Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-20


rs an axiom now with the pioneers
OF the west-the men who have
founded the great enterprises. buit up
Tire railroads.. mines and cities toward
the Pacific and the Gulf-that through
out the eIpanse Of our country the big
chance for capital and individual en-
terprise IN new development lies in the
Southwest. BY the "big chance" they
mean the transformation Of rocky wastes
Into mining centres, Of sandy deserts into
fruit farms and fields Of wheat.
It is a favorite saying Of Benjamin. F..
Yoakum that the Northwest and the Mid
die west are built up-that is. from the
standpoint Of the pioneer developer, and
the only great opportunity for his charac-
tefistie energies ferhains IN the South
west. And, as a matter IF truth, the more
recent types Of Americas successful men
and brilliant enterprises are associated
with that section Of the country.
In the Northwest the great battles Of
Hill and Hartman have been fought aud
ended. And it is toward the Southwest
that Edward H.. Hartman is now bend
ing every energy and flooding the millions
raised by his financial genius in develop
ing the Southern Pacific and extending it
down the western coast Of Mexico.
All the big men associated with the
Rock Island, the Kansas City Southern
and the Missouri, Kansas and Texas sys-
TENS are expanding their properties to
meet the rush Of traffe toward the Cuff
traffic created by the rush OF Immigrants
to Texas, the development of oil regions
ana chiefly by the wonderful success OF
irrigation.
And It is stil toward the Southwest
that Arthur e.. stilwell. a "Phoenix OF
Finance" is trailing his railroad enter
prise, the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient
Railway, from Kansas City to Topolo-
bampo Bay, on the Pacific coast of Mex
leo, with aIiunitable visions of chains Of
new cities, mining towns, silver and cop
per mines and new traffic centres.
~ R0MINENT anon the successful
men Of the Southwest is Frank Trum-
bull. head Of the Colorado and South
ern and It's kindred lines. Born in a 1T
tie Missouri town. the son of a schoolmas-
ter. he is a type of the man who has
risen through industry In a developing
country to a high rank in the field of rail-
reading and who has come to be classed
among the ~miHionnaires Of the State OF
Colorado.
When Frank Trumbul took hold of the
Colorado and Southern Railway, inst If
teen years ago, it was a local ore line in
Colorado's mining district, a little more
than a thousand miles in extent. Further
more. IL was bankrupt. in the hands of a
receiver and without a cent in its treas
ury. In fact, just -four months later came
the great strike year" of 1894. and the
fiots in Trinidad, the hotbed Of the dis
turbances IN the Southwest, even threat
ened to disrupt the system.
But the Colorado and Southern of to-
day Is a system of more than 1900 miles,
earning Close upon $15,00o,o COO a year,
ard Is one of the few roads in the country
that show gains in gross and net returns
at the end of as trying a year as our rail-
roads have ever suffered. 1t Is now one
of the banner roads Of the Southwest,
running from the centre Of Wyoming
through Colorado. New Mexico and Texas
to the Gulf, the shortest through line be
tween the Rocky Mountain section and
tidewater at Galveston, through which
port the exports already rank next in
value to those through New York.
Mr.. Trumbull believes he has been able
to achieve results because he was quick
at figures In the red schoolhouse at Pleas
ant Hin, Mo. He was the 'smathematieal
wonder" Of Pleasant Hill. When he was
twelve years old he had been through
algebra twice. higher algebra, geometry,
trigopometry-m fact, he was prohcient IN
mathematics, But he was getting along
so fast that he had 10 quit school because
his head was growing faster than his
AaIu