Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-05-08
ROCK ISLAND TO
BUILD EXTENSION
TO LOS ANGELES
Y0AKUM INTERESTS HEAD FOR
PACIFIC COAST
MAY MAKE CONNECTIONS WITH
sPREcKELs ROAD
Predicted That Great Transcontlnental
Line Soon VIII Compete with
Hartman and Santa
Re Systems

n NE with an ear close to the ground
~ in the railroad world may hear
~ the distant beating of war drums
that presage a titanic struggle with
Los Angeles and the South Pacific
coast as the battle ground.
There are persistent rumors of the
Rock Island coming to the Pacific
coast, the only point in doubt being the
place where that great system, now
controlling about 10000 miles of road,
will find a Pacific seaboard outlet.
once the Rock Island system extends
its steel arteries to the Pacific, thus
connecting the two oceans, the fight be-
tween the Yoakum roads and the dar-
riman lines will be on in earnest.
without affirming or denying any
thing concerning an agreement or tacit
understanding between the Rock Island
officials and the Spreckels road now
i'm course of construction between Los
Angeles and San Diego, a man inti-
mately associated with the promoters
of the latter line said that if there was
any foundation for the rumors it meant
a great deal to Los Angeles and South
ern California. There was not doubt,
he said, that such a plan would give
Los angeles and San Diego another
transcontinental line and that there
after a merry time would be wit
messed in railroad circles.
Conference THeld
Incidentally he remarked that the
Yoakum road would naturally seek an
outlet in Southern California, prefer
ably San Pedro or San Diego, and by
taking over the Spreckels road of
course it would have both. The au-
thority in question intimated that per-
haps The Herald obtained its tip from
Chicago where there was recently held
a friendly conference between Presi-
dent Yoakum and a representative Of
the Spreckels line. A Spreckels repre-
sentative, at least, is known to have
spent "a pleasant hour" with Mr.. Yoa-
KUN, but, of course, it is possible that
they just met casually.
The Rock Island system now ope-
rates trains into Los Angeles and
through to San Francisco over the
tracks of the Southern Pacific railroad
from Ell Paso, but notwithstanding this
traekage arrangement for through
train service from Chicago to the Pa
cific coast, the Rock Island is steadily
building line westward from Ell Paso
north OF the lines of the Southern Pa
cific which is now completed to point
somewhere near Clifton, Ariz.
The Yoakum interests, which are
systems of railways, have already Sc
cured an Atlantic seaboard outlet to
Europe through New Orleans by means
of the extension of the Frisco into the
port of New Orleans, and the Rock
Island extension, when 1t is finally
completed from El Paso to Los Ange-
les, and the tacking on of the Spreckels
road between Los Angeles and San
Diego. would give this great Yoakum
system of railways a Pacific seaboard
outlet for the immense grain move
ment from the grain producing states
of the middle west to the Orient, with
the advantage of magnificent harbor
facilities at San Diego, owned or con-
trolled by the Spreckels interests
Third Line Probable
Eastbound the traffic from the Orient
and the states of the far west and the
southwestern portion of the United
States to the middle and eastern states
is a coveted prize which the Yoakum
interests would like to wrest from the
Hartman and Ripley contingent.
That the Rock Island means business
and is headed for Los Angeles and the
ports of Southern California seems cer-
tain, and it is not far fetched predic-
ton to make that it will not be long
before Los Angeles will have a third
great transcontinental railroad which
will be as great in point of mileage and
territory covered as either the Harri-
man or Ripley systems, and which will
be more directly identified with Los
Angeles and the ports of Southern CAL
ifornia than are either of the now ex-
listing lines, which just pass through
Los Angeles and Southern California
territory en- route to San Francisco.