Arizona republican., 1899-03-31

l 1885, just after the completion of the
 Atlantic & Pacific railroad. Soon an-
 other furnace, then another, was put
 up, and mere matte went out from Je-
 rome to the eastern refineries. By this
 time the old P. x A. C. railroad had
 given up the ghost and the s. F. P. &
 F. railroad had been completed and pur into operation. The Ash Fork route
 was then abandoned for the shorter
 one tcl Jerome Junction.
 THE r. V. & P. RAILWAY.
 At this stage Mr. Clark, who had
 gradually acquired nearly all the stock
 of the new corporation, conceived the
 plan of emancipation from the thraii
 of the freighter, who, in the absence of
 lailroad communicat ticn, wielded con-
 siderable power. The United Verde
 & Pacific railroad is the result of that conception. This narrow gauge road, running twenty-six miles from Jerome
 Junction to Jerome, connecting at it's
 initial point with the S. F. P. 6 P.
 with it's heavy gradients. tortuous
 curves, long stretches of bridge and trestle, surmounting the almost inSdr mountable, is a marvel of engineering skill and daring. It has been the sub ject of papers read, probably, before every engineering society in the world.
 From the car windows on this litt,e road the panorama presented. by the Verde valley, the river gleaming ser pentine in the fore, the Red Rocks, a lcng line of ruddy cliffs, and the San Francisco mountains in the back ground, while "Old Frisco stands lonely guard, forms a landscape that will cling to recollection for life. For inmensity, awful vastness and grand eur 1t is equalled only by the magnifi- cent reaches Of the Grand canycn of the Colorado.
 Six trains a day are at present run over the railway. The freight and passenger traffic is very heavy. But the roads capacity seems to fall short of the requirements, and there arc rumors of another road, to be of stand GIG gauge. tapping the Santa Ee Pa cifIc on the north near Williams, and connecting with the Southern Pacific somewhere near Maricopa junction However, this rumor as yet is not out Of its cocoon, and it is impossible to Chtain authentic confirmation But with JeTome's rapidly increasing pop ulation and the concomitant increase Of traffic to and from this point, it is Crly fair to presume that other means of ingress and egress vii be sought, that when found will result in a ma teTial reduction of freights and fares on account of competition between the two great transcontinental lines. This will mean cheaper living at Jerome.
 JEROME TODAY.
 h this fashion Jerome has grown up a. ound and about the works of the ocFper company. The days of matte have passed. Copper bullion now takes it's place. The advancement in the process Of shipment has been paral- leIed by the nature of the town and it's buildings. From a heterogeneous tumble of huts and shacks, there has arisen as a monument to enterprise, industry, faith and thrift, town of beautiful residences, substantial busi- ness blocks of iron, stone brick and Ten years ago Jerome had population of less than 300. Today she shelters, provides and cares fO" ever 5000 souls. The copper company directly and indirectly gives employ rnent to one thousand men, and the in- interests and industries Of the town take care of the rest.
 There are two churches. One Prot 9stant, one Catholic, and both are well attended
 It puOI1C SSIAOOl, U14IuSS IL VIII ttC l one hundred and fifty pu- Diis, is inadequate to the needs. and soon will be enlarged
 : hospital has just been completed | jy the copper company, and turned | 1vcr to the tenancy of Dr. c. w. | Woods, who is engaged by the com | )eny employees. It is constructed of | irlch, has two full stories, a basement | md an attic, will comfortably house seventy patients, is provided with cp- rating rooms, distinct wards for class fled cases, private chambers, moGtu- Try. ample dining halls and scullery, modern bath rooms, all with latest nethods of sanitary plumbing, ventil- ,ti0n, and is without doubt the best unit and equipped establishment of its ind in Arizona. Though this elegant lCspital is intended solely for the use f the employees, Dr. Woods was never ,ncwn to turn away sick man whu Iplied for treatment or shelter.
 On the Sth of March Jerome dropped ti swaddling clothes and came out in Ui iporation lcng pants, which w:ll ou5tless greatly accelerate it's future GVancement and improvement. Dur nS the past six years six fires at vaTi- us times have wiped 1t temporarily uC of existence. Each time tt has cen rebuilt, only to suffer similar dis ster within a short time. The last reat fire occurred on the 11th of Sep pmber, 1898, and not a building of the own proper escaped the flames. Tie companies having been allied upon so often to make good fi!e 1sses at last became shy. They would :suc no policies on town pr 3perty ; hey demanded the installation Of { -ater system for fire protective pur- l pses, and the only feasible way that uch a system could be put in was by ' by which a uniform tax l ouid be imposed and collected. This l re-requisite has nclH been complied s ith and in a few months Jerome will l e d model of safety and clea1liness. At present there is Q complete sewer ( stem, which was laid by the copper