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Show STEEL ORDERED For the Laying of the Provo-Tintic Provo-Tintic Una. The San Pete Valley Extension Exten-sion of the R. C. W. Will Get Some. An Order That Gives Employment Employ-ment to Fifteen Hundred Hun-dred Men The following telegram appeared in the Denver Xeics, and speaks a great deal for the Provo-Tintic Short Line, and the extension of the San Pete Valley Extension, as the It. G. W. have no other extension in view: Pueblo, Col., May 28. To-day the Rio Grande Southern placed an order for 100 miles of steel rails, together with the side tracks, with the Colorado Colo-rado Coal aud Iron Company, of this city. This means a goon deal for Pueblo and Bessemer, where the steel works are located, as the full force of 1,200 men will be kept ht work for a few mouths. It is no secret that the Rio Grande Western people would like to have an independent line to the coast. They have the line from Thistle, 100 miles east of Ogden, stretching toward Los Angeles. More than 130 miles of the road will be finished by Julyl, and 200 miles more would put them into Los Angeles. 2sTow, wouldn't it be the mosi natural thing in the world for the Western folks to build this line? The oQicials say the line from Thistle is "only a little local line." but nobody believes it would be built down to some 2x4 town and stop. Besides, Be-sides, the Western is one ot the most prosperous; roads in the west. Its stock is going higher every day and the earnings show about 65 per cent increase over the same period last year. It is reported on pretty good authority that President Palmer is in favor of building the line and the directors di-rectors invited Vice-President Peabody to come out and kiok over the situation. situa-tion. If it becomeiii?ces3ary to build the lines the money will be forthcom ing. ' The intentions of the Rio Grande Western road have recently been the subject of much newspaper comment. The company has been credited with having projected a line to Los Angeles, An-geles, and also as being engaged in ne. otiations to purchase the Oregon line of the Union Pacific. It is as-snmmed as-snmmed that the Western ia determined deter-mined to reach the coast, and hence these rumors. That the management of the Rio Grande Western will never remain satisfied with the line as it exists today to-day is evident to any one who is familiar with the railroad building genius of President Palmer or General Gen-eral Manager Dodge. Their road is now a very important Imk in a transcontinental trans-continental line, connecting Ogden with the Central Pacific for San Francisco and the Union Pacific for Portland, and at Grand Junction with the Denver and Rio Grande, and the Colorado Midland. It has a commanding com-manding position, is splendidly equipped, equip-ped, and the earnings since the new broad gauge line was completed have been phenomenal. From a simple narrow gauge road, hardly a competitor competi-tor to the Union Pacific, it lias sud-deuly sud-deuly become a powerful factor in overland traffic and in dictating the division of transcontinental business. Still it is only one link in a chain of roads which form the Grand River route, and it is the belief that Palmer and Dodge wish to make it an independent inde-pendent line that has given rise to I the many rumors regarding its extension exten-sion to the Pacific. That the Union Pacific would sell its proprietary line from Ogden to the northwest coast is not to be believed for a moment. It would place their company again at the mercy of the Central Pacific, and no such act need be expected from the Guld manage-ment. manage-ment. This fact alone disposes of the rumor that negotiations to this end are pending. Toward the southwest the Rio Grande Western is about to build extensions as far as Tin tic, and is also building from Thistle to Salina, and on this is based the rumor of the Los Angeles line. There is more in this, as an extension toward the orange or-ange groves of Southern California would be the most natural thing in tho world for men of Palmer and Dodge's enterprise in railway building. The real question now, however, is how rapidly will it be constructed? Save in small branches or extensions, in older to cover local territory and make more feeders, the News does not believe that there will be much railway rail-way building for at least four or live years. There is already too much non-paying non-paying steel in the west; money is not! now abundant enough to warrant the pi-eduction of another road, immediately immedi-ately to build from the Salt Lake valley val-ley to the Pacific. When a now era of rail way building shall set in, the Western West-ern is very liable to go to the coast. Last night's Salt Lake Times says: S. S. Jones, the II. B. Claim of Provo, was in the citv to-dav closing a contract con-tract with the Rio Grande Western for the ties for the extension of tint lim-from lim-from Sniingville to Tintic Tin- i-tract i-tract will involve the sum of ai least $100,000, the most of which will go to laborers in the town of Provo. Work on the contract will commence at once. It is a fortunate thing for the Garden City, as it will absorb all of the idle labor, of which there is considerable. |