The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-10-15
ALASKA GOAL Or
HILLS AMBITION
GREAT NORTHERN PRESIDENT TO
SEND FIRST TRAINS THERE.
Scene of Greatest Construction War the
West Has Ever Seen Lies Today in
British Columbia But Will Soon Move
I Onward to Land Of Hidden Treasure
In the North. S.

two great lines of railroad have entered
the prelude to one, Of the greatest con-
struction wars the west has ever known.
The scene today lies in the southern
part of British Columbia, but Is soon
I, to move onward with the march of civ
1lization until the rich treasure ground
of Alaska is connected by iron rail with
the mother country. The Canadian Pa
cifc, which, In years gone by has con-
trolled the destiny of western Canada,
has at last found a competitor, and the
Great Northern. railway with its paral-
;lel lines on this side of. the international
boundary, is stretching out into Cana
dian territory, having the sympathy and
we'll wishes of the people. o., s..
Eighteen, years ago, when James j.
Hill, president of the Great Northern
railway and father of" the Northern Sc
curities company, first made the an
nouncement that he intended to- stretch
his road across the blizzard driven
plains of North Dakota, not few were
willing to call him crazy. A year ago,
when in quoting the utterance Of Pres1-
dent Observation-Disclosures Is our mystic
rious mint Of hidden wealth." he felt
bound to add, land some day will be
covered with a network Of railways suf-
ficient to it's needs" there were others
who do not know the man, who believed
the hand of time was settling on the
greatest railroad financier the world has
every known.
Hills Eye on Alaska. -.
Hill has his eye on Alaska, and to that
land of hidden treasure If life Is spared
him, he will grade the first roadbed, lay
= the first rails and send the first locomo-
tive hauling train OF cars. 1t IS
mighty undertaking., but those of the
west, who have watched the develop
ment wrought by the master mind, be-
lieve the forecast and that the war IN
southern British Columbia is the begin
ming Of the end In view. The fertile
fields of many parts of the north, it Is
the belief Of Alaskans and westerners
generally, will, before many years have
elapsed, begin to bear crops, furnishing
labor to the unemployed and building up
communities in wastes yet untrampled
by the foot Of white men. How 1t IS
all to happen is left in the hands OF
James j. Hill and naught are the ques'
tons asked
It is only within the last few months
that the plans OF the Great Nore ui.saa
president have shown any outward signs
of maturity. The permission granted
by the Dominion government at Its last
session. to proceed with the Vancouver,
Victoria & Eastern railway, and work
under the original charter, has been the
extension of the hand Of welcome to
the American line by the Canadians
>
! IS not only a Great Northern feeder, but
/ a line within itself, is being rushed to
completion from Midway to New West
minister This is only a, part of the
Great Northern system IN British Col
unbia to be built under that charter
The other lines: re~covered In the ter
mini given in the Incorporated name.
4 Still Further Inducements.
- Rut the Dominion government has Of
fered still further Inducements to the
mighty American line in the granting
of a charter for the Vancouver, West
minister & Yukon railway, another un-
denied road of the Hill system. This
original drawings show that away down
in the heart of the president of the
Great Northern railway there exists an
ambition to link Alaska and the United
= States by an unbroken line of steel over
which he will preside.
Since the year 1895 the Great North
ern, under the direction Of Hill. has been
steadily pushing Its way toward the
north, with American Alaska the OBJ
iective. The Canadian Pacific has moi
/ been oblivious to the encroachment o.
its claimed territory. The Canadian
line was for years, prior to 1886, ru1
I thru an undeveloped country at a loss
Z but in that year traffic picked up ant
the line soon began to pay dividends
/ the annual statements, but construction
& work or feeders progressed slowly unit
E 1900, when the eyes Of both countries be
T came centered on the orient and tn
race for advantageous position began.
7 Ambitions Greater and Greater.
Ever since that time the ambitions o
the Great Northern have become create
and greater with each year. With tn
Z Alaska temptation held out to the Amer
lean line, it was soon evident that tn
Canadian Pacific would have to be con
tended with. This, however, was n
obstacle, and an investigation reveale
- that the contention was not strong, as
among Canadians, the opening up O
their country was more important tina
the feeling that they were encourag in
a foreign enterprise. At every point tn
Canadian Pacific opposed the Grea
Northern, but the opposition did no
stand and nothing but a grant Of 15,0O
acres Of land a mile to the Vancouver
Westminster & Yukon, by the provncia
- government holds in check the actus
construction of the first stretch of roa
toward the northern Eldorado, thr
mountain Businesses, at a cost estimate
to be in the neighborhood Of $4,000 pc
mile. "a
It was the Great Northern's inva
sion of the mining centers of BIRTHS
war between the two roads. opening tn
eyes Of the Canadian Pacific, and I'M
mediately the Vancouver, Victoria
Eastern charter was opposed. The ne
road was a proposition to build betwee
3. Midway, a boundary town in the interlc
, of British Columbia and New Westnir
ster where connections, might be mad
with the already constructed line
Vancouver. The course taken by tn
- survey line Is shown from Midway
Princeton, thence by the Tulameon rive
to Granite creek, where the first obste
Gle of importance in railway construc
ton arises in the typographical plan
Here the Hope mountains have Ion
: been an obstacle to railroad engineer
. but the Hill men refused to be daunte
and will cross thru the only availab
pass on a 2 per cent grade.
Survey Parties In Field.
At this point Great Northern surve
parties are in the field with glasse
strings and levels running lines dr
, west Of the Hope mountains. Gre;
Northern interests are particularly NJ
ticeable in the proposed erection
= waterpower plants at Stave lake, on tt
Harrison river and again at Lake Pit
- and in the promotion of mining interes
ut Britannia. These surveys, it is gel
: orally accented, mean that the Gre,