The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-09-08
Doughty Old Warrior will Not
Stand For the Game.
Work on the MankatO.A'bert
Lea Line Goes On.
Tobie and the Chief Promoter
Are at Outs, lis Said.
From Saturdays Daily.

From Saturdays Daily.
The Albert Lea Times discusses the
railroad situation as follows:
| A crew of eight men, in charge of
two engineers and equipped with COM
! plete sets of surveyors instruments, ar
rived in Alden Tuesday morning and
started out the same day to survey a
cut off for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St.
Paul railway from Albert Lea to Man
cato.
The crew represent themselves as in
the employ of the Milwaukee road and
have taken lodging for an indefinite per-
od at Hotel Hazel in Alden. They
state positively that their road intends
to construct at once a direct line from
Albert Lea to Mankato and will prob
ably leave their present line at Arm
strong.
This move on the part of the Milwau
kee is undoubtedly due to the construc
ton of the Duluth, st. Cloud, Glencoe
& Manlato railway from Albert Lea
to Mankato now in progress.
The Chicago, Milwaukee & st. Paul
railway at present enjoys a profitable
local business between Albert Lea
and Mankato and large through bust
ness out of Mankato and from the ter
ritory adjacent to its line for many
miles to the north and east throughout
the FreebOrn-Nivi districts. Its line
however, is by way of Mapleton and
Wells and is very roundabout.
The new Duluth road, now building
goes through the very heart of the Free
born Vivian territory, supplies it will
improved service and in addition will
its suspected Illinois Central connection
will supply the shortest route from Man
kato to Chicago and the east.
1t is to meet this superior service and
to hold its Mankato and intermediate
business that the Chicago, milwaukee,
& st. Paul railway has sent crew oil
surveyors into the field to establish the
route for cutoff from Albert Lea tc
;. Mankato parallel to the Duluth, ST
Cloud, Glencoe & Mankato railway.
Whether or not the Milwaukee has
fully determined to build this cut off OF
is simply bluffing to bring Captain Reed
the Duluth, st. Cloud, Glencoe & Man
kato railway or f. L. Tobie & Co. or the
Illinois Central to some agreement fol
the, protection of its interests, no one
knows, but the surveyors are in the
field.
The surveying crow that arrived at
Alden Tuesday have not yet proceed
ed far enough with their work to in
dictate clearly what route will be fol,
lowed and this may not be established
until several lines have been run, levels
taken and estimates made.
A study of the map shows that a di
rect line from Armstrong to Mankato
will pass through Freedom lake about
at the narrows, through the western
part of Freeborn and Vivian townships
between the villages of Cream and
Medo,, the entire route passing through
thickly settled and prosperous farm
ing districts.
The Milwaukee's present line from
Wells to Mankato passes through the
following towns in succession commenc.
ing at Wells Minnesota Lake. Ma
pleton, Good Thunder and Rapidan in
to Mankato. A direct line from Arr,
strong to Mankato would not touch anv
of these points but would run only a
few miles from Minnesota Lake and
Rapidan. 1t is not thought that the
Milwaukee would build from Armstrong
to Minnesota Lake and run into Manka
to over its old line from there as it
would not reduce its mileage materially
by so doing 1t might, however, build
only to Rapidan and by running in over
its old track from that station save the
heavy construction work that would
otherwise be necessary through the
bluffs surrounding Mankato.
At the same time the Milwaukee sur.
veyors appear in the field, the report is
received from reliable sources that trou.
bic has arisen between Contractor T.. T.
Tobie and Captain Reed over the meth
DDS of the captain.
1t Is known that bad feeling exists
between the railroad president and the
contracting firm and that as result OF
lit Captain Reeds connection with the