The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-12-29

| thc DiS copper pEOuuCSIS 10 resume
normal operations.
=
| For commercial expansion during the
year the. state is indebted very largely
to Senator w A Clark's extension
policy in his railroad operations, which
caused the gains shown in jobbing and
distributing business. The Las Vegas
& Tonopah road had already opened up
some new territory before it was built
on into Goldfeld. It's completion to
| that great camp and the prospective
extension of the line to Tonopah brings
an enormous area Of rich mining ter
ritory within reach of Salt Lakes COM
mercial operations and has added
greatly to the business of the city dur
ing 1907.
While the Western Pacifics con-
struction work has not yet been pro-
ductive of traffic or opened up com
mercial opportunities for Salt Lake, it
has been the means of attracting capt.
tai to the fields which it viii invade
when it begins operation. it has dis
bursed large sums of money here for
supplies, and it is certain eventually
to add an empire to the financial and
commercial dominion of Salt Lake.
x X 4
Just how great the city has become
as the distributing center for Utah, Ida
no most of Nevada and western Wy
| oming is shown by the fact that the
business done in 1907 amounted to S54.-
100000, a gain of 10 per cent over the
previous year Dry goods, groceries
Including sugar., and hardware and
mining machinery were the principal
items in this trade. Farm implements
and wagons show an aggregate of
nearly 81, 500 600, and nothing else could
show so clearly the substantial nature
of the city's prosperity as this proof
that the agricultural resources of its
territory are very large and expanding
constantly.
The livestock industry. with its es-
timated $2S. 600 OOO worth of property
in Utah alone. is another most import
ant factor in the wealth of the state
and city; sugar manufactures amount
ed to $500, 900; and fruit, with its can
ming industry. added an immense sum
to the productive wealth of the state.
+
Salt Lake City itself has emerged
from the unimprOved state to the first
stage of a magnificent modern city
While much remains to be done in the
way of public improvement, the pri-
mary steps have been taken toward
making Salt Lake one of the beautiful
places of the country. 1t has acquired
water supply and distributing sys-
TEN adequate for a population of at
least $50 900, and the water is excep-
tiOnally pure. 1t has paved its prin-
cipal streets. laid sidewalks in almost
every district. provided better fire pro-
lection, constructed a great sewer sys-
TEN and will soon remove the poles
from its principal streets. The street
car system has passed into the owner
ship of people who are making it one
of the best transportation systems in
the country as fast as they can do the
work and get the equipment. The
school facilities need extension because
OF the sudden and unexpected increase
of pupils needing accommodations but
the school system itself ranks very
high and is one of the features that at
tract home-seekers from outside. Gill
matically, Of course, very few cities in
the country can compare with Salt
Lake, and in all that goes TO make a
city desirable for residence or business
Salt Lake is rising to first rank among
the cities of the west More civic inn
provements were made in the past year
than in any previous decade.
A review of the year would be in
complete without d tribute to the
financial institutions of the city AL
ways conservative in their manage
ment. though liberal in their relations
with the business requirements of the
community, the banks and trust COM
panies met the grave emergency pre-
cipitated by New York's financial diff |
ficuIties with good judgment and am
pie resources. As in all the banking !
.centers, the clearing house resorted to |
certificates. but the payroHs of the big |
institutions and the actual needs of in |
dividuals in the way of cash We're pro- |
vided for in the right spirit. The state |
ments issued under call from the gov
eminent and state authorities show :
that the finances of salt Lake are on a |
sound basis and all its banks have
ample reserves This showing of |
strength and the natural confidence of !
the people in the bank situation ac-
count in a large degree for the COM |
paratively comfortable condition of |
general business here in spite of some |
factors that inspire caution in the ex-
tension of credits and make merchants |
slow 10 undertake any large expansion |
in trade.