The herald., 1893-09-20
A RARE OPPORTUNITY.

The HERALD threw out a hint the
other day which is instinct with i'm
mense possibilities. No one can doubt
that railroad between Mohave and
Southern Utah would open up one of the
best paying traffics in the United States.
The road would pass through country
that is rich in the kind of freight that
pays big profits for transportation, and
as soon as it was known that an enter
prise OF the kind would be undertaken
there would be such revival in mining
as would soon create very large con-
stituency OF customers to the company
building the road.
But the road would not alone be
dependent upon the way traffic. great as
that would undoubtedly be. The
through business from Salt Lake and
the eastern roads that reach tnat valley
would be immense. Two years ago the
Union Pacific, which owns the Utah
Southern road, did considerable work
on an extension of the latter road to
Phoebe. The roadway was graded from
Frisco. Then there was change of
policy in the administration of the Union
Pacific, and the work was abandoned.
Any company that would now under
take to build a road over from Mojave
to Southern Utah would therefore find
the way easy from Phoebe ont.
We are sure that any company that
would seriously undertake to build this
road would find most cordial and help
full cooperation in their enterprise from
the business people OF Salt Lake City.
Indeed, there never has been any lack
of enthusiasm in that city on the cub
ject. Los Angeles is the natural outlet
to the Pacific for that entire valley, and
whenever any movement has been made
to connect the two points by rail the
people OF Salt Lake City have shown an
eager willingness to do their share to
insure it's success. Los Angeles has
been the lager. But we have now
reached that stage in the growth and
opulence of our city that the building
of this road has become duty
we owe to our commercial Importance
and to the legitimate and urgent expan-
sion of our trade connections. We are
aware that the financial depression that
has fallen upon the country is consid-
cred in some quarters as an argument
against the undertaking of this momen-
tous character. But, on the other hand,
it is the part of wisdom to meet difficult
ties with courage and to overcome them
with energy. Ii great enterprise like
this were inaugurated at the present
time it would show faith in the people
of this city that would 'snatch victory
out Of ths nettle danger" and give us a
prestige of inestimab.e value.
When the five original projectors of
the Central Pacific road started out on
their great enterprise, perhaps the limit
of capital at their command did not ex-
ceed one hundred thousand dollars.
Stanford and Huntington together conlj
possibly muster between them $4,000.
Charley Crocker had next to nothing,
and his brother. Judge Croker, was
briefess lawyer. Hopkins might have
been able to swell the sum Of their en-
tire private fortunes to the figure named.
But they had pluck, energy, and above
all audacity. By the most extraordin-
ary devices they managed to build the
first ten miles of the road out of Sacra-
mento. The rest was comparatively
plain sailing.
We have dozens of men in this city in
finitely more capable financially of car
rying out the Salt Lake railroad propo-
sitions than were the projectors of the
Central Pacific to carry ont their scheme.
And we have what the Sacramento men
did not have; we have two large and
opulent communities that would CO.
operate with them Literally. If the
right kind of men would get together
and incorporate company with that
object in view, we are satisfied they
would soon see their way clear to carry
out the great work. Let a practical
move be made, and it will be seen that
tie project is feasible. The men who
have the courage TO inaugurste this
great enterprise will place themselves
in the way OF becc ming renowned as
citizons. and of laying the
foundations of great fortunes for them
selves.