Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1910-03-04
|NEW OUTLET TO VALLEY
OREGON ELECTRIC ROAD RE-
PORTED SOLD TO J. j. HILL.
Deal Would Give willamette Valley
Direct Freight Connections With
Magnate's Northern Lines.

Ine following railroad story, Wn1cn
is highly important if true. appeared
| in the Portland Journal, Wednesday
evening, and is printed here for what
| 1t is worth. oregon Electric officials
in Portland deny any knowledge of the
reported sale of their road to James
]. HILL but admit that it may have
been made. 1t is certain, however. that
traffic arrangements have been prac-
tically completed between the Oregon
Electric on one hand and the Great
Northern and Northern Pacific on the
other. The Journal says:
James ]. Hill is said to have gain
ed control of the oregon Electric
scarcely be exaggerated, for it is
fraught with consequences of vast i'm
portance to Portland and to western
Oregon.
while local officials of the Oregon
Electric deny any knowledge of the
reported sale, it is admitted that they
are not in a position to know the facts.
isfied that the deal has been made and
that Hill is now fully prepared to in
wade the Willamette valley as an open
and active competitor of the Hartman
system.
Nor is the purchase of the Oregon
Electric the only important strategic
move recently made by Hill. 1t is an
open secret that when the United Rail-
ways was sold few months ago, the
actual purchasers were eastern men in
timately associated with Hill.
"By this deal, Hill acquired the con-
Meeting link between his terminal
property in the north end and the
very heart of the west side business
section. Moreover the United Railways
the Oregon Electric at Jefferson street,
thereby opening the way for direct in
vasion of the willamette valley.
Ever since the advent of the North
Bank road it has been predicted freely
by railroad men that Hill would not
rest content with the exploitation of
central and eastern Oregon, but would
ultimately make determined fight for
the still more attractive territory lying
west or the mountains
Control of Electric Lines.
Speculation naturally turned to the
question whether Hill would not find
in the Oregon Electric the most natur-
al means of access to this portion Of
the state. And this is precisely what
has happened.
THE Oregon Electric now has lines
in operation to Salem and Forest
Grove, with valuable rights of way to
many other points of Importance in
the Willamette valley. Albany, Cor
Wallis, Dallas and McMinnville are
among the objective points to which
the surveys have been made, and ru-
NOR has credited the company with
plans for extensions still further south.
"The intimate relations between the
Hill interests and the present owners
of the Crater Lake road, running east
from Medford, are well known, and it
is quite on the cards that the Oregon
Electric, under Hill management, may
eventually reach the Rogue River val
ley.
''The Oregon Electric is a standard
guage road of very substantial con-
struction Moffatt & White of New
York, financed the road. which enjoy
ed the distinction of being built for
cash, no bonds being issued until last
year. When application was made to
the city council of Portland for fran
chise within the city limits, strong OPP
position was encountered from the
Hartman system, and ii was believed
by many at that time that Hill was
back of the new road. This was de-
MED emphatically by its representa-
tives, but even then lit was apparent
that the line might prove the opening
wedge which would ultimately destroy
the Southern Pacihc's monopoly in
Western oregon.
Stevens Visits East.
John f. Stevens, Hills chief rep
resentative in Oregon, went east sew
eral weeks ago and has not yet re-
turned. Whether his trip had any con-
nection with the reported sale of the
Oregon Electric is not known. Guy
Talbot, vice president and general
manager of the electric road, said to-
day that he had absolutely no knowl-
edge of such a deal, but admitted that
1t might have been made. All l can