Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1904-08-03

had but 1854 miles of railway, all
told yet it was but thirty-two years ago.
Look at your map Of Wisconsin and
realize what this vast region was. 1t
has within its borders today some of the
most thriving of our agricultural coun-
ties, with populations bigger than most
of the southern counties had in 1872
The ride on the Wisconsin Central
from Withee to Stanley passes Lombard,
Thorp and Ensvold, three small centers
for trade, and the evidences of agri-
cultural thrift are all about to account
for them.
Stanley and It's Railroad.
Stanley is city 1t has $500 popula-
ton, with good schools, churches and a
library, beautifully housed, OF 1000 vol
umes. This building and it's books We're
the gift of Mrs Sallie f. Moon, as a
memorial to her husband, the late D. e.
Moon, formerly president of the North
western Lumber company, whose large
numbering operations gave Stanley it's
first real impetus. But | am not writing
of cities and will dismiss this one, -four
ishing as it is, with the remark that as
the center for radiating rural and inter
urban telephone lines, and rural mail
routes, and the southern terminus of the
Stanley, Merrill & Phillips railway, it is
exerting an important influence that eX-
tends far beyond its corporate bounda-
ries.
This railroad, started as logging road,
Hannibal, In Taylor county, twenty-four
miles from here, with the Eau Claire,
Chippewa Falls & Northeastern, another
embryo trunk lime that is already COM
pleted some miles to the eastward of that
junction. The Stanley road is being
Strengthened, made permanent and will
be extended nerthward to Glen Flora,
Gates county, this season. | mention
these details of railway advancement to
emphasize striking contrasts with thirty
years ago.
Stanley is, as I have remarked, a
thriving little city. 1t is 1.-The Second
City" of Chippewa county. All about
stocked with cattle. There are many
Improvements in progress upon these
farms and the creameries and cheese
factories to the south, in Chippewa coun-
ty, and to the southeast, in Clark county
are the monuments by which to read OF
a few miles northeast of Stanley the new
railway enters Taylor county, and the
settlements look newer The frame
house is succeeded by the tidy log house
as you go on a few miles further, but
even here there is a nice little frame
schoolhouse, set upon a slightly hillside
A few more miles and the train is in the
W11ucIucSSs duOuS ioSSinS NdIupS dHC
sideways logs and hemlock bark But
it is all good land
Telephoning Train Reports.
One little innovation in railroading
that I noticed here shows how these re
gions pioneer in science, even while the
woodsman's- axe is resounding in the TN
subdued forest. At sidetrack junction
about half way to Hannibal. really tht
midway station, and called "Ballinger'
| on the map-for aught l know it may
some day be a second Automatic traiI
stopped the conductor alighted, unlocked
a box attached to telephone pole an6
proceeded to report MS train by telephone
to the general office at Stanley. [ make
no jest. There was scientific significance
in this proceeding. Some of the great
railroads are making experiments il
sending train orders by word of mouth
over telephone wires. 1t perhaps for
bodies changes of great importance, es
peeially to the telegraph operator, wht
can be dispensed with under this sys
tenn, and even if an operator is required