Omaha daily bee., 1903-04-20
CLARK BUYS OF SHORT LINE
Ownership Of Portion South Of Salt Lake is
Absolute and Not q Lease.
oLO ROAD is TO Be RECONSTRUCTED
Entire Line from ogden TO Los
Angeles 20 BE Completed ana I'm
Operation within Two
Years.

NEW YORK. April Ex-senator W. A.
Clark OF Montana said tonight that he de-
sired to correct certain material errors
which had crept into his interview Of yes
terday relative to the newly organized San
Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lske Railway
company.
THE transaction" said Senator Clark,
has been described as a lease. On the
contrary I and my associates have pur-
chased all OF the lines OF the Oregon Short
Line company south of Salt Lake City and
will construct about 400 miles Of road from
Calientes. Utah, southwesterly through Ca
Jon pass to Riverside, from which point
the road win soon be completed to Los An
geles. This purchase embraces $40 miles
Of road, and In addition to the main line
has taken over several shorter lines. Most
important is the bennington CUTOFF, ex-
tending from Salt Lake City to Leamirgton,
Utah. This cutoff was recently constructed
and is only III miles iong, besides having
the advantage Of lower grades.
West from Callentes / have already had
forty miles Of grading completed. The road
will go through the Mountain Valley wash,
the dry channel of an old watercourse,
which constitutes the only available route.
At Cajon We meet a grade of 1O6, but aside
AANhA hhAe a. 81 a u otN-
enty-nine feet. The cost will average $780,
900 a mile.
Lay New Rgils.
THE portion of the Oregon Short line
system which we have purchased will be
relaid with seventy-fve-pound rails and the
equipment will be the very best. From San
Pedro to Los Angeles and Riverside the
road now has the best Pullman passenger
nnNNkNnaAAN wvAAoH ain l.. 4 u
entire system. In Southern California, trib-
utary to this line. 5000 carloads of fruit
were raised last year and there are exist
ing orchards which in less than FIVE years
will have al annual output of $4,000 cars.
The road will swiftly move perishable goods
into a higher altitude, an important de-
sideratum in handling such shipments.
From Salt Lake City to Los Angeles BY
this new route is 800 miles, which we. Intend
to cover with limited trains In twenty-four
hours.
AT present traffic from Salt Lake City
can only reach Los Angeles via Sacramento,
a distance OF about 1900 miles. At San
Pedro the United States government is
building a ~breakwater to cost SO, 900, 900 and
Wilmington bay is being deepened by dredg-
ing, so that IT will form a fine harbor.
Near Riverside we are constructing across
the Santa Ann river a great concrete
bridge, with eight spans of 100 feet each,
and an extreme height of seventy feet.
1--WE have made arrangements with the
Oregon Short Line company for a joint use
OF its terminals for a period of ninety
nine years. Tributary to the new road are
vast deposits of iron and other minerals
that only await development. No bonds
have been issued on the Los Angeles road
so far completed and SIS. ooO, 900 OF the $780,
900. 900 bonded debt will be held in reserve
in the company's treasury TO be applied to
the construction of branch lines. We ex-
pect to have the through line fully CON-
pleted within two yesrs."