Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1903-05-08
Town (ERTAIN
Which Means the Line Will Pass
Through the Meadow
City.
JONES HAS DODGE dIr Ofhd,

The subjoined difDatch from Syra-
cuse, kans., will be one Of the great
est interest to the citizens Of Las
Vegas since according as the propos-
ell Santa Fe cutoff leaves the main
line at Syracuse or Dodge City will
the road run through Las Vegas or to
the southwark. II Dodge City will be
the junction point 1t Is almost GER
tain that the road will run the whole
distance through the prairie country
only few miles to the north OF the
Rock Island. 1t now seems almost
certain, the short cut leaves the main
line at Syracuse. it will as suggested
in the following dispatch proceed by
a more northerly course through
country OF much promise, and would
doubtless pass through Las Vegas.
sThe proposed Santa Fe southwest
cutoff is attracting considerable at
tention in the papers these days and
there are as many different terminals
mentioned In connection Herewith SIS
there are towns between Syracuse and
Dodge City. The fact that one of the
civil engineers Of the road, r. M. Jones
Iof Las VsgAss hass rsnted 4 room In
Dodge City has convinced everybody
with foot Of property there that the
new cutoff will leave the main line
at that point. II seems, however that
the engineer has established his office
at Dodge City because that is the d.
vision superintendents headquarters,
anG because he has considerable work
on this division aside from surveying
for cutoff. There is hill just east
Of Dodge City that needs pairing down
considerably before the grade there
will be satisfactory to the officials who
superintend the operation of the road
1t is fact that If Engineer Jones had
orders to survey new route from
Garden City. Lakin or Syracuse he
would establish an office at division
headquarters
up to this time two routes appear
to have been looked over. Several
months ago a surveying party struck
out southwark from Dodge City, and
were heard from In Gray, Haskell and
Stevens counties The Syracuse route
was examined three weeks ago when
a party Of routing engineers reached
there from the southwest. As the
country offers NO serious obstacle to
railroad construction from either place
nothing would be gained by selecting
q point that is not already division
point on the main line Of the road.
Hence II resolves itself.
First. into a question Of distances 10
some converging point In Beaver
county. Oklahoma, or New Mexico.
Second, into question Of local sup
port or patronage which will naturally
como to the new road In the country
tributary to It.
The new line. according to reports
OF the preliminary survey. will cross
the CImarron river about twenty
miles east Of Kenton, or. say thirty
miles east of the New Mexico bound
ary line. Taking. then, this crossing
on the Cimarron as the converging
point Of the Syracuse and Dodge City
surveys, rough computation OF the
distance TO Syracuse by section lines
is 150 miles, while TO Dodge City the
distance to the same point Is 240
miles by section lines. In angling
across the distances would be re
duced considerably. OF course, but that
fact still remains that while Syracuse
Is sixty-two miles east OF the Texass
New Mexico line. Dodge City is 1853
miles east Of the same line. At the
least calculation the Syracuse line
would be seventy-fve miles shorter TO
the main line than by the way of
Dodge City.
Southwest from Dodge City for nfty
miles 4 new railroad would run paral-
lei to the Rock Island and only . few