The Glenwood post., 1907-01-26
FROM .''GRAND"
TO COLORADO"
Senator Taylor, in Letter to juno.
tiOn Business Men, Gives Red-
sons for Bill TO Change
Name of River
TOO MUCH GRANDEUR ALREADY

Persons interested in the effort of
Senat pr Edward T. Taylor to change
the name Of the Grand river in this
state TO the Colorado, by which name
it is known in Utah, will be interest
ed in the letter which he has written
the officers of the chamber of com
merce at Grand Junction.
There has been considerable obiec
tion to the change on the part of
Grand Junction people that city being
located on the Grand river. The fol
lowiI is part of the explanatory let
ter OF Senator Taylor:
LAS every one knows, the Colorado
river is formed by the junction of the
Grand and Green rivers about 100
miles beyond our western border, and
runs thence to the Gulf of California
and is in many respects the most pic
turesque and sublime river on this
continent. [ do not know how or
when the Grand or Green rivers got
their names But they are of com
paratively very recent origin; and
why neither of them were given the
name of the main stream | never
could learn. But it was doubtless
through lack of geographical knowl-
edge. l have lead that in the old
maps the Grand river was called the
-. i. Ed
that statement
"The Colorado river was discov-
cred by some Spanish explorers in
1910 The word Colorado, as our
school books say, was Spanish word
} meaning ruddy' or blood red. The
river soon thereafter took the name of
the Rio Colorado, signifying the red
water river from the reddish appear
ance of its waters below the red sand
stone hills and iron stained bluffs
through which it runs the greater part
of over 1 200 miles Tne river was
known as the real Colorado of the
West for nearly three centuries
THE act of congress passed Feb. 2,
1861, creating the territory of Colo
RADIO took the name from the river.
Like the Missouri and the Mississippi
rivers the Green river fork is twice
as long as the Grand, yet the Grand
flows more water and is in reality the
main stream of the Colorado river. 1t
is the largest and noblest river in
the state, and it has right to and
should bear the name of Colorado from
its source on the continental divide
to the Pacific ocean, over / 500 miles.
i feel that as a matter of state
pride we should make this change.
The river should come from the state
that bears its name.
Besides, we have Grand river
in the southern part of the state;
and Grand county and Grand lake
and Grand canon and grand noun
tains and grand scenery and even
Grand valley; and everything in Col,
orado is grand, until the word grand
has 10 special significance or mean
ing whatever. While the word Col
orado stands for everything to its
citizan US and means a world of posi-
bilit IS to all the inhabitants of the
earth, and will have far greater
luster in the years to come.
81 am fully mindful of the fact
that your prosperous and rapidly
growi ing city, of which all Colorado
Is proud. has spent many years and
thousands of dollars in advertising
Grand Junction and the Grand river
valley, and you are known all over
this country.
"But all legal rights are protected
in this bill, and l cannot see where
one dollar of all that investment can
be lost. On the contrary, the name
of Colorado is household word
throughout the civilized world, and
l confidently believe that we people in
the Grand river valley can with 10per
cent of the advertising make the Colo
RADIO valley hundred times better
known and more desirable for homes
and Investments than we ever can the
Grand valley by all the advertising
we can do during the next so years.
Because every intelligent person knows
how easy it is to advertise by well
known and popular word.
"The Colorado valley, trsversed by
this magnificent state stream from
Glenwood to the state line, would in
few years with it's power. manufac-
turing, fruit and many other possibil-
tiles, become famous all over the globe
~ the richest, most beautiful and