The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1909-04-22
BITTER BATTLE
FOR TERRITORY
Hill Lines and 81. Paul In
terests Lock Horns.
IN THE RED RIVER VALLEY
Surveying Party Of St. Paul Road
Said to Be in Vicinity Of Fargo,
N. D., and Pushing Northward Rap.
idIy-HiII Railways Expected to Re.
sent Invasion and ReprisaIs Are
Looked For Thick and Fast.

idIy-HiII Railways Expected to Re.
sent Invasion and ReprisaIs Are
Looked For Thick and Fast.
Chicago, April 22.-Additional evi.
dence is offered to prove that the
Hill and the st. Paul interests are
engaged in one of the most deter.
mined if not bitter fights for the pos.
session of territory ever waged in the
history of American railroads.
Close upon the discovery that the
st. Paul is invading the Hill strong.
hold in the Crows Nest Pass coun.
try of British Columbia comes the in.
formation that the St. Paul is sur.
veying a line straight north from
Fargo, N. D., through the Red River
valley and in the direction of Win.
nipeg.
1t is known that in the last week
or ten days four or five surveying par.
ties have been QUILTED at Chicago
and sent west over the st. Paul road.
It is admitted by the officials that the
| destination of all but one Of these
parties is Wakpala, twelve miles west
! of Mobridge on the Pacific coast ex
! tension of the st. Paul road. Its
| business is to survey line through
| the Cheyenne Indian reservation, a
line which the management has al
! Jo+ RI The
| destination of the other surveying
party has been shrouded in mystery
| but it is reported on good authority
! that it is now in the vicinity of Fargo
{ and is pushing northward.
Throws Down Gauge of Battle.
There is little reason to doubt thai
the st. Paul has thus thrown dow1
the gauge of battle to James J. Hill
in the Red River valley, which is the
I apple of his eye and which is known
in railroad and financial circles al
Hills bread basket" 1t was thu
Red River valley, with it's tremendous
tonnage possibilities. which first at
tracted Mr.. Hills eye and started hin
on career of railroad building ii
the Northwest The Red River vale.
produced fully 50,000,000 bushels o
! wheat annually and has thus far beer
the exclusive field of the Hill lines ant
of the Canadian Pacific.
i The St. Paul now has a branch lin
from Ortonville, Mimi, to Fargo an
it is understood that it is the purpos
! &o Fret fn HroYo1 T0r1x
and later to Winnipeg, following
closely the course of the Red river
thereby furnishing another and
water grade route to tidewater by tn
way of Chicago for the wheat of tn
Red River valley.
That the Hill interests will tamel
. submit to this invasion is not r.
garded as probable and the railroa
world will look for reprisals to com
thick and fast The vigor with whic
the st. Paul interests are pushin
branches and new lines into pro
ductive territory is shown by the az
mission regarding the Cheyenne Re:
ervation line. The company's Pacifi
coast extension now runs through tn
Standing Rock reservation and tn
new line is to extend about 100 mile
t westward through Cheyenne rese1
walton and through Butte count.
Mont, to the Little Missouri rive
Il The two reservations contain NOR
+ than 100000 acres of land and full
one.half of this is soon to be throw
open to settlement.
Roads File Right of Way Deeds.
Kalispell, Mont, April 22.-Fol
deeds for right of way in the vicinit
of Coram, in the North Fork river te
j ritory, were filed by an agent of tt
Chicago, Milwaukee and Puget Sour
Railroad Company. The instrumen
q were the first evidence of any tran
j., fer for right of way purpose since tt
u contest between the two roads y
r gan. An hour later an agreement II
sale of right of way to the Gre
l. Northern of land in the same distri
was fled in the recorders Office.