Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1905-03-28

). ID. Negus of Salt Lake City and
Cheyenne, the greatest single.handed
railroad builder of the present day
u generation, has come to San
kTancisco, Nnobtrusiyely and unan.
nounced, 10 perfect plans for a new
TRANSPORT mental railroad that will
revoluiionlze ra%ilroading In the west,
says the Chronicle of that city. He
mas brought with him a little piece OF
slrlng, which he wears In his watch
pocket when he is not using 1t to de.
monstrate how straight a railroad can
be built across the American cont.
nent If a PERSON only knows how.
without asking for financial assist.
ance from any of the big railroad or
moneyed Interests of the country, he
purposes bUildine Il railroad from the
Missouri RIVER to California. At pres.
ent he is q srest at the Palace hotel.
Mr.. Negus is IA western man. and
says his road will be distinctly q
western road, owing no allegiance to
eastern railroad interests, and to be
operated for the advantage of the
west and western people. Incident.
ally 1t will be the shortest line be.
tween San Francisco and the Missouri
river, he says. and will be the easiest
and most economical to operate BY
reason OF its easy grades, which will
exceed at no place l per cent.
Project Long in Mind.
8" have been working on this pro-
ject for t%wenty.three years." said MIR.
Negus at the Palace hotel to a Chron.
icle reporter, "and have at last gotten
things in such shape that | can con.
fidently say the road will be built. I
have invested 100000 of my own
money in the project, OF which $175,.
900 has been expended for surveys.
The only way l see to get my money
out Is to build the road. So the road
ls going to be built.
Il am not asking for any American
capital to carry out the enterprise. Of
course, a great deal Of capital will be
required outside of my own resources,
but l have this money promised. 1t
will come largely from German capt.
talists, although some English CAPT
talists are anxious to get in on the
deal. | have organized companies in
Wyoming. Nebraska and Utah for the
purpose of constructing the road
through those states, and a company
will be organized in California for
building this end of the line.
This will be the shortest line to
the Missouri river, and will have the
advantages Of the easiest grades. The
builders of the Contra Pacific made
a great mistake when they located the
present line through the Sierra. Ma
lure made n natural passage
through the Sierra, and that is the
valley and canyon of the Pitt river,
which is the outlet of Goose lake, up
in ModOc county. The waters of
Goose lake empty into the Sacramento
river and the bay of San Francisco.
When you get to Goose lake you are
On the other side of the Sierra, and
you have climbed to an altitude of a
little over 1000 feet.
Goose Lake Shortest Route.
Nov, to the uninitiated it may seem
a roundabout way to build a trans
continental line by way of Goose Jake.
up in the northeastern corner of Cali
fornia. But what difference does ii
make which initial direction the road
takes so long as it is the shortest
route? Now, let me illustrate"
He pulled a piece of string out OF
his vest pocket and laid it, badly
crinkled, on the seat beside him.
THE average road has just about
as many crooks and turns as that
piece of string" he said.
Placing a finger on each end of the
string he took up the slack with an
other finger and made the string a
right angle with perfectly straight
sides. thus demonstrating that a rail-
road bull, straight from San Fran
cisco to Goose lake and thence I
straight to the Missouri river would
be no longer than a road that follows
the %serpentine course Of the Central
paoifia through Tho Ciorro and