoters Of the Gulf and
Manitoba Railroad Were In
Town Last Wednesday.
Surveyors Of the Proposed Line Ex-
pected to Make WiIlmar Within
Couple of Months.

a Couple of Months.
Messrs. E. E. Carpenter, J. J. Bell
and Ex-Governor F.. F. Campbell, of
Iowa, the promoters of the Gulf and
Manitoba Railroad, were in town
Wednesday forenoon of last week on
business connected with the proposed
line. It was given out that the Min
nesota part of the company had been
organized with Mason w. Spicer of
Willmar. Hans Gunderson of Beaver
Falls and banker of jackson as the
Minnesota members. Articles of in
corporation have since been filed in
the secretary of states Office. Mr..
Carpenter unfolded in a brief talk to
the newspaper men who called the plan
of his company. He produced blue
print of the proposed route, and began
by stating that his company intended
following the fftyffth parallel as
nearly as practicable from Galveston,
Texas, on the Gulf of Mexico, to the
northern boundary of the state of
Minnesota. Their objective point in
this state at present ia Sauk Centre,
which by the map is very nearly on
the fifty fifth parallel. Willmar is but
a mile and half out of the line and
will surely be touched by the road. 1t
is the greatest opening for a trunk
line in the United States at this time,
according to Mr.. Carpenter. He stated
that the line is completed as far as
Kansas City and that the grain ex-
ports OF Galveston have risen from a
few hundred thousand bushels two or
three years ago to fifteen million
bushels in 1885,
The bank clearings Of Galveston, a
city of 60, 600 people, now exceed those
of the city Of St. Paul. When asked
if the company expects to ship export
grain from Minnesota, Mr.. Carpenter
was very emphatic in his contention
that they do. He said: Il claim that
in the winter Sc ason, with our straight
down-grade haul, we can transport
wheat cheaper to deep water vessels
than it can be done by any other route,
and even in summer time, with the ne
cessity for loading and re-loading on
the lakes, think we can hold them
down even then.''
"There is not a aallar,s worth of
stock for sale in the lew road; we do
not want to take the chances of being
sold OUT" said Mr.. Carpenter, and as
far as the necessary backing is con-
cerned, he simply chuckled when he
mentioned it.
Beaver Falls township, in Renville
county, was to vote on proposition
to issue bonds last Thursday, and
other elections are to follow in few
days. The road will strike Beaver
Falls, and probably Olivia, if money
enough can be raised to make it an
object to build the extra distance of
three miles. "It will take a great
deal of money, a great deal of money!"
remarked Mr.. Carpenter. In regard
to the probable route north Of Will
mar the promoters had nothing to say,
as they had not been over the country,
but they did state that the line would
be built as direct as possible towards
Sauk Centre. It was the opinion of
those present that the road would be
laid out east Of the Colfax hills, and
thus be practically a parallel line as
far as New London with the St. Cloud
branch of the Great Northern.
In the early part of the day the gen.
tlemen were out looking up a suitable
place for an overhead crossing over
the Great Northern road at this place.
At noon the party went by team to
Beaver Falls. Mr.. Carpenter. ex-
planned that they placed Ex-Governor
Campbell in the front seat to catch the
mosquitoes, as his experience in Iowa
politics had made his skin tough and
impenetrable. Gov. Campbell was
chief executive of the state of Iowa
when the famous granger laws for reg
ulating railroads were adopted and
put into effect. Since that time Gov.
Campbell has evidently made himself
popular with some railroad men,. This
visit to Willmar was a preliminary
one, and these gentlemen will be back
to talk business with our people along