Evening star., 1905-10-17

however comnendable, has been the sub
ject of considerable comment and conn
peting bidders have not yet satisfied their
curiosity as to how the Macdonald McMil-
Ian Company were SO well prepared to be-
gin operations
1t was then developed that the line of
the new road through Manitoba and for a
considerable distance las far as Reg.na) In
Saskatchewa had been located only a few
miles from the tracks of the Canadian Pa
cific, and that company Immediately en-
tered a protest with the railway commits
sion of the Dominion. 1t argued that the
location was in violation of the spirit and
intention of the act of parliament, for the
reason that 1t does not open up new ter
ritory, but runs for more than 800 miles
through an already thickly settled country,
and III places not more than three miles
from existing lines of railroad 1t was
.contended that the people of Canada voted
for the proposed road. not as a competitor
of the Canadian Pacific, but in order to
make the territory not reached by that
line accessible to the public The commits
sioners heard arguments on both sides and
the chairman gave a brief judgment in ia
vor of the Grand Trunk Pacific. He held
that the act of parliament gave the min
lister of railways authority to locate the
route of the new road, and while it was
general policy not 10 come within thirty
miles of existing lines, there was no ar
bitrary limitation, and the minister had
the authority to select any practicable To-
cation. The action of the government was
therefore confirmed, construction has be-
gun and is proceeding with great rapidity.
Work has also been commenced from
Lake Superior westward between Fort Will
liam and Winnipeg, and will be pushed
as rapidly as possible in order to give the
company a line over which ii can receive
supplies independently of rivals.
The Proposed Undertaking.
The present survey contemplates a track
5000 miles long, from Moncton N. B.. on
the Atlantic, to Port Simpson, on the Pa
cific. The eastern division, from Monctcn
to Winnipeg, 1880 miles in length. passes
through the city of Quebec, and will have
a branch line reaching to Montreal, con-
Meeting with the regular Grand Trunk sys-
tenn at North Bay, and with Lake Superior
at Fort William. 1t will be built by the
government and paid for out of the public
treasury from the proceeds of the sale of
bonds authorized by parliament. The grade
between Moncton and Winnipeg will not
exceed sixteen feet to the mile The grade
from Winnipeg to the mountains will not
exceed twenty feet to the mile, and the
mountains will be crossed through the
Peace River pass at an altitude of less than
1900 feet-considerably lower than that of
any of the existing transcontinental roads.
1t is asserted by the engineers that there
will be fewer curves and grades than on
any of the American lines.
East of Winnipeg, in the provinces of
Quebec and Ontario, the line will pass
InGOuRn
At Winnipeg it enters the prairie region,
which extends to the mountains, and trav-
erses the country now being rapidly settled
by American farmers and other immt-
grants. 1t will pass through the city of
Edmonton. branch lines will reach Regina,
Calgary, Prince Albert and other towns,
and from Hazleton, B. c., it is proposed to
build northward into the Klondike as far
as Dawson CITY, a distance of about 600
miles. 1t is claimed that very few engi-
neering difficulties will be encountered.
singular feature of the enterprise is
that the government is constructing the
eastern division in direct competition
with the Intercolonial railway, which
Quebec and Montreal with Hall /
fax, and which is owned and operated
by it. Financially the Intercolonial is a
failure. 1t cost S7S,S70,2S1 1t does not
pay expenses, and the deficit is annually
made up out of the public treasury. Yet
the government proposes to build COM
peting line for considerable distance
almost parallel and lease it to a private
The Intercolonial, however,
is regarded more as a political than a
enterprise. 1t follows the
banks of the st. Lawrence for long
distance through the province of Que
bee, then turns southwark through New
Brunswick to Moncton and then crosses
Nova Scotia to Halifax. 1t was built for
political reasons, and has been main
tanned for the same purpose. In that re-
spect 1t is reckoned to be a great sue
cess.
Terms of the Lease.
Under the contract, as Endorsed by
parliament and the people, the eastern
division of the road, from Winnipeg to
Moncton (Which is practically the same
as Halifax, will be leased to the Grand
Trunk Pacific Company for fifty years
on the following terms:
For the first seven years after the de-
livery of the road to the company the
latter shall operate the same, free of
charge or taxes. at its own expense; for
the next succeeding forty-three years 1T
shall pay annually to the government, by
way of rental, a sum equal to per cent
per annum upon the cost of construc-
ton; provided that IT, in any one or more
of the first three years of the said pc
riod of forty-three years, the net earn
ings of the said division, over and above
expenditures. shall not amount
to per cent of the cost of construction
the difference between the net earnings
and the rental shall not be paid by the
but shall be capitalized and
form part of the cost OF construction,
upon the whole amount of which rental