The San Francisco call., 1908-11-12
HILL AND HARTMAN
BATTLE IMMINENT
Great Railroad Operators Fight
ing for Control in the
Northwest
Entrance of North Bank and
Completion of Pasc0 Line
Will Open Hostilities

The entrance into Portland of James
j.. Hills new line, the Portland, Spo-
kane and Seattle, better known as the
North Bank, on the 18th of this month,
with the completion of the line from
Pasco into Spokane by the end of
the year, may be said to be the begin
n1ng of the long promised fight between
Hill and Hartman for supremacy in
the northwest
IL Will be remembered that a little
over one year ago both Hill and Harri-
man told the people of the northwest
that over S100,000,900 would be spent in
that territory in railroad construction,
ana as an earnest of that promise, Har-
riman began to make extensive pur-
chases of terminal properties in Ia
coma and Hill to lay out branch lines.
For many years Hartman has been
hrmly entrenched in Portland, having
two lines into that city. The Oregon
Railway and Navigation company, with
its connection with the Oregon Short
Line, gives him easy access to and
from Ogden Then he has the oregon
ana California from the south, and
is preparing to build north from Port
land into Seattle and Tacoma. He has
from California already one main line
north and two more in prospect.
In Oregon, Hartman is strengthen
ing himself. There are lines both east
and west of his main line, and Port
land from the south is well protected
from the advance of any competitor.
Hill, in like manner, has been making
himself strong in Washington. He has
been building electric lines into all prod
uce bearing sections, and hooking up
his main line with the Burlington sys-
tenn, so as to get the northwest into
closer communication with the great
middle west
FIRST SPOKE IN WHEEL
The Portland, Spokane and Seattle
road may be called the first spoke in
the huge wheel with which he is cir
cling the northwest.
1t has been built from Pasco, Wash,
into Portland, crossing the Columbia
and willamette rivers by double
tracked bridges, and from Pasco it is
being constructed northeast at a rapid
rate toward Spokane, which it will
reach by the end of the year, thus con-
Meeting Portland with the Great North4
ern and Northern Pacific and giving
that city an almost straight line to the
great lakes.
The new road is called the North
Bank, because it follows the north
bank of the Columbia river, which af-
fords water grade route into Port
land and avoids the haul over the Cas-
cade mountains, which was formerly
necessary.
The North Bank will also help Hill
in reaching northern points from Port
land, for the Northern Pacific will use
the tracks of the North Bank from
Portland to Vancouver in connection
with the new line from Vancouver to
Kalama, which will facilitate greatly
the service between Portland and
Seattle and win do away with the
ferry transfer. which was compulsory
between Goble and Kalama across the
Columbia river.
BUILDS TO BILLINGS
In order TO get the northwest in
closer touch with the middle west Hill
has built an extension of about 200
miles from Arlington to Billings,
Mont, which connects him with the
Burlington, part OF the Hill system.
This line is well built and with heavy
section of Montana.
Hills activity in the northwest is
equaled only by that of William Rocke-
feller. who is pushing the Chicago
and st. Paul into that ter
ritory with celerity which is source |
of wonder to all railroadmen.
The Chicago, Milwaukee and st. Paul, |
though a separate organization, is part |
and parcel of the Standard oil COM
pany's railroad holdings and is, in fact, |
all one when the Hartman interests
are considered.