Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 209, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 September 1913 — MEANS A VAST EXPENDITURE [ARTICLE]

MEANS A VAST EXPENDITURE

Average Man Has Little Idea of How Much It Really Costs to Build H. a Railroad. With the right of way established, another great army of men enter into the field. The railroad does not build its own road. It is turned over to contracts, and is usually let in sections of from 200 to 300 miles. The contractor must Hve up to certain specifications, just as though he were building a house. And he furnishes everything, men, teams, machinery! food and material. Few people realize what this means. A contractor must be very near to a king. For instance, there is the Hazelton section, in the mountains. It is less than 200 miles in length. Before a single shovel or pick was engaged in the building of this section, the contractors had to equip themselves with a fleet of steamboats, at a cost of $200,000. They had to build scores of camps, at from $2,000 to $4,000 a camp. Each of these centers had to be stocked with provisions, supplies and materials almost before a builder was brought in. Before these contractors moved a shovelful of earth or fired a single blaßt they had spent over $6,000,000! Each contractor’s camp is like a small city, with its stores, hospital, scores of sleeping shacks, kitchens, dining rooms, warehouses and barns. —James Oliver Curwood in Leslie’s.