Carter and his father took front-row seats. It would be good to finally hear what Hill had to say. Dad had hoped to meet privately with the man, but so far Hill had not responded to any of his missives. Not that Carter was surprised. But he wouldn’t burst his dad’s optimistic bubble.
Judge Ashbury took to the stage, and to Carter’s surprise, so did Ellie. She was accompanied by her father and Mr. Grinnell. Carter leaned over to his father and told him who they were.
“I’ve heard of Grinnell. You say the men are conservationists?”
“That’s right.”
Just then, Mr. Hill joined the others on the stage. They all took seats behind the podium.
The Judge stepped forward. “It is my pleasure this evening to introduce you to several important men. Mr. Louis Hill, as you know, is the son of James Hill, owner of the Great Northern Railway.”
No one clapped. In fact, someone might well heckle or boo the man. But better sense prevailed, thank heaven.
“Our other guests are conservationist and naturalist George Grinnell and Stewart Briggs. Mr. Briggs’s daughter, Eleanor, is accompanying her father on his work here. I’ll let them explain later what they have been working on. For now, however, I will let Mr. Hill speak on the plans he has for the railroad.”
Hill took the podium and looked out at the crowd. The bearded, mustached man wore glasses and looked like a younger version of Mr. Briggs. It was uncanny how similar the men were in appearance, only Briggs didn’t wear spectacles.
Hill looked out over the people gathered there. “I am glad for the opportunity to address you this evening. I know that many of you have questions regarding the railroad’s planned changes, and I hope that I can explain in a precise manner why these changes are necessary.
“First of all, most of you know how dangerous the line from Columbia Falls to Kalispell has become. The grade of the line itself is a serious matter. We hired a team of experts to explore ways to lessen the grade with perhaps moretunneling or switchbacks, but in the long run, none of those were viable possibilities.”
A low voice muttered behind Carter. “They’d have been viable enough if it meant the end ofhislivelihood.”
Hill explained that rerouting the line through Whitefish would prevent further accidents and deaths, making the expense and labor more than worth the cost.
“I know that you are all concerned about losing jobs here, as well as the ability to transport your goods and people. It is something that I have given a great deal of consideration. I will concede that there wasn’t an easy answer. We will, from time to time, schedule train service into Kalispell, although I cannot say how often that will be. Again, the dangers create a risk I’m simply not willing to take. Future discussions with engineers and those who can best judge the matter will take place. It is even possible that in time we will build a spur line down from Whitefish to Kalispell, and that will relieve you of your worries.”
“In timewon’t help us now!”
Mr. Hill looked toward the man who’d shouted from the back of the room. “And I understand your concern.”
“Youshouldunderstand it. You’re taking away over two hundred jobs,” another man called out.
“Yes, but there are jobs to be had in Whitefish. Most of you can simply transfer up there.”
“Our homes are here!” a woman countered.
Others started yelling their comments, and soon the entire room exploded in voices. Hill stepped aside as Judge Ashbury came to the podium and pounded on it with his fist.“Order,if you please. We must have order.” Things began to quiet down, and the Judge continued. “Mr. Hillhas graciously traveled here to speak with you tonight, and you will afford him the respect he deserves. We are not a band of banshees to be howling in such a disrespectful manner.” This settled the room for the moment.
Hill finished his speech and surprised Carter by offering to take a few questions. The first man up was one of the local ranchers.
“Kalispell has a lot of farmers and ranchers. How are we supposed to ship our product without train service?”
Hill leaned forward, adopting the posture of a confidant. “You pose a good question and I have an answer. The gentlemen who have joined me on this stage are instrumental in seeing that much of the area to our north and east is set aside for a national park. I’m sure you’ve read about it in the newspaper.
“Yellowstone National Park has seen tens of thousands of visitors each year. The numbers continue to climb. At the park’s inception the numbers were much less, of course, but once the railroad came to them in 1883 the numbers increased dramatically. Our proposed national park here will already have the railroad. In fact, the park is being planned in such a way that the railroad will bring people directly in without the need for additional transportation.
“The national park will employ dozens of people and provide hotel services and restaurants for the vast number of visitors who will come to the area. Your products will have no need to ship when that happens. Meat and grain, other foods grown here will meet visitors’ needs.”
“But we’d still have to get them up there. To Whitefish. On top of that, thereisno national park at this time.” The man’s bushy eyebrows dipped deep over his eyes.
“That’s true, but the men who are with me today intend to supply all the pertinent information that will allow President Roosevelt to move forward on the park’s creation. We believe that after receiving this information, the president will make a request for the national park by the end of the summer. Our plan is that the railroad will be finished with its new line in August, and this will of course be a benefit in that the president will see there is already a fully functioning railroad in place, ready to bring visitors into the park.”
“August!” several voices shouted at the same time. The comments began flying once again.
Carter looked at Dad. “I didn’t realize we had so little time.”
“I thought the matter was still open to discussion. I guess we know better now.” Dad shook his head. “You and I and Fred need to get together and talk about this in detail. We very well may need to buy up a bunch of freight wagons. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but we may need to start a freighting aspect to our businesses.”
