Lincoln County record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1900-1905, 1901-11-15
SAN PEOR0--SH0RT
LINE COMPACT.
1t Applies to Meadow
Valley Survey.
Beyond That They Will Race to Coast
las Rivals.


las Rivals.
Salt Lake (Utah) Nov. S.-A
agreement of the utmost importanc
to the people of Salt Lake and Lo
Angeles has been entered into be
tween the officials of the Oregon
Short Line and the San Pedro Rail
road coupar:os 1t means to al
absolute certainty that the two cite
named are to have the two railroad
which have been racing neck anC
neck for the past year across the Ne
vada deserts towards Los Angeles
And further, the action agreed upon
will undoubtedly save from one tc
two years time to both companies
in the final completion of the con.
struction work. The situation is
just this, as explained tonight by
Whittemore for the San Pedro people
and the agreement referred to is a
Short Line confirmation Of his state
ment:
"Down through the Meadow Val
ley Wash for distance of $50 miles
both the San Pedro and the Oregon
Short Line companies have surveys.
In some places the defile is very mar
row, and each of the two railway
companies having surveyed its own
line without reference to the expense
or intentions of the other, they have
come into conflict in many places. In
fact, in distance of sixty miles, one
or the other of the lines crosses its
neighbor no less than twenty-six
times. Now that won't do.
"In meeting between Messrs
Kelley and Williams for the Oregon
Short Line and Mr.. Gibbon and
myself for the San Pedro, Los
Angeles and Salt Lake, counsel be-
gan to consider the preliminary de-
tails to the hearing in court at Carson
City, and gradually the representa-
tives of the two lines approached each
other so closely i'll spirit of fairness
that it was finally suggested that the
engineers of both lines make a joint
survey, in order to procure facts
upon which the court may be able to
base its decree in the matter.
"No thought of compromise as to
the legal rights of the respective
companies has entered into the
negotiations. 1t was seen in this
case, as is the fact in many others,
that we might have litigated in court
for long time to come and ultim
ately be obliged to return to perhaps
this very method, or one similar in
its intent, in order that the court
might have proper facts upon which
to base its decree.
"The act of Congress granting
rights Of way to railroad companies
expressly provides that when two
parallel lines shall encounter so
narrow pass as to admit but one of
them, the company having the prior
right of way shall grant to the
second line right of way over such
portion of its track as may be neces-
sary to allow the trains of the new
conner to pass through the narrow
defle to a point where it may resume
its independent way. So you see
that neither the Short Line nor the
San Pedro is able to shut the other
out of any of the narrow passes in
the Meadow Valley Wash. Now we
propose to send the two engineering
corps out there simply to establish
two independent grades through the
wash that will not cross each other
twenty-six times in less than sixty
miles.
Gas to which one of the two COM
panies has the prior right, this is
not being considered; it will be
settled by the court. We now simply
fix two parallel lines, that in some
narrow passes, may come so close to
each other as to ramble a double
track line, but which will have their
distinct and separate roadbeds. And
l want to say further, that as soon
as something definite is arrived at,
we will prosecute construction work
very rapidly, and | have no doubt
the Short Line may do the same. As
it is, we are both locked up and i'm
patient to go to work"
The agreement referred is un-
questionable evidence that both
companies are determined to build
their lines to the Pacific Coast, and
that they each desire to do so at once
without waiting for an aggravating
series of legal controversies, cover