Waterville Pitches the Great Northern for a Branch Line

The people of Waterville are urging upon the Great Northern railroad that a great traffic could be developed by building a branch to that place. The subject is one of great interest to Seattle because the trade would naturally fall to this place, and the conditions are such that the territory it would open up must become an importer as well as an exporter. It is proposed to run the road from the mouth of Moses coulee north and through the Waterville and Foster creek regions, a distance of about fifty miles. It would open up about twenty-five townships, all of which are outside the North Pacific belt and therefore subject to entry under the homestead laws. It is a prairie country and must depend on the Sound for lumber and oil. It is a fine productive country which would readily invite the settler; the land is clear and would give speedy returns for a small outlay.

It has been estimated that if the road could be built it would open the trade, and that within a short time the products of Waterville would be going out, some of which could be carried inland. A road to the coal would not be built for general passenger traffic. Of course these figures could not be relied on for some years, but they are possible, and there is no doubt of the road being profitable long hence. There is hardly any point on the Great Northern road in the state where the recompense would be so rapid and so well assured.