The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-09-21
THE ROCK RAILROAD AGAIN.
sALr LAKE, september 1s, 1854.


Editors Herald: Among other things in
your editorial on the Rock Railroad this
morning. you mention, els an argument in its
favor, that the price OF Building rock will be
reduced one-fcurth TO one-haf. VIII you
ALLOW subscriber TO inquire what reason
you nave ior supposing the price Will be re-
duced. II so, why were all the better
quarrie5 and those easy of access bought up
and gotten quietly into the hands of few?
II transportation were to bring the reduced
cost in rock why was the gobbling OF quarries
building in this Territory cite single in
| stance were people have been benefited
beyond what inhexible commercial laws
forced from them7 Is it not reasonable to
suppose, instead of rock being cheaper, that
| road, the cost will be actually greater? Does
| not. the history of railroads in Utah give
basis for this assumption STUFF.
After a careful consideration OF the
objections Of our friend, as disclosed by
his interrogaories, The HERALD is I'M
able to change its previously expressed
Opinions on the subject under discus
sion. and viii endeavorsto show Stuff
why it refuses to SO change. We did
not state, in the article to which our
correspondent refers, that the price of
rock would be reduced as o result of
building the proposed road, although
the supposition. was conveyed that it
would be, and the supposition seems a
perfectly fair and reasonable one, the
logical conclusion of a careful consider
alton OF the circumstances in detail and
the situation as whole.
Wherein it should follow as q result
of a few parties owning the quarries to
which the road would lead, that prices
of rock would be more likely to advance
than recede, does not appear; railways
can and do convey commodities cheaper
than can be done by wagons, otherwise
they would not be patronized except in
special cases: men rarely throw money
away on the support of enterprises
which yield them nothing in return,
and ii rock or anything else could be
obtained by wagon for less amount
than by rail, the wagon would get the
business. The fact that persons inter
ested the road are also interested in
the quarries is not, we take it, q matter
of much consequence; the idea of rock
monopoly in a city whose semi
circular skirting Of mountains 4
short distance away is an in
exhau Idle repository OF stone of
every quality and in every conceivable
form, would seem to make it an idle and
foolish experiment to attempt such an
enterprise as the exclusive control OF
the trade by means of either locating
particular deposits or building a rail
road TO them, or both. It is fair in
ference that the gentlemen constituting
the proposed company have seen enough
of business life and understand enough
as to how communities viii and will not
be treated, to appreciate this point
thoroughly and act in accordance there
with.
There is no fear Of a monopoly under
the circumstances. Capitalists are not
prone to investment in such short-range
efforts to grasp and corner as that sug-
gested by our correspondent would be.
The company would depend entirely on
local patronage for the interest on their
outlay, and would find themselves out
of pocket from first to last if they did
not offer inducements for such patronage
superior to those now in existence. On
second thoughts, will not Stuff say SO
HIMSELF ss