Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1906-04-06
HELENA AND
ST. PAUL ROAD
Capital City Appears to Have Excel
lent Chance Of Getting on the
Main Line.
ONLY BRANCH FOR BILLINGS
Plan of Road Made clear Through Or
ganizaton Of New Corporation
Contract Let.

Helena's chances for getting the
Chicago, Milwaukee & st. Paul appear
to be improving. At all events, it is
evident that the officials of the road
have taken up the project of reaching
the capital city in earnest, as the fol-
lowing Associated Press dispatch
shows:
Through stemple Pass.
"St. Paul, April 4.-Engineers for
the Milwaukee will soon begin an in
vestigation of the feasibility of route
across the Rockies through Stemple
pass, about 20 miles northwest of
Helena. AS is well known, the wag-
on road across the mountains at this
point is by far the easiest grade of
any of the several roads crossing the
Rockies in Montana, and it would
seem most likely that suitable grade
for railroad purposes would be found
there also. On the other side, the
road would cross the head of McClel-
Ian gulch and Nevada, and come out
near Garrison somewhere, making the
distance little greater than the Nor
thern Pacific now makes, or it could
60 down Mcclellan and the line from
Butte form a junction at some point
farther west. If this pass is decided
upon it will mean that the Chicago
\ Milwaukee & st. Paul road would have
the most direct route across the state
fjom the east, and it will also mean
that Helena will be on the main line.'
Billings Not on Line.
The following special from Billings
to the Butte Miner will be read with
much interest:
"A copy of the articles of incorpor-
alton of the Enterprise Land and I'm.
provemant cnmnany was filed in the
office of the county clerk last evening.
The capital stock of the organization
is 100000, of which Burton Hanson
is the owner, as trustee, of all except
two of the one thousand shares, into
which the stock is divided. To the
uninitiated the filing of such a paper
would have very little significance,
but when it is known that Mr.. Hanson
is one of the chief officials of the Chi
cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway,
it indicates that there is more in the
innocent looking set of papers than
would appear on the face of them.
Only a few weeks ago the Enterprise
Land and Improvement company pur-
chased the immense tracts of land be.
longing to Louis Lehfeldt and Joseph
Sims, of this city, which lands lie in
the Musselshell valley, for the most
part in Yellowstone county Coupled
with this fact is the statement of Con-
tractors Burke and Hysham, to the ef-
feet that they have been awarded the
contract for grading one hundred miles
of the Milwaukee in the vicinity of
lowstone river. extending in the di-
rection of the Musselshell country.
When these facts are put together it
becomes at once apparent that it is
the intention of the Milwaukee COM
pany to project it's line from it's pres
ent terminus, possibly through Miles
City, westward to one mile north of
Forsythe, and thence through the
great Musselshell valley to the west.
ern part of the state, passing through
Butte. This means that Billings will
not be on the main line of the road
but it is believed the company will
build branch line into the city; in
fact it is reported by those who claim
to know that the company now has
such plan under consideration
Contract Is Let.
Contracts for the beginning of con
struction work on the st. Paul in
Montana, have been let, according to
D. ]. Burke, contractor, who makes
his headquarters at Alliance, Neb
Mr.. Burke was in Billings and gave
out this information to the Billings
Gazette.
Mr.. Burke said that C. J. Hysham
the we'll known Omaha cattleman
and himself. under the firm name Of
Hysham & Burke, had been award
ed the contract for grading 80 miles
of the company's new roadbed in this
state, it being the first contract
awarded in Montana for work on its
new line.
Under the contract work is to be
gin at point almost opposite Hath
away station on the Northern Paci
ficfi railroad extending up the nortf
side of the Yellowstone river to ;
point little northwest of Forsyth'
and about mile distant. Work OF
the contract will begin just as sool
as the machinery is assembled ans
the forces of men secured.
"Mr. Burke said he knew very lii
tie about the route contemplated b.
the company west from the end o