Los Angeles herald., 1890-05-25
Progress Of the Utah Central
Railroad.
Energetic Work Now Being
Done.
What the Road Will Do for LC
Angeles.
A Bright Prospect-Coal, Gold, Iron anS
Silver-Other Matters Discussed
on the Streets.

Walter S. Maxwell has just returned
from trip to the front of the work on
the Utah Central road, and brings very
encouraging reports of the activity going
on in pushing the extension toward Los
Angeles.
eyes, had a very satisfactory trip.
1 went by rail to Salt Lake and from
there to Milford, on the Utah Central,
which is the present terminus of the
road. Trains run, however. to Frisco,
few miles further. Ninety miles
of grading has been done in one section
towards Phoebe, and large force of men
are working backwards from Phoebe
towards Frisco. There are about two
thousand men working on the road.
Work has been held back for the want
of ties, but this will be soon overcome,
and the rails will be laid very rapidly
as soon as the necessary material is on
hand. The contractors and railroad
men say that the work will be pushed
with great energy from this time for
ward. The railroad officials, as well as
the people of Utah, are very anxious for
the speedy completion of the road.
| They want to get here as soon as possi-
BILE, as they look forward to great in
terchange of trade between Southern
California and Utah.
Eyes, there has been an astonishing
development of agricultural industry
amongst the Mormons in Southern
Utah. At every point where water
could be had there are hamlets and vii
lagos and fertile farms. One is aston
ished to see in those out-of-the-way
places the fine class of brick buildings in
which the people live, and the well-to-
do appearance of their occupants.
Brigham Young was wonderful man.
He anticipated and put in practice Bel
lamy's cooperative plan nearly half
century before Bellamy ever thought of
it. If polygamy had been left out of
the question, the people Uf Utah,
especially in the rural districts, would
have given to the world practical ex-
ample of the benefits that are looked for
ward to by organizing society on the
nationalist principle"
"What about the coal mines?"
''The best developed coal mines in the
territory are at least seventy-fve miles
from the railroad, and in very diff
cult country. The coal put forth
and the measures are spread over an
extensive range of country. | have no
doubt that coal will be found much
nearer the railroad, and the demand for
it that will arise when the railroad has
reached here will give an impetus to
prospecting which will doubtless result
in new discoveries"
"What did you learn about the mining
districts ?"
81 saw numbers of old miners who
had worked in nearly all the districts
that will be tapped by the new road.
They all knew of mines rich in ores that
would be proftably worked when trans
portation was available. The mines of
Phoebe alone are extensive and valu-
able. Then there are a dozen districts
between Phoebe and the state line that
are famous for their ores. The reason
why the mines of all these districts have
lain dormant since the White Pine ex-
element is that, whilst their ores are
rich in the precious metals, they contain
great deal of antimony, arsenic, ETC.,
that render them too expensive to work
now. Fuel for smelling the rebellious
ores, if brought to them cheap, would
start these mines up again, and populate
the districts with lively and pros
porous people. But a great percentage
of the ores will have to be treated bv
reduction works on large scale, and
those will be sent here if we have such
works Gas we undoubtedly will have)
when the road is finished. Old miners
assured me that the opening of this
road would develop the fact that the
richest and most extensive mineral dis
trict in the world will become tributary
to it's traffic. Not only metals, but
natural chemicals in the shape of great
deposits of soda, borax and salts, will
be made available to commerce. This
railroad will give Los Angeles new
back country of vast extent, rich in
metals, coal, iron (there are exhaustless
iron mountains in Southwestern Nevada)
and great variety of valuable minerals,
and it will also give her the shortest
route to the western states. From what
l have seen and learned in my trip, l
am satisfied that the opening OF this
railroad will give Los Angeles a busi-
ness boom of a permanent character
that will make her a first-class COM
mercial city in very few years. 1t will
be of more immediate benefit to us than
all the other railroads we have now.