Semi-weekly herald., 1909-07-15
DENVER PAPERS CONFIRM
ABOVE INTERESTING STORY


The railroad news !or this section
is certainly encouraging. In line with
the letters published last week ad-
dressed to Secretary McCloud of the
board of trade, the following appeared
in the Denver Post of Friday arriy
lirg Saturday evening:
"The enormously rich and extensive
ecal fields Just west of Durango, which
Edwarl u Hartman and associates
pul ohased from the Porter Fuel com.
pany for s1.25o,000 about four years
ago, ars TO be opened up in the near
future and coincident with this Har
lrn.an's Southern Pacific will begin
building the long talked of branch
from Lordsburg, N, NJ, to Durango.
Confirmation of this has been
brought to Denver by various tele-
grams to construction companies and
TO engineers and surveyors who are
wanted TO take the field at once.
II. A. sumner, chief engineer of
the Moffat road, has received tele
gram from one of Harriman's South.
ern Pacific engineers at Gallup, N. NJ,
asking him to recommend engineers
and surveyors, available at once, TO
survey line from Gallup north to
the Durango coal fields.
And at the same time that one
surveying party win start north from
Gallup, it is said that second party
viii start southwark, surveying the
line between Gallup and Lordsburg
'In this same connection the recent
report of the Harriman-Gould alliance
is again reiterated, and it is pointed
out that only complete understand
ing between these two financial giants
and railroad dictators' has inspired
Hartman 10 go ahead with this ggan,
tic work.
Moreover. it is said, when all the
details of the present plan are carried
out, Hartman will have one continn
Gus line from Chicago into the heart
of Old Mexico and another from Sc.
attic into Old Mexico.
The Pennington branch of the d.
& r. G., which is broad gauge, and
which was constructed at the cost of
81 100000, also figures prominently in
the new deal and furnishes the ground
work for the theory that Hartman
and Gould have pooled their Colorado
interests.
For some time the Southern Pacific
has been battling in the courts for
The eight of way from Pennington to
Durango, and the case is now in the
New Mexico territorial supreme court.
but in the light of the present move
1t is believed by parties on the inside
that Hartman and Gould have already
settled out of court
THE Hartman coal fields west of
Durango are said to be among the rich
est in America, and the industrial
world has long wondered why he has
so persistently delayed their develop
ment. The truth of the matter is thnt
when he made the $1,25O.OO0 purchase
he confidently expected to extend
branch of the Southern Pacific from
Lordsburg to Durango This was block
ed By the ID. g. r. G. building a broad
gauge road down the Pennington val.
ley from Durango, utilizing the right
of way Hartman expected to get.
This was purely a strategic move
on the part of Gould. as a million.dol.
lar broad gauge line in that terri
tory was totally unwarranted.
Then followed the legal struggle
which has effectively kept Hartman
out up to this time
with the development of the Har
riman lines millions of dollars worth
OF unmined Colorado coal will be given
TO the world.
y. Pierpont Morgan, with Col. j. A
Ownbey, of Colorado, is preparing to
develop the vast coal deposits on the
Wootton estate. south of Trinidad, and
the Oak Hills Coal company is pre-
pairing TO ship 5000 tons daily from It's
mine on the Moffat road.
Morgan and ownbey are said to
hold contract from the government
TO furnish soo,ooo.ooO tons of coal to
the Pacific squadron"
Right in line with the above Is the
following from The Denver Republican
Of Saturday morning. Il
Evidence as recounted in the Re Z
on several occasions 10 the !
affect that Hartman intends in the II
iear future to build from his Southern
Pacific lines In New Mexico to the