The San Francisco call., 1897-01-24
Right OF WAY
FOR THE ROAD
People of Kern County Alive
to the Importance of the
New Line.
All Clear to Bakersfield With
the Exception of Two
Small Claims
Completion of the Valley Railroad
M ans Salvation to Most Fertile
Agricultural District.

SACRAMENTO, CAL, Jan. 23,-If the
people of Fresno and Tulare counties
have been somewhat slow in preparing
the right of way for the Valley road the
residents of Kern County have been fully
alive TO the necessities of the situation,
and have their part of the work up in
good share.
member of the right of-way committee
for his county, and in an interview here
to-day on the subject said:
when 1 left Bakersfield the right of
way for the Valley road was clear from
the northern line of the county to the
depot site in Bakersfield with the excep-
ton of two small claims, and Ithink that
those have since been adjusted You may
be sure that We are fully alive to the I'M
portance and value OF the road to our
county. Our people are naturally very
pu blic spirited, and having suffered more
than any point in the valley from unjust
discrimination in freight rates are keenly
alive to the necessity of a compe ting
road
"The committee has also had remark
able success in the matter of cash SUBJ
scriptions, the residents of the county in
general, and of Bakersfield in particular,
having come forward with but little
urging. You may say that when the Val
ley road strikes Kern County it will find
clear sailing and good breeze"
Senator Smith is the editor of the Kern
County Echo the leading daily OF the
upper San Joaquin Valley.
J. NJ. Hunter of Bakersfield, who is in
terested IN the Echo and is also connected
with the farming interests of this county,
accompanied Senator Smith to Sacra-
mento. He, TOO, is greatly interested in
the com peting road
''The Valley road means the salvation
OF the agricultural interests of Kern
County," he said. 'Our principal products
are those bulky articles which furnish
large amount of freight, such as hay,
grain, dried and green fruits, cattle and
hogs. Although we can raise these
articles, especially cattle and hogs,
cheaper than any locality in the State,
we are absolutely prohibited from enter
ing outside markets by the freight rates
on the Southern Pacific. Nor can we
bring in those articles needed to better
develop our farming interests. For an
illustration: Il handle large amount of
wire fencing manufactured in Adrian,
Mich.
"a carload from Adrian to Mojave, dis
tance of about 2100 miles, cost me over
the Santa Fe system $225. From Mojave
to Bakersfield, a distance OF sixty-seven
miles, the Southern Pacific gets in on it
for 1925 more. That's the way the Short
haul proposition strikes us.
I'VE could furnish the desert mines and
ali Arizona and New Mexico with hay at
profitable figures, but the freight comes
to ore than the value of the hay. You
may rest assured that there is not far
mer in Kern county who will not strain
every point possible to help the Valley
road and who will not give it the prefer
ence for his freight.
"Then in reference to its extension be-
yond Bakersfield, if not through the
mountains to connect with the Santa Fe
at least to the mouth OF the TETON Pass.
at the foot of the mountains, distance of
thirty.five miles. Hall this distance is
through perfectly level country, with a
soil that would make good roadbed and
through the famous Weed Patch country,
which is already PRODUCING immense grain
and hay crops. The balance OF the is
tance up to Rose station. Immediately at
the foot of the mountains, is perfectly
smooth incline, with rise of less than
sixty feet to the mile.
"Rose station is on General Beale' 8
Tejon ranch. and is in the center of a very
large belt of foothill land, which receives
sufficient rainfall to insure large crops of
grain. There are already seeded in this
vicinity $500 acres of grain, and R. NJ.
Pogson, superintendent of the TETON
ranches, recently stated that if assured
that the Valley road would reach them by
next fall they could seed 10000 acres.
This is also magnificent citrus belt, and
few miles on either side of Rose station
are already started the orange orchards of
San Emigdio and TETON.
From the Teion orchard there have
been hauled by team TO Bakersfield this
season several carloads of as fine oranges
as are grown in the State. Under the
great disadvantage of distance from mar
kf is this locality has developed to a re-
markable extent in the last few years, and
will soon pay the small cost of an extern
sion of the road"