Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-12-09
Burlington Story Twenty Years
Old Now Seems Likely to
MateriaIize.
HOW ABOUT WESTERN PACIFIC
The Fraternity Is Engaged In Guess
ing Game and Some of the Gucsscs
Make Good Reading.


ent visible. continue TO occasion more
gossip than ever in local railroad
circles and among the shipping public
Comparisons are being made with
other new roads and the more notice.
able circumstances attending their
opening. The Milwaukee not long ago
formally opened its fine new through
limo to the Pacific coast through the
northwest, with an impressive blare
of trumpets. illustrated magazine arti-
cles and other media of public COM
munication. A great feat had been ac-
complished. a great step taken In ad-
vance in railroad history. Now here
is the Western Pacific road, a prof.
ect talked about for years as the
coming successful competitor of tho
Southern Pacific.
Under such circumstances, the COM
pIetion of the Western Pacific might
reasonably be expected to be welcom-
ed with the booming of cannon. public
meetings OF rejoicing, the waving of
flags. speeches galore, articles long
and short in the magazines. The
Western Pacific was finished, Three or
four new officials ran over the line
in an unpretentiouS train, their ar
rival in this city was unhera1dcd The
officials wandered up town for a few
hours, made few disjointed remarks
to reporters about the glorious scenery
along the Feather river, and then de-
parted for Denver in as unostentatious
style as was possible for men in their
positions
TRAFFIC STAFF
Nothing was said about the appoint
ment of what the public was inQuir-
Z ing about viz, traffic staf-certainIy
an imperative necessity in a trans
( continental line. and to the wild.
: harumScarum representations of tho
/. Denver papers In this matter. practf-
called no attention was paid. 1t WAS
then reported that Traffic Manager A.
S. Hughes of the Rio Grande, Cen
eral Freight Agent Fred Wilde. Jr..
: and others were to exercise juriSdic-
. ton over the new road, and their hur-
ried trip to San Francisco from Dem
ver chaperoned by T. B. Boyd as
sistant to the first vice-presIdent OF
= the Gould lines. certainly lent color
to the report. These officials buckled
down to work on reaching San Fran
cisco making out freight tariffs both
local and transcontinental. the very
handy tariff sheets OF the Southern
Pacific proving n godsend in combina-
ton with paste not and shears.
klaboring diligently TO bring order out
sof chaos, bombshel exploded. that
fairly lifted them out of their seats.
II was a little, harmless looking cir
acular, dated New York, stating that
Thomas NJ. Schumacher had been ap-
pointed vice president of the Western
Pacific, with entire jurisdiction in all
traffic matters on the Western Pacific
and signed by f. T. Jeffery. president
q I'LL
their breath, the respiratory apparatus
sustained a depression on the receipt
of another circular. dated New York
stating that Thomas NJ. Schumacher
had been appointed a vice president of
tho Denver e Rio Grandc road. with
.cntire jurisdiction in traffic matters,
Signed l. 7. Jeffery, president This
did settle 1t. and the broken hearted
trio of officials dropped their pens,
packed their grips. and started east
again on a special over the Western
Pacific. The glorious scenery along
The Feather river possessed no charm
for them-their minds were otherwise
employed, and the only stop made In
Salt Lake City was that necessary for
the switching of their special car over
on to the eastbound Rio Grande train
held in waiting for them. To news
paper inqusitors not a word was said:
the officials positively refused to dis
cuss even the weather. Their de-
-meanor impressed observers that they
could not fathom just where they were
at.
APPOINTMENTS NOT ANNOUNCED
The traffic staff has not been an
nounced for the Western Pacific. tho
date OF formal reception of freight
given out in press dispatches as Dec.
j, was honored more in the breach than
fln the observance. The only train
that left for the west on that date was
the regular tri-weekly mixed train for
.swinnemucca the operating end of the
Salt Lake division The opening date
was finally set for Dec IL, cast of
Colorado, and Dec. II for Utah COM
mon points In the mean time, the
most impenetrablc silence has been
maintained about Western Pacific af-
fairs, about tho only thing to crack
this silence being the appointment of
operating heads. or division superin-
'tendents What will happen. when
anything does happen, Will continue to
bc the subject of speculative gossip
until the ice is broken
A NEW LINE TO WESTWARD.
= In the meantime events that are ham
pening In the east are being connected
more or !ess with the future NJ ,ha
Western Pacific, and indeed NJ fho
Denver s. Rio Grande as well T-n,
Rock Island and the Frisco system,
have been segregated. Yoakum aud bie
clientele retiring with the Frisco. vhirh
current opinion inclines to believe v,i,,
be extended and developed towntd III,
south, while the Rock Island tx eon.
orally believed to have acquired tba
Wabash as well as the Lehigh Valley
road This gives the Rock island ite
own lines from New York to Burfalo
thence via the Wabash through south'
ern Canada TO Chicago and from chi.
cago west to Colorado Springs over iha
present c. Il. l. & 2 The claim Is an
one SIDE that the Rock Island wi.h
through lire between Colofado
Springs and Denver and New vorl,
can not afford to stop at the base ~
the Rocky Mountains. but must push
westward. A query now current In
railroad offices is. Is II not possible
that the Rock Island Is trying 10 uoi
hold of the Rio Grandc and Western
Pnclfc?''
more reasonabe theory advanced
based on events already occurred is
presented. Vice President and Gen
cral Manager c. NJ Levy OF the West
crn Pacific is from the Hill lines: 90
are number OF division supcrintend-
ents and subordinate officials. The Hill
interests are already operating through
TO Grand Junction. as the Burlington
controls the Colorado & Southern and
the Colorado Midland. On the folders
OF the Burlington route. the Moffatt
road is played up OIL the map In black
with the d. & Il. G.. having the route
through from Steamboat Springs 70
Golf nj In, ctr "a.