The Arizona sentinel., 1888-09-15
THE YUMA LINE.
Construction to be Started Soon and Pushed to Speedy Com
 pIetion.

zona, at the Chamber of Commerc rooms yesterday, relative to the build
 ing of tue San Diego and Yuma rail
 road from this city to its connection with eastern lines.
 "Yes, said the Colonel, "the roac is assured. It will be built as soor
 as surveys can be effected and the nee
 essary labor and materials obtained.
 ,,The matter is in the hands of reli
 able and energetic men. We lind ev
 cry encouragement from the bushes.
 men of this city and tributary towns
 and the road will be built largely by
 San Diego capital"
 "What are your objective polntsP
 "From here we take the most direct
 route possible, without encountering
 long grades, to Yuma. Our l1ne will then pass up the north side of the Gila river, thus traversing the largest and most productive agricultural district between the Coast and Texas. This region is already settled with thrifty class of men, but their isolation from all parts of the world has been a con tinued drawback to their prosperity.
 "We will also traverse the Salt river basin, than which there is no richer spot on the Coast. From there the line eastward is not definitely decided upou, as considerable time is required to effect the most advantageous con. nections with the eastern roads,"
 In the course of his remarks Col. Simms said that, while the completion of this line would give a powerful i'm petus to the development of San Diego's immediate back country, there was no reason why all of the large and growing centres of Arizona and New Mexico should not become, as nature seems to have intended, tributary to the commercial gateway at San Digo bay.
 "That is as essentially your back country as IS Julian" continued the Colonel, and your business men will certainly not fail to secure the develop ment and trade of all that region.
 "Locally, the entire supplies for all that region should be shipped from San Diego This alone is good trade All their mineral products will be shipped to this point as soon as an opportunity is offered, to be smelted here or reshipped by water. Then Arizona's agricultural development has hardly begun. Its product some day will be immense, and all should be sent direct to this point for distri- button. The mines of New Mexico and Arizona have never had the ship ping facilities necessary for their de- velopment. The building of railroad | into shat region would lead to more substantial growth than can be ob- tained in many years to come. In fact, there are many points which are retarded in their development by the cost and difficulty of transportation.
 Another point of great weight is the existence in central and eastern Arizona of large forests of as fine yell low pine as ever grew. The supply is practically exhaustless, one body of timber including sixty square miles of 1 fine heavy forest. San Diego should look well to securing the distribution of the product of these fine lumber re- gions, for the trade will one day be- come valuable.
 ''The beef we are now using at my hotel" continued the Colonel, "is alfal- ia fed beef from Phoenix; but it is shipped first to San Francisco and over 930 miles for us to use. By the line proposed we could bring that sup ply of beef through in $50 miles. That is saving that San Diego needs and ought to have"
 The Colonel spoke in the highest terms of the quality and the amount of beef supply along the Salt river, Gila and Colorado river basins. A good grade of cattle are introduced and they thrive well the whole year round. The east is bidding strong for this cattle trade, and unless San Diego is on the alert she may lose one of her most and most needed clements of domestic wealth.
 The proposed railroad will be of great immediate advantage to San Diego in offering employment to large number of people. It will also immediately increase the demand for supplies and thus augment business,