The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-09-08

cause OF the trOuDle put IL is DelleV-
ed that by several injudicious moves
Captain Reed has aroused the Milwau
kee road to the necessity of protecting
its business in the Freeborn- Vivian sec
ton by commencing the survey of the
proposed cutoff. This seriously effects
L. L. Tobie & Co. since that firm has
contracted to accept bonds of the Du-
way company in payment for the con
struction and equipment of the line The
Milwaukee's cutof will undoubtedly
lessen the earning power of the Duluth
line and so decrease the value of the Sc
curities Tobie & Co. will hold.
1t is the general opinion in Albert
Lea, at Alden and at Freedom that the
Milwaukee is making mere threaten
| inc move and that it will not on a final
show down actually construct the pro-
| ected cut off unless the officials of that
road are convinced that the Duluth road
is being built secretly. by some other
trunk line and they deem it advisable
| to bring on railroad fight in the ter
ritory to enforce the agreement among
the granger" roads not to build into
each others territory.
The Freeborn- Vivian district, Albert
| Lea and Mankato will gain very little
| by the construction of the Milwaukee
,ut off, but they are vitality interested
in the completion of the Duluth road
low under construction. The only dan
ger in the situation is that the threat
med competition of the Milwaukee will
prevent the promoters of the Duluth
Dad from securing the necessary funds
o complete their line or that fearing an
| Unequal contest with the powerful Mil
waukee system, they may dispose of
| their interests to that road. The Mil
yankee might then abandon the con-
| truction of the Duluth line and leave
| he traffic of the Freeborn- Vivian and
| AIbert Lea Mankato district to be ac-
ommodated as before by the present
| ,oundabout route via Wells or Waseca
| 1t is clearly to the interest of the
| public to encourage so far as it can the
completion of the Duluth line to Man
cato by the present promoters, leaving
he Milwaukee to spend its money for
mother line to ALankato if it sees fit
o do So The Duluth road is legiti-
nate enterprise. The Milwaukee's cut
Dff if it is constructed, will be built
merely to protect Milwaukee interests
md not because it is needed or sought
by the people residing in the territory
Effected
| Construction work on the Duluth
road from the Vandergrift farm to Free
BORN village is progressing rather slow
v. Mr.. Tobe states that six crews with
only about fifty teams in all are now on
he grounds. They are under six sub
contractors and are camping at the Ras-
nuss Olson farm, Wangens, Gilbert
sons, Peterson's, old Raffoth (now Mil
err farm and in the old house on the
;ormer Poff farm.
The contract for all the bridge work
o Freeborn has been let by Tobie &
o. to Louis Balduc of Minneapolis who
commenced work Tuesday with a crew
If men and several carloads of material.
Mr.. Tobie estimates that trains should
)e running into Freedom village and be-
yond this fall. He expects to lay steel
md run trains close into Mankato and
perhaps into that city if the season is
open and he can get the construction
rews needed Asked if he was not un-
Ter bonds to complete the road and to
un trains into Mankato by January /,
1906, he said he was provided the Du-
nth company had purchased the right
ofway by May last which the company
had not done. His company is not now
under obligations to run trains by Janu-
Try next but will do so if possible. In
my event, Mr.. Tobie says, there will be
much work left to be completed next
season as the laying of rails and run
ling of trains by no means completes a
tailroad. There are depots and build
;ngs, fences and telegraph lines to be
erected, sideings to be laid and numer
| Gus other items in construction to be
completed after trains are running.
Mr.. Tobie states that it is very diff
icult to get teams and men at this
time because the farmers are busy
threshing and blowing and the numer
Gus construction crews of the west are
nearly all employed on the 500 extern
sions in the northern part of this state
and in Dakota. 1t two or three weeks
he expects many farm teams along the
route will be available for use at 81
a day and several construction crews
will probably COME down from the 500
| work as fast as sub contractors finish
sections they are working on.