The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-12-29
City Shows Increase of 20 Per Cent in Popula.
ton in Seven Years and Will Have
10000 in 1910.
Mining and Industrial Center of Mountain Country, the Nee
ca of TranScontinentaI Tourists and the Seat
of Good Schools of Learning.

City, according to the government CEN
sus, was $4,000 souls. This was just
flfty-three years after the founding of
the city in 1S47. The figures show an
average annual growth of 1000. Since
1900 the census has been taken ire
quently by the school authorities, 10y
the publishers of the city directory and
by others particularly interested in
knowing the size of the population
Judging from the best information al
hand. the population of the city at this
time is $4,000. This shows an increase
of $4,000, or 20 per cent, in the seven
years since the federal census-an av-
erage of upward of 5000 souls, or IL
per cent a year.
Even at this conservative rate of in
crease the population of the city would
be approximately 10000 in 1910, when
the next government census is taken
1t is well understood, however, that the
growth of the city at the present TING
is much more rapid than the above fig
ures would indicate. Should there be
no backset in the next three years. it
Unreasonable to place the population
at that time at 100000. There are
forces at work in the community now
that will cause the population to in
crease more rapidly than ever before,
and it has been the history of every
city of Importance that once it had
cast off its sWaddling clothes and start
ed on the road of progress, its speed
has accelerated as it progressed.
Vital Forces at Work.
1t is profitable to look into the forces
that are pushing this community for
ward SO rapidly at this time.
At the head of the list must be placed
public spirit-the determination on the
part of good citizens to pull together
for the benefit of the whole community
In spite of the religious discord. enter
prising citizens have worked in the past
Year with more system and more en-
thusiaSm than ever before. As re-
suit, new fields of enterprise have been
opened up, a wonderful stimulus has
been given every line of activity, the
gates of the city have swung wide to
welcome homeseekers from all sides,
the croakers have been thrown into the
background and many substantial
foundation stones have been laid upon
which to build metropolitan city.
This public spirit this pulling togeth-
CT spirit has been well Illustrated in
the work of the Commercial club, the
Manufacturers & Merchants associa-
ton, the Chamber of Commerce. the
State Fair association, the Real Estate
association, and a number of other or
CARNATIONS. 10 say nothing of wide
awake citizens working as individuals
Not the least important work of the
organizations named has been, in the
year just closing. the distribution OF
judicious advertising matter calling the
attention OF the outside world to the
many advantages of Salt Lake City as
a place of residence and as d place
for business and investment.
Secure Good Water Supply.
Full credit for public improvements
must be given the hast two administra-
tons. The securing OF an ample sup
ply of good canyon water. the best i'm
the west, has done great things for the
city-as much perhaps as any other
one thing. Investors. if they are the
Fight kind, will look well into the water
supply of a city before planting thSir
money in longtime investments. The
character Of the water supply for
fighting fire has a marked influence on
the erection of high business blocks. In
Salt Lake City and in every other city
similarly situated, water for trees,
gardens and lawns is one of the prime
essentials. This has a direct bearing
on the upbuilding Of the residence pOr-
lions of the city.
In addition to solving the water sup
ply problem the city administrations of
the past four years have done wonders
in The way of paving the streets, lay
ing permanent sidewalks, extending the
sewer system, providing for adequate
street car service. laying water mains
and in other less important ways that
mark the progress of every modern
city. The identifying of the city as
the direct result of these public i'm
provements, and the amount of work
placed at the disposal of those willing
to work, have attracted many desira-
BILE citizens to Salt Lake. The effect or
the population has been marked.
Mining and Smelling.
In Utah no other branches of human
activity begin to compare with mining
and smelting-they cast all other III
dustries far back into the shadow. For
this reason, in summing up the influ-
ences that are at work to tranSf lrm
Salt Lake from a rural town into "a
modern municipality, the first place
must be awarded to the mining end
smelling industries.
Fortunately for this city it is the
direct business center OF one of the
richest and most extensive mining dis
tricts in the world. This mining terri
tends into Nevada. Arizona, Idaho and
wyoming. The offices of many of the
most important mining companies are
in Salt Lake City; the homes ofspaany
who have grown rich in the mining
camps are in this city; dividends by
the million flow naturally into the To-
cal banks; this city is the distributing
point for a tremendous supply of min
ing machinery and mining supplies of
all kinds
In addition to all this and in this
same connection it must be borne in
mind that in recent years Salt Lake
valley has come to be the greatest
smelling center in the world. This
means a world of money passing to and
fro through this community, as the
smelters are erected and operated and
as their output is marketed. 1t means
the employment of a vast army of men
lust at the gates of the city: it means
he development and operation of a
arge number of mines that otherwise
would lie idle. There has been much
friction between the farmers and the
owners of the smelters; there has been