Durango semi-weekly herald., 1903-01-05
REVIEW OF DURANGO
AND LA PLATA COUNTY REVEALS
CHEERFUL CONDITIONS

neds OF the wonderful Needles noun.
ans system, where there are no
poisonous minerals or pollution bv
mills or other sources. Some of the
great crater lakes of the Needles, at
an elevation of over thirteen thou.
sand feet above sea level. whore a
otriN-halred, brown-eyed girl, could
see herself rs in mirror a hundred
| 'eet or more below a placid surface
Now INTO the beautiful Florida and
| iheir pure clear waters rush over the
sllStening sands and spray in their
co tact with huge granite boulders.
'tHring over falls here and there.
III they reach the point where Du-
anso with liume will gather the
iicod waters and store them. These
MOOD waters during the months of
April. May and June. according to
the government hydrographer's re
ported measurements. aggregate $50.
100000 gallons daily. Durango is
going to have the best water in the
world.
Watch Durango grow.
1t is estimated that about one hun
dred thousand dollars worth of build
ing has been done in the city during
ne past year. chiefly in blocks and
doubling the capacity of the high
school. The latter edifice now rep
resents an expenditure of fifty thou
sand dollars. Two other large pub
lie school buildings represent almost
as much money.
The merchants of the city an
nounce that there has been a large
increase in business during the year.
and say that while the increase of
1901 was fifty per cent over 1900 the
i'crease OF 1902 is greater. One at
all familiar with trade conditions will
readily accept this general statement.
The farmers have had short crops
for two years and this has entailed
high p~'crs jor their prodacts. but
the outlook for the present year is
most promising for heavy crops.
The early snow fall has been heavy.
and II came at time when the
earth was ready to receive its mois-
cure. The farmer and stockgrower
as result must reap the harvest.
Hay has been high and is now ruling:
Timothy, $50 to S22; alfalfa, s13 to
Sl5, baled. Oats, $l.t5 to s1.75;
wheat. $1S5
The price of hay for winter feeding
has been the chief cause for sending
great proportion of the stock of
the country away, some of it to re
turn alive, much of it to return as
packing house product. if somebody
abroad does not eat it.
Durango has shipped in during the
year nearly two hundred thousand
dollars worth of smoked and salt
bacon and lard, and the farmers of
the entire country have probably
marketed in the city one thousand
hogs.
While this was going on four mil
lion pounds of flour was used in this
market and one-tenth OF the wheat
used was grown in the country. 1t
is explained that the farmers have
found hay a more profitable product.
The greater proportion of the flour
was shipped in and much of the
wheat. This would suggest an op-
portunity to make money out of
S1.S5 wheat And the pork situa-
uon presents a picnic. The condi-
tions for this industry are most fav-
orable.
The situation relating to live stock
is "A peculiar one. That thousands
of dollars are paid out annually for
packing house meats of the east
while a greater amount in live stock,
mutton and beef, is shipped out of
the country. is difficult to understand.
The Herald has many times dis
cussed these shortages in the home
production of things which we should
produce a surplus of
Probably one hundred thousand
dollars will cover the amounts paid
out last year for poultry and dairy
products, There is one home egg
in ten thousand consumed and one
chicken to the one thousand eaten.
We produce about a one-hundredth
part of the butter we use, and we
ogght to be able to export both
We have been in good way to save
money and get rich if we did not
h''p NNtlN man ilO hH LOT II Nv
ing broke
What the local influences are that
control this situation and seem to dis
courage home production The Herald
has not been able to fathom. But
these things will change and condi-
tions for the home producer will be
better He can do something for
this himself by producing something
and putting home products within
reach of the consumer and get things
into more stable and permanent
shape. so that the home man will
have an even break with the outside
man.
The great lumber industry of the
country has grown year after year
and the daily output of the ten mills
has aggregated one hundred and
eighty-hve million feet daily for the
year. Figure If you can the vast
ness of this industry, the amount of
money It returns to the county and
the amount paid out in tabor in
year. The lumber industry has but