The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-12-06
The ELECTRIC Line
Assistance Expected From
Towns on the Route.
Col. Chase May Ask That Money Be
Raised to Make the Survey Next
Season.

Jacob Rooms of New Auburn, In a
letter to the editor of this paper, says
that he went with Col Chase over the
proposed route of the electric line
from Gaylord to st. Cloud, making
the last twenty miles by moon light
and reaching st. Cloud at one O'Clock
the next morning Saturday. The
distance covered during the day was
eighty miles. Col. Chase left at II
a. m. for Sioux Falls. He expressed
himself as being we'll pleased with the
country, every acre of which is now
occupied and produces some freight
At st. Cloud, Col. Chase had talk
with Judge Collins and others. One
business man said that the road would
be worth 800, 900 to St. Cloud.
Col. Chase was given a good recep-
tion all along the line. Hutchinson
gave him a grand welcome. Glencoe
wanted him to go that way, but it did
not offer any money in time. Nearly
all preferred the Hutchinson route.
Col. Chase said that there was not
as much grading from the Minnesota
river to Hutchinson as there is on the
first twelve miles west of Sioux Falls
for the electric line to be constructed
there. He will make report to his
eastern connections and expects soon
to submit proposition to- the people
as to what assistance will be required
along the line. He mentioned in one
of his talks that he would expect the
people to subscribe about So, 900 to sur
vey the line.
If Col. Chase expects that the people
along the route will raise money for a
survey he will put a damper on the
enterprise, as they have twice before
done this with no practical results.
II his people would make the survey
and get things started, the local people
would have confidence in the enterprise
and would without doubt do their
share toward carrying it to a success
full conclusion.
TIL st. Cloud Journal-Pr of Sat-
urday contains the following account
of Col. Chase's visit:
Col. w. 81. Chase, vice president and
general manager of the Sioux Falls
Suburban. Traction company, and Jacob
Rooms, a farmer of New Auburn and
chairman of the railway committee of
thatssvillage, reached st. Cloud at an
early hour this morning, having driven
overland from Mankato, 100 miles, in
trip of inspection over the proposed
North and South electric line from
Mankato to St. Cloud. The gentlemen
left Mankato last Thursday morning
and have driven north the entire dis
lance, meeting interested farmers and
business mems committee of several
good towns enroute. They reached
Kimball last night and after waiting
for the moon to rise drove to st. Cloud
later in the night, reaching the city
at a. m. today. Col. Chase and Mr..
Rooms interviewed Judge Collins,
President Smith of the First National
bank, and number of other promi-
nent gentleman during the forenoon,
the former leaving for home via. Will
mar this forenoon and Mr.. Rooms
leaving for New Auburn at O'Clock
this afternoon.
Col. Chase is now engaged in the
project of building a forty-mile cleo
trio line in the section tributary to
Sioux Falls and is said to have sub
stantial eastern backing such as would
be necessary to the contamination of a
deal the magnitude of the building of
1870 miles north and south from Man
kato to st. Cloud. He is greatly i'm
pressed with the nature of the country
and says that the road can be con-
structed at minimum of cost. The
only rough country which must b ira
versed is the section about Dassel and
there Is no great distance to this. In
the first sixty miles north from Man
kato, Col Chase says, there is less
grading to be done than in the first
twelve miles of the road he is now con-
structing at Sioux Falls.
1t is proposed to make the road
standard gauge and to secure the ne
cessary electric power by means of
three giant power houses, one at st.
Cloud, one at Mankato and one at
some point midway between the ter
minals. The scheme is to build
number of elevators, sidetracks, etc.
and to do general freight business as
we'll as the lighter passenger traffic.
In the electric lines in the east, the
rural business has been found to be