Leading facts of New Mexican history, volume 2

Page 344

486 LEADING feasible. FACTS OF NEW MEXICAN HISTORY So anxious were the officers and directors of the 1880 company : to place the ancient city upon the main line that an engineer, _ the employ of the company when the several surveys for routes hac been made, was detailed to make surveys and check over all of those which had been reported by the regular locating engineers. His report was of such a character as to preclude any idea of ever constructing the main line to the capital. integrity of purpose, and unimpeachable character enabled him to deal with political officials and bosses of whatever party, without fear or favor. hoe Judge Waldo is a man of great practical wisdom. In all his pro: 7 pe undertakings and engagements his striking personality has always ee et dence. Averse to any semblance of notoriety, he was never ee ° responsibility in order to escape possible criticism. For many years t 0 representative of great corporate interests, he never advocated nor i ra his influence or name to be used in support of any measure inimica a people. He is a plain, straightforward, unassuming gentleman, a pee ae thinker, an able lawyer, and a fearless advocate of what he believes to oa the best. Possessed of intense convictions he has always been agerony aay fearless in defending his opinions. He has worked out his own standar ; { character and conduct. Apparently austere in demeanor, he 1s pose those qualities of character and temperament which discover great pg age impulses where long friendships have ripened into affection. Reaching ie hood when the Missouri river was the western border of civilization, : Han Waldo is essentially a product of that rugged honesty, consistent conserva ; and marked ability so characteristic of his day and generation. i 896 Many persons living in Santa Fé have always believed that the nt was not built through the city solely because of demands made by ¢ a citizens of that place and refusals on their part to cooperate along _ gested by the officers of the railway company. This is untrue. o ee ported to Mr. Strong and to the largest stockholders in the New Eng a Baie among them Mr. Nickerson, Mr. Cheney, and Mr. Speare, that poo on governed the locating engineer, Mr. W. R. Morley, in recommending ios ha route from Glorieta to Lamy and thence to the valley of the Rio Gran , aL the opposition of himself and his friends, notably Frank Springer ee Re Cunningham, to Thomas B. Catron and R. H. Longwill, who lived at ae was such that his report was biased and entirely unfair; that his survey bee i worthy of consideration and that a feasible route, on proper grades, ie ie ascertained by impartial effort. All of these statements from the pe iP ben Santa Fé were considered by Mr. Strong and his board of directors. pe determined to engage the services of one of the most competent al aie familiar with railroad construction in the Rocky Mountains, have sur apa: by him and all of those made by Mr. Morley and Mr. George B. ste is "ae Such an engineer was employed. He made several surveys, one egal a Vegas directly through the mountains west to Santa Fé; he made : he aan checked all the work that had been done by the regular engineers of a i pany. His report sustained the recommendations of the regular Se a the line from Glorieta via Lamy was adopted and constructed. sin Hit people of Santa Fé and the county of that name ascertained that ea so He was to be constructed in this manner, for the purpose of securing 4 me Hie capital they held an election and voted, in aid of the construction x Oeher: trom Lamy to Santa Fé, bonds of the county in the sum of $150,0 ae wise the city of Santa Fé would have no connection with the main ne TO 1912 487 The men who invested their capital in the construction 37 of railroads in New Mexico never believed that at the time of construction there was traffic sufficient to support such gigantic enterprises, but they were persuaded that the roads would soon create a profitable business for themselves. The construction of the line of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé Railroad not only quickened the entire territory into new life, attracting immigration from all portions of the United States and abroad, but actually created the traffie which now makes its operation profitable. On March 10, 1881, all-rail connection across the continent,*** via New Mexico and Arizona, was established by the junction at Deming ever. The courts afterward held these bonds to be illegal, but the congress of the United States validated the issue. The locating and constructing engineers of the company were A. A. Robin. son, afterward the general manager of the Santa Fé and later the president of the Mexican Central Railway Company, W. R. Morley, who lost his life in Mexico by the accidental discharge of a rifle, and George B. Lake, now deceased. In 1878, Mr. Morley filled the position of engineer in charge of constructio n of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fé Railroad, under Mr. A. A. Robinson, Chief Engineer. He was prominently identified with, and took an active part in what is known as the ‘‘Grand Canyon War,’’ the early struggle between the A. T. & SF. om, Boe te the Denver and Rio Grande R. R. Co. for control of the Grand Canyon of the Arkansas River. A braver man than Morley never located a railroad line; he was full of the fire that burns in the breast of the truly heroic. No knight ever battled for his king with a more loyal heart or with less fear than Morley fought for the A. T. & S. F. Ry. D. & R. G. Ry. Co. vs. Canyon City & San Juan R. R. Co., 99 United States, 463. He was accidentally shot and killed in the Republic of Mexico. His remains are buried in the cemetery at Las Vegas, New Mexico. A magnificent shaft, erected by his friends, marks his last resting place. *97 The constructed and operated mileage of these companies on January 1, 1885, was as follows: N. M. & 8S. P. Rd., Raton Pass (Colorado state line) to San Marcial, 353; R. G. M. & P. Rd., San Marcial to Deming and El Paso, 205; Santa Fé branch, 18; New Mexican Rd., branch lines to Las Vegas Hot Springs, to Blosburg, Carthage, Lake Valley, and Magdalena, and the 8. C. D. & P. Rd., Deming to Silver City, 104; the Atlantic and Pacific, Alburquerque to Arizona line and siding spur at Gallup to coal mines, 179; the Southern Pacific, El Paso to the Arizona line, 182; Lordsburg and Clifton branch, 50; the Denver and Rio Grande Rd., Antonito to Espafiola, 79; and Antonito to Amargo, 85 miles. : 98 Other railroad lines which have been constructed in New Mexico since the ~pioneer period of railroad building are the Colorado and Southern, which “rosses the northeastern corner of New Mexico, its mileage being entirely in “ion county; the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, built in 1898 ; the El Paso and Southwestern, completed in 1903; the Lordsburg and Hachita, built by the Arizona Copper Company; the Arizona and New Mexico, from Lordsburg to Clifton; the Santa Fé Central Railway, completed August 13, 1903; the St. Louis, Rocky Mountain and Pacific, from Raton to Cimarron, from Raton to Des Moines, in Union county; the Pecos Valley and Northeaster and n, iow owned by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fé Railway Company, entering the territory from the south on the Texas line thence to Roswell, Clovis, and Texico;