The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-12-08
THE GRUMBLERS.

business, nor as disposed to back cap
any enterprise or progressive move
ment, if it suggests that a good deal OF
what is said nowadays regarding i'm
provements and advance is idle,
thoughtless expression or tits malicious.
A fellow will shout that Denver, or
Omaha, or San Francisco, has this and
that, which Salt Lake has not, and will
proceed to denounce everybody and
everything here for old Efogyism and
lack of progressive spirit. Its a
shame" yells one, ''that the mains are
not strung all through the city and that
all are not supplied with an abundance
of pure mountain water" and then
he'll tell you that the water pipes are
laid in all the streets Of Omaha or Kan
sas City. The howl against the gas
company for not extending It's mains is
constant, and everybody knows
that everybody in San Francisco
who is willing to pay for it can
burn gas in his house. Latteriy, for
year or TWO, it has been referred to as
an evidence of the non progressive
character of Salt Lake that We have
neither cable nor electric street rail-
ways. while such things are common in
Omaha and Wichita.
Now, The HERALD doesn't desire to
discourage anybody. but it cannot avoid
thinking that many of these carpers a nd
kickers are either ignorant or vicious;
they are certainly unreasonable and
thoughtless. They apparently never
think that geographically Salt Lake is
unlike any other city, and that it must
necessarily continue different from all
others. Embraced within the corpora
ton are $4,000 people, and they spread
over territory which would be occupied
by 10000 in another city. The water
works here which supply perhaps 10, 0C0
cover ground enough to supply $4,000 in
Omaha or Kansas City. Our city lots
are ten by twenty rods, while those of
other cities average about twenty FIVE
by one hundred feet. a gas main along
one of our blocks would serve from four
to six residences in The eighty rods,
while main in San Francisco would
have a service pipe a. least every fifty
feet. 1t costs as much to convey
the gas to one consumer here
as it does to take it to ten in Omaha.
The same is true of the water. And
what would be done with cable or
electric street railway? The former
would cost for construction six or eight
times as much as the horse roa !, and
for operating three or four times as
much; the investment would be so
great that if twenty persons rode where
one rides now the cable company would
soon consume its capital stock and be
bankrupt; all because of the great DIS
tances and the scattered condition OF
the population. 1t is possible that an
electric line could be made profitable
but that is doubted by practical men
who are familiar with the cost of plant
and of operating. It is certain tha
two things would have to occur before
such q road could be made to pay,
, One of these is reduction Of operating
expenses below the point to which they
have been brought elsewhere, and the
other is the education of ten people
, to ride where one rides now.
Now, don't say The HERALD is stand
ing in the way of progress and is op-
posed to boom, for neither will bt
, true. We are simply tired of these
! comparisons which are unfair to Sal
Lake and convey a wrong and injurious
' impression regarding this city and it
people. We are tired of hearing i
l said that Salt Lake is behind the age
3 because it hasn't certain things WheI
6 to obtain these things would be impos-
sible. We are becoming weary of hear
: ing men say that Salt Lake is old fogy-
ish becauseD Denver is better lighted .wher
we know that the local gas company
0 has miles of pipe, the interest on the
Q cost of which is not paid by the ga
Q sold, to say nothing of the gradua
a but certain loss Of the capita
: invested. It is tiresome to b
: told day after day that because
/ Wichita is running an electric road and
5 Kansas City several cable lines Sal
Lake is slow, when its cheaply con
structed and more cheaply operates
s horse line is so lightly patronized tina
its stockholders regard themselves a
: especially fortunate If they receive
: trifiing dividend at the end OF the year
1t would be more consistent if thes
men who are complaining and fndin
y fault because Salt Lake is "behind tn
70 times" would invest their own none
|; in the improvement and enterprises. l
: they have faith, let them prove 1t;
!. they are without faith, let them kee