The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-05-29
THE WESTERN RAILROAD.

company whose object is the construc-
ton and equipment Of q railway between
San Francisco and Salt Lake has been in
corporated in california, the capital stock
being 100000 This is the project an
nounced some weeks ago and to which ref
erence has heretofore been made in these
columns. The HERALD sincerely hopes
this is not e paper railway. and yet it Is
difficult to believe the scheme is genuine.
Were it not for the fact that
among the incorporators are gentlemen
who ought not to permit their names to
be connected with anything of the flake"
order, we would not hesitate to class the
company with the many others which have
had some sort of existence in the news
papers within the past half dozen years.
The reason we find it difficult to put faith
in the project is because we do rot believe
the road as outlined would be profitable,
whereas there is an opening for a railway
between the Pacific and Salt Lake which
would be one of the best paying lines in
the west. 1t is generally understood that
the Central Pacific has barely earned ex-
penses for several years past. This is said
TO be due TO the fact that the company
which owns it has diverted the traffic to
its southern line. However that may be,
the new road would be the immediate com
petitor of the Central Pacific, and If there
Is not enough business along the line
OF the latter to pay expenses, how
could The proposed road expect money
making traffic by paralelling the Central'
of h. 20 lNo
traversed by the proposed road is little
better than that run over by the G. p, but
there is not enough of this to induce
capitalists who are familiar with the facts
to invest in a competitive road with a line
that has all the business and yet Is bank
rupt. If it were said that the owners OF
the Central Pacific were ct the bottom OF
the new scheme, that they intended tc
build the road and then surrender the old
one to government in payment of the debt
1t would be easier to believe in the build
ing of the suggested line.
AS The HERALD has many times sug-
gested the opening for profit
able railway, and one which will
be most beneficial to Utah and California
is by the most direct route between Sail
Lake and Los Angeles. Such road would
create traffic by developing region rich il
resources, and would have thorough
business which could not be interfered
with by any line now in existence or likely
to be built. 1t would bring the markets Of
the east 600 miles nearer to the vegetable
gardens, the orchards and vineyards Of
southern California; it would create
market in California for the rich coal fields
Of Utah; it would open some of the richest
mining districts in the country; it would
command most of the tourist travel; il
short, in our opinion it would be one of the
richest railway properties in the United
States, for not only would it have q rict
country of its own which could not be in
terfered with, but for much of the profitable
through traffic it would be without dan
gerous competitor.
If Mr.. HAYWARD and associates are
really in earnest in this business of build
ing road from San Francisco, well anC
good, but we believe they will make mis-
take if they do not start from Los Angelo,
and come direct to this city.