OCR Text |
Show SI. PAUL PUSHING 10 POT COAST Rumor of Harriman Control Has Not Stopped Progress on Road. HUNDREDS OF MEN EMPLOYED ON WORK New Line Following Easy Grades j and Will Traverse Part of Palo use Country. The talk of the purchase of the Chicago. Chi-cago. Milwaukee & St. Paul by the Harriman interests has had no effect on the progress of that road to tho Pacific coast, except that it may be that it has accelerated work. Bcports from the Northwest are to the effect that immense forces aro being put to work, and tho road is being drivon forward with nil possible haste. The line is following for a considerable distance dis-tance an easy water grade. From Lombard, Mont., on tho Northern Pacific, Pa-cific, a cut is made across country to Butte and on to Missoula. Prom the latter point the .Northern Pacific is followed up to St. Regis, the grade being be-ing light, tho channel of an old stream being followed, and on this part par ticularly, nuiiarecis or men aro woncing, the contract having been let. for tins work about, a wcelc ago. Evidently the Palouso country will be traveled for some distance to Bosalia, thence to Lind. Wash., and over an old Northern North-ern Pacific survey, made for a cut-off, to Ellensburg. This is supposed to bo the present terminal. Surveys have been mado further west, ami it is reported re-ported in Seattle that terminals there nave been fully secured, but as to this nothing conclusive has been given out. Reverting to tho supposed purchase by E. II. ITarriman of St. Paul stock, and a probable merger with that road, it is stated that Harriman and those associated with him took advantage o tho slump in stocks following the San Francisco disaster to accumulate a large line of St. Paul. This, it is understood, un-derstood, has been done with tho approval ap-proval of the interests now in control of the St. Paul the Bockefeller combination. com-bination. Whether or not this is so, the belief will not down that something is on foot in the railway world and that a "deal" will bo announced at the proper time. An actual mergor witn uio frc. fain, it is said, is not contemplated, but it is desired to effect a closer arrangement between the two roads, the effect of which will be to render unnecessary the building of the St. Paul Pacific coast extension, or a modification of the plans to such an extent that the road can use the line of the Union Pacific-Southern-Pacific system. In the event of a "pooling of interests' ' the Southern Pacific would probably be made the holding company. |