Bisbee daily review., 1905-07-01
NEW SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINE.

The Phoenix Gazette publishes 6 long article, with a map. showing a new line of the Southern Pacific rail- road, which has long been talked of by railroad men. Everybody knows that-the Southern Pacific railroad. on its present route through the terri tory, covers some very heavy and ex- pensive grades between Bowie and Tucson. When the line was origin ally constructed it was not possible to follow the best route through the territory because of the fact that the old Tom Scott railroad survey follow ed the Gila river through Arizona and had a land grant which took every other section of land within ten miles of the survey on either side. After the Southern Pacific was com pleted the old land grant was re- verted back to the government and since then it no doubt has been in the mind of the Southern Pacific people to sometime build over the old Tom Scott survey, which followed the Gila river through the territory.
 The Gazette claims now to have positive information that the South ern Pacific company proposes to build its main line from Bowie to the Gila river at Solomonville and from there to follow that stream to Yuma. The Globe railroad would become a part of the new line from Bowie to San Carlos and recent rebuilding of that road, practically, from Bowie to Solomonville is taken as but pre- liminary work to prepare it for hand ,+fs the through traffic on the South ern Pacific. The map published by the Gazette shows that the distance from Bowie to Yuma over the pro posed new route would be more than fifty miles less than over the old route now operated, and the new line would give great additional advant- age in grade which would not be heavy at any point, whereas on the old line helping engines and crews are kept at Bowie, Benson and Tue son to push the heavy trains up the heavy grades out of these stations.
 The Southern Pacific has been the loser by many millions of dollars by its inability to take the Gila river route through the territory when it was originally built; the original line has been changed many times at many places to take it. away from danger of washouts in the mountains, which many years ago often com pletely stopped traffic for weeks. But if the Southern Pacific has been the loser in following the desert mesas and mountains through the territory, Arizona has been the greatest loser. Had the Southern Pacific been oper- ated over the Gila river route all these years, since it's construction, it is not too much to say that Arizona would long ago have been state in the Union and certainly its popuia- tion would have been double what it is today. During the time of the Southern Pacific it has been hauling people over a route which presented no sign of life or industry from one end of the territory to the other, whereas if these people had been hauled through the territory along the banks of the Gila river they would have been transported through yer itable garden from the time they en- tered the territory until they crossed the Colorado river into California The difference in the impression of Arizona throughout the country would be as day is to night and as a country covered with productive farms is to a desert waste; millions of travellers would have testified in every land and country that Arizona was beautiful and productive country instead of in sisting that it had no life or industry in it. Every friend of Arizona should applaud at the suggestion that we are soon to have one through line of rail road in the territory which will carry passengers through the valleys where are to be seen the great possibilities which lie in the future of this coun try.
 The old Southern Pacific is mol without sin Lut she is entitled to the