Bisbee daily review., 1907-09-08
ANOTHER ROAD |S
 CROSSING THE CONTINENT
SpreckeISr PheIps-Dodge and
 Rock Island Appear to Be
 Planning Mighty Line to the Pacific Coast,

TUCSON. Sept. 7.-There seems ev- cry prospect that in the near future Tucson will be on the main line of another transcontinental railroad. Building railroads on paper is an easy occupation but in this instance there is every sign that the actual build ing of a line which will mean much for this city is a probability of the very near future. Everyone knows of the road which John D. Spreckels is building from San Diego to Yuma, which, at the present writing is more than half completed. Within few months time trains will be running on the new line The Phelps-Dodge system of roads at present extends 1 from Benson eastward to Fl Paso, where they have connected with the rails of the Rock Island system. On good authority it is said combina- tion between Spreckels, the Phelps l Dodge people and the Rock Island road is now in process of completion. Once these interests get together there will be a gap of only about | 300 miles between Benson and Yuma to be built over in order to establish a new transcontinental line. Tucson 1 is on almost a direct line between Benson and Yuma and undoubtedly the line closing up the gap would pass though the city. Speaking of it the San Francisco Chronicle of recent date sas:
 san Diego is being made the west ern terminus of two projected rail roads. which are to form a union with the Rock Island system and give to the Pacific coast another transcoEtin- ental line.
 Work has already begun on a new
 railroad being built eastward from San Diego by John D. Spreckels. This road Is to reach into a large tributary back country and be carried through 1 the very fertile and productive Imper- fal valley and straight to Yuma. Its length will be about 150 miles.
 This projected Benson to Yuma line is to be a westward extension of | the Phelps-Dodge railroad, which con
 meets in the east with the Rock Is'
 land and taps an immense interven' ing mining territory in New Mexico | Arizona and over the line in Old Mex ice.
 The Phelps-Dodge railroad, some
 thousand miles in length, including
 it's branches, was built and is owned iby the Phelps-Dodge people, who own the Bisbee smelters and are multi millionaires. They own the entire road, and they have not single bond
 issued. They are mining operators on an immense scale, and the rail roaa is part of their great enterprise : On the east their rails connect with the Rock Island line, and judg ling from the manner in which the Rock Island has been expanding dur ing the past few years, little surprise would be expressed at ,he news tha the Rock Island system has acquired , or would acquire this comparativel! . little known private railway system
 which is sandwiched between th'
 Santa Fe on the north and the South 2 ern Pacific on the south.
 Santa Fe officials have recently e
 pressed the belief that the Spreckel : road has more than logical signi fcance for San Diego. It looks sait
 Santa Fe chief, as though Spreck Iels was reaching out from San Dieg' flor something big. Simply to get t Yuma means nothing, unless there i
 something to be touched at Yuma
 The PheIps-Dodge people, witt . their mines and the country reache'
 by their lines, can make use of im
 mense quantities of Oregon pine. An 1 they could get that from lumber schc oners at San Diego. There is wid !untraversed strip of country betwee IBenson and San Diego, and that ric Imperial valley country, some of ljust over the border in Lower Cali
 ornia. There would be traffic fo
 such a road
 "As for the Santa Fe, men are no7 at work down there building a 2;
 mile low grade line round to tn > southward, right into Old Town, i
 lorder to avoid our present grade owe s SoIedad hill. This new road, to b q our main line, will run from Del Ma Y Unto a San Diego on level. It wi e be completed in eight months, DO a sibly year. The Soledad hill rout t will not be abandoned. There is som e traffic along that line, and wen pie
 lit up with local trains. But the lew ' route will be our main line to Sa nsooo