The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-11-06
HILL GETS KATY
AS GOOD FEEDER
It Insures Heavy Export Traffic
for Burlington and Northern
Lines. s~e.f
Japan Is a Heavy Buyer Of Cotton
and the Trade Is
Growing.

Another one Of James J. Hill IS trans
portation dreams is about to be real
lied.
He is reported to have acquired the
Missouri, Kansas & Texas road. A
cursory inspection Of the map shows
how the "Katy' couples in with the
Hill Lines to form M grefst - neM system
Puget sound.
Years ago Mr.. Hill said that some
day southern cotton growers would ship
their product to the Pacific coast by
rail for export to the orient. The
Great Northern magnate's predictions
of this sort are so intimately inter
woven with definite determination and a
recognition cf ultimate possibilities
that, in this case, the statement was
with the merger fight behind him and
conditions in transcontinental lines as
he wished, Mr.. Hill seems. to have gone
to work on a great, diagonal transcon-
tinental line.
In measure this explains Mr.. Hill IS
declaration against the Panama canal
which would naturally pull export trade
from exactly the same territory served
by the newly coupled-up rail system:
Nevertheless, the acquisition of
the southern system has proceeded
been sincere in his rejection Of the
canal as a practicable trade route.
Traverses Cotton Belt.
The Missouri, Kansas & Texas owns
2,770 miles Of road and operates enough
more to give total mileage of 3,043.
1t has northern termini at St. Louis,
southerly across the Texas cotton belt
and Indian Territory to tidewater at
Galveston, and to San Antonio, Texas,
and Shreveport, La. Half dozen
branch lines into particularly rich terri
| tory give it maximum traffic from the
country which it serves.
! This system supplements the Hill
lines as if it were especially laid out
with that idea in view. The Burlington
northern terminal of the Missouri, Kan
sas & Texas, and new extensions by
the Great Northern give short lines
from the north in connection with the
Burlington. -.. Al.
From ST. Louis accordingly, north.
bound export business would be. routed
by way of st. Joseph and Lincoln, and
THENCE. by the Montana cutoff to Bill.
ings, and westward by the Northern
Pacific. Or from Lincoln the trains
Scould be diverted over the Ashland
I Sioux City cutoff of the Great Northern
to Willmar or Minneapolis, and thence
westward over either the Great North
ern or Northern Pacific.
It is believed, however, that ulti
mately more extended use will be made
Of the Burlington for the long haul. Al
present the Montana cutoff ends al
Huntley, just east of Billings. From
this point northwesterly to the end Of
Great Northern spur at Neihart
Mont, is only about two hundred miles
With this link supplied there woult
exist true diagonal, almost an air
} line, from Kansas City to the north
western corner Of Montana.
Another possibility Of the new rout
=, outlet in British Columbia. For tn
r past year the Hill forces have been EN-
ployed in securing charters and RICH
Of way for line into Vancouver: !
map accompanying the last annual re
9 port of the Great Northern shows thi
g Canadian part of the system as alread
= a reality, with the exception Of abou
V $50 miles from Keremeas to Westmin
ster. This branch leaves the Grea
Q Northern main line at Rathdrum,
f eastern Washington, andis said to hav
3, favorable grades for heavy freight tor
L mage. 49,. ..-.., ,.
t =. Cotton Exports Growing. "
; That opportunities exist for buildin
e Eup trade between the United State
= cotton belt and. the Orient is shown b
6 the increase in exports in the past fe,
: years. In 1893 the United States sol
e e In Japan 793, 242 pounds of raw cotto1
70 worth $6S,423,: while in 1900 the expol
J to Japan was ISL COL ,219 pounds, wort
$12,7l2, 619. Export cotton to the Or
ent showed a falling off in 1908 OWN
q to high prices, but in general the ira
d c cy Japan IS building up a great i
- dustry in buying raw cotton in tt
!, United States, manufacturing it ar
y, selling the finished product to CHR