The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-06-07
SOUTHERN PROGRESS
CHEAT ACTIVITY IN RAILROAD
 CONSTRUCTORS.
Marked Revival in the Building of Cotton Mills, and Prosperity in. Mineral Regions
 Keeps Apace.

Southwest great empire in extent and
 resources, Is the scene of an activity in railroad construction such as has not
 been witnessed anywhere in the United States since the days of 1s19-SO. when rail-
 road building was at it's highest point. Coincident with this activity. with old
 systems building new lines and new, com
 panies projecting long roads as we'll as
 short ones, there are indications of
 great advance in manufacturing, mining
 and financial interests. The Manufactu- rers' Record is covering the many inter esting phases of this development in special correspondence and this wek pub fishes a survey of the railroad situation with reference largely to the lines center middle South. the West and the South west. These lines, opening up in many instances. almost virgin territory and inn proving the transportation facilities of regions where the lumberman. the farmer and the miner have already found their way, will play an important part in the upbuildine of the Southwest. For ex- ample, the Frisco. which, within year will be operating 4,6S6 miles, is putting forth energetic efforts in the direction of Indian Territory, Oklahoma and Ar kansas. It has within twelve months contracted for $5.00o,0Oo worth of new equipment. which will be auxiliary to its efforts to attract new industries and set tiers to points along its line, particular efforts being made to develop the poultry and dairy industries.
 Almost every conceivable interest is represented in the business handled by the Gould lines. Lead, cinz, coal. lumber, cotton. cattle, early vegetables, fruit, grain. oil and various manufactured pro- ducts are handled by them. The proven zinc territory in southwest Missouri, from which $10,00o.000 worth of ore has been taken in a single year, is likely to be ex-
 tended into Indian Territory, after thorough prospecting. and the zinc of Arkansas is also becoming attractive,
 while the timber industry keeps some branch lines in Missouri. Arkansas and Texas busy, the lumber and timber going North in large quantities to St. Louis and elsewhere, but also into the newly settled Oklahoma country.
 In the work of drawing settlers to the South the cotton belt is making considera
 ble progress, especially in the prairie sec
 tion of Arkansas, and Eastern Teaxs,
 where the acreage in fruit raising, cotton
 and wheat\is steadily growing. How
 great activity there is in the lumber in-
 dustry is indicated by the fact that from
 Delta south along the line of the Cotton
 Belt, sixty additional saw mills have been
 erected during the past sixteen months.
 With the clearing of the forests fruit and
 truck lands are made available. Peaches
 tomatoes, strawberries, are some of the
 products upon which enterprising settlers
 are growing independent Industrial de- velopment is progressing The Cotton
 Belt has purchased in the past year l,7So freight cars of 60.0O0 pounds capacity and has under contract 2,1S5 more with thirty
 three modern locomotives.
 Expenditures authorized by the Santa Fe for this year are larger than ever be- fore. Some of them are for the equip ment of its Texas line for burning fuel oil from the Beaumont fields. This in-
 wolves the erection of a number of inn mense steel storage tanks and the install 1 lation of minor supplied plants from | which the locomotives will take the oil. Other railroad projects are mentioned in the correspondence which concludes as follows:
 "Take a look at the map of Iowa, for
 instance. and see how that State is criss- crossed with railroads and then recall that when the Indian Territory Is added to Oklahoma, as it will be one day, there
 will be a bigger and better State in the
 Southwest than Iowa. It will be the equal of any State in the Union in soil.
 climate. variety of resources and proxi-
 mity to great markets It will be the heir of all the ages of progress. the very incarnation of twentieth century civiliza- tion."
 The very great activity in the Southwest is fully duplicated in the Central South stretching all the way from Virginia to the Mississippi River. The improvement of railroad facilities and the construc- ton of new lines keep pace with the in-
 dustrial activity. which was never greater than at present. Along the entire coal belt from West Virginia through South west Virginia. Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama the output of coal is being very rapidly increased, but the demand Keeps ahead of the supply. In the Carolinas the marked revival in cotton mill con- struction finds a counterpart in the phe- nomenal activity and prosperity in the iron regions of Alabama.