Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1905-11-10
BOOM IN RAILROAD
BUILDING IN OREGON
Every Section Gets Railroad
Except Josephine County
Its Turn Next.

hhhl1 VI AaiiOdu pulluibs lOi OlesOhs
Washington and Idaho that is now
under course of construction or for
which definite routes have been Sc
lected and on which work will be be.
gun early next year
What is of special interest to resi-
dents of Grants Pass and Josephine
county is that the Oregonian omits to
mention the possibility of the build
ing Of railroad from Grants Pass by
way of the Illinois and Smith river
valleys to the coast at Crescent City.
Two years ago the survey for this
road was made and right. way for
the route and terminal grounds in
Grants Pass and Crescent City was
secured by Colonel T. VAIN Morgan
Draper and associates of San Fran
cisco. 1t was given out then that the
following year construction would
begin and the road pushed to an early
completion. Two years have gone by
since this survey was completed and
so little stir has been made by the
promoters that most of the residents
of the country have forgotten that
even a survey was ever made. and in
stead of work being well under way
in the year 1904 there is no indication
that lick of work will be done dur
ing the year 1906
There is a rumor atloat credited to a
reliable source, that has some elements
of Likelihood to it, that the Southern
Pcific has acquired the controlling
interest in Colonel Diapers company
and has forbid the building of the
road lest its high Southern Oregon
freight rates should be forced into
competition with the low ocean rates
that could be had by way Of Crescent
there has been strange silence for
the past year and half that indicates
that the Draper people are likely to
let their railroad venture go by the
board. The Southern Pacific, no
doubt, has no desire that Southern
Oregon should have a short, cheap
and direct outlet to the ocean, for
that would force a cut in their local
freight rates, that now enable them
to charge $500 for 40-ton car of
mining or other machinery from
Portland to Grants Pass, and $3.50 from
San Francisco to Grants Pass, and
proportionate rates on other commo.
dities.
Railroad builders and investors
are giving Oregon, Washington and
Idaho more attention now than they
are to any other section Of the United
States, and railroad propositions that
are able to make a good showing of
present and prospective freight and
passenger traffic will not long lie
open. This is proven by the number
of separate lines of railroads that aie
now under construction in the North
Pacific Coast states and by the num-
Der of engineering parties that are out
looking over available routes for more
railroads. With the splendid traffic
showing that can be made for "A rail.
road from Grants Pass to Crescent
City this opening will not long re-
main vacant when once it becomes
known in the railroad world There
are many capitalists in the East who
are seeking Western investments
where profits and interest are high
and with the proper encouragement
these men could be induced to take
up railroad development in Southern
Oregon.
The following from the Oregoniar
shows the tremendous railroad boon
that is on in all other sections of til,
Pacific Coast
Railroad building in Oregon
Washington and Idaho, completed
during the present year or upon whicl
work is actually under way aggre
gates an estimated cost Of sjI, coo, 0O0
The North Pacific Coast States, fol
several years past seemingly not OF
the maps Of the railroad maRnates il
their development enterprises, are to
day the center of the greatest railroad
construction movement Of "a decade
exceeding in the expenditures pro
jected and mileage of new track tC
be laid during the next year any
simi lar iload advancement recently
Texas, Oklahoma, Indian Territory
and New Mexico have been the seat o.
railroad building tor the past fou
years, but in the coming year Oregon
will take leading rank, with Washing
ton and Idaho close seconds Below
is presented brief summary of tb,
railroad projects in progress aud thos,
projected with reasonable certainty
Of early fuldllment.
Hartman System-Elgin TO JOSEPH
SO. miles work in progress on fire
section and definite location for re
mainder Of distance; Lewiston
RiparIa line, to be owned AM
operated jointly with Northern Paci
fc, n miles, grading in progress Of
extensive scale Laiayette-St. JosepI
cutoff. two and third miles, link
ing West Side lines to avoid expensive