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Show NEW RAILROAD FOR THIS SECTION. A most significant conference took place in San Francisco the first of this week between Darius Miller, president of the Burlington, and Chaa. H. Schlacks, vice president of the Western Pacific. The men were closeted for several hours, after having made a personal inspection of the coast terminals of the Western Pacific. Of the conference, the San Francisco Call says: The Miller-Schlacks conference did not take place until un-til late in the afternoon. The morning was devoted to a general gen-eral inspection of the Western Pacific terminals on both sides of the bay. When the party returned instructions were given to have Miller's private car switched to the Western Pacific tracks. Miller will return east over the Western Pacific. He will be the first passenger and rival railroad man carried over the entire length of the Western Pacific other than officials of that company. The train will proceed slowly and Miller will be given an opportunity of inspecting the line which may Borne day in the near future bring the Hill lines into -San Francisco. For years Hill has been trying to gain an entrance into San Francisco. Stories of agreements have been numerous numer-ous and they have been of a persistency and accuracy of detail that has given them a convincing air. They have all been denied partially. The inspection of the Western Pacific Pa-cific terminals by the president of the Burlington, however, and the return of Miller to the east over the Western Pacific Pa-cific have a significance that can not be overlooked. In December, De-cember, 1908, the Burlington purchased the Colorado and Southern railroad and secured its long desired cutlet to the Gulf of Mexico. In that way Hill secured a largo portion of the annual cotton shipments, the product being shippeJ to Seattle and from that port to China on the Hill steamships. steam-ships. When the report first became current that Hill was afkir an entrance into San Francisco rumor flew thick and fasl es to how he would gain that entrance. Tho practical way for Hill to enter San Francisco and the probable way is over the rails of the Western Pacific. Follcving swiftly upon the formal announc;rocrt of the appointment of Charles M. Levey, formerly third vice president of Hill's Northern Pacific, as vice president of the Western Pacific, cctoe tho report that a trackace agreement had be6n made bvtveen tho Hill and Gorld officials whereby the Northern Pacific we to use the track? of the Western Ptcific from K.o-ldie, a point 287 miles east of Oakland, to San Francisco Lay, and the facilities of the exceptional terminal" which the Western Pacific holds both in Oakland and in San Francisco. At enc time' not much more than a year ago Hill wao reported to have been negotiating with the Denver and Rio Grande for the control of that road. As the Denver and Rio Grande ownc the Wterr Pacific, such an alliance weald give tho HiH liner tho oncning they decire. The purchect oil the Denver and Rio Grande by toe Burlington was scoffed at, however, and a more practical and cheaper vty tilked ol. This points directly to the coming of the Burlington and Cj a tcntctlvc unJcrst-niinpr, at least, between the Gould in-teTCCtr. in-teTCCtr. &tdC the Fi'l pzojU, cf vrhich Dariua Miller i3 a representative. representa-tive. EtVin ITawley ir sid tc bo retching cut for the Rio Grande and its connectiono, but the indication: are that James J. Hill has negotiations well along for the Western Pacific end that his plan is to extend the Eurlingtoa to a connection with that road. |