Omaha daily bee., 1907-08-15
CANADIAN ROADS IN RACE
Canadian Pacific Proposes to Meet
Invasion of Other Lines.
TAPPING HEART OF WHEAT BELT
The Plan f. 20 Project Its Own
Irrigation scheme and Beat
the Grand Trunk and
Northern.

CALGARY, Alberta Aug. H.-(Special)-
The Canadian Pacific railway has an
nounced that It will meet the proposed In
vasion of its territory by the Grand Trunk
and the Canadian Northern, by running
an extension of its own north from Leth-
bridge, into the heart Of the rich wheat
country that the other roads are prepar-
ing to cross. This means that four rail-
roads have begun the most exciting rail-
road building race in the history of Can
ada, with the territory east of this city IS
the goal.
The increasing Importance of the south
ern Alberta winter wheat crop. which is
largely grown by American farmers who
have emigrated from the states, is re-
sponsible for this sudden activity, and the
story of the chain Of events leading up to
the Canadian Pacific's announcement forms
a vivid chapter in the romance of railroad
mapmaking
The Canadian Pacific railroad was the
the first in the field and for years handled
the entire grain crop Of southern Alberta,
then worth less than $1,OOO.0OO. When the
Grand Trunk decided to build west to the
coast, its officers saw that it would have
to have some OF this traffic, so the Grand
Trunk announced that 1t would build
branch line from the North Saskatchewan
river to Calgary. This was followed by
rumors that the Canadian Northern in
tended running an extension down to Cal
gary, somewhere west of the Grand Trunks
proposed route. Then Jim Hill set every
one by the ears with the announcement
that he was going to join the contest by
bringing the rails of the Great Northern
from Montana right up into the heart of
the disputed territory.
They're After Hill.
The total crop OF western Canada was
then worth S1Oo.oOo.o 900, and Sir Thomas
Shaughnessy, president of the Canadian
Pacific, signihed his purpose of holding
control of its transportation by issuing
his famous pronunciamento that he would
build two miles OF railroad in the United
States for every mile Hill built In Canada
Since then the crop has increased still
more in size and value, in the face of a
shortage south of the international line,
and the Canadian Pacific has at last taken
active steps to meet the competition of
its rivals by building ahead of them and
directly across their proposed routes.
The exact course of the extension from
Lethbridge has not yet been announced,
out it will strike north through the fertile
lands east of this city. and will probably
cross the main line OF the railroad at a
point between Cheadle and Strathmore.
This will open up a new section of the
company's 3ooo, ,0o0-acre tract OF farm iand,
which 1t is bringing under irrigation.
This is the largest irrigation project
on the continent and is the principal reason
for the desire of the Canadian Pacific to
build ahead of its rivals. The territory
affected is larger than the combined states
OF Delaware and Rhode Island and needs
only the assurance Of water to render II
the finest kind of farming country, says
DIR. Elwood Meade, a United States gov
ernment engineer, who recently investi-
gated IT,
The railroad is preparing to spend be-
tween $4,000 and Sc 900, 900 in the project.
One thousand miles of canal have already
been dug, opening up a third OF the ter
ritory to cultivation, but 1900 more miles
of canal must be dug and 247500OO cubic
yards of material removed before the gi-
gantic task will be completed
Besides the Lethbridge extension, the
Canadian Pacific is planning a cutoff from
Mewasin to Shepard. similar to the ones
which E. II. Hartman is now building
at the expense of millions, to shorten the
main line of the Union Pacific. The Me-
wasin cutoff will save ten miles. get rid
of per cent grade and open up a new
part of the irrigation tract. reason for
the Fastening of the railroads plans in
regard to the Lethbridge extension M the
progress of the winter wheat crop. It is
| estimated that this will be the biggest in
the history of Alberta.