The Goldfield news. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1904-1911, 1909-12-04
Huge Reclamation Projects in Southern Ne
vada Cause Railroads to Grant New
Passenger Rates to L~andseekers=-
Interest in Land on Increase

Interest in land reclamation in the country to the south Of
Goldfeld, in the country about Las Vegas and Pahrump
Springs, is growing to such an extent that the Las Vegas and
Tonopah and the Tonopah and Tidewater railways have seen
fit to make a special passenger rate to the principal points
where the landseekers disembark, which is a very material
reduction from the rates that have prevailed heretofore. The
new rate, that will be published at once, is for the round
trip one and one-third of the regular one-way rate.
The rate that has heretofore prevailed to, for instance,
Death Valley junction, has been 1925 one way, double that
for both ways, or $14.5O. The new round trip to Death Valley
Junction and return to Godfeld, is 1910. In other words,
the passenger pays 1925 to go and but $2.45 to return, pro-
viding the round trip is made within a tive day limit. 10
Scranton. the fare from Goldfeld has been $3.50. The return
trip cost the same. The new round trip ticket Will cost but
SIS as against the old round trip rate OF $13.1O. The new
rate is on round trips Of five days duration, and will be a
material boon to landseekers, as most OF them occupy Dut Two
to four Gays on their trips to spy out the land. A ike reduction
applies to all points in the Las Vegas section.
Both railroads report a constantly increasing travel OF
landseekers, and with the big reclamation schemes that are
already getting under way, aside from the private holdings
that will be taken up and developed, the country in the Las
Vegas district promises within a half decade to be the richest
territory Of the two roads that now traverse 1t.
The big reclamation schemes will take some five years for
completion, and the small ones will take one to two years for
construction of pumping plants and wells, bitches, etc. Inc
coming spring and summer the work will get under way, and
some land will be placed under actual irrigation and cultiva-
ton. On the following spring, thousands OF acres, embracing
the first units Of the reclamation projects, will be ready for
cultivation and occupancy, and thereafter the acreage ready
for cultivation will increase in a rapid ratio.
Taken in their aggregate, the large and small reclamation
schemes under the Carey ACT, now actually planned in the Las
Vegas district surpass in acreage of irrigable and tillable land
any single reclamation scheme the government has taken up,
or, so far is publicly known, has planned.
The action Of the two Nevada railroads in making special
rates to land seekers is merely in line with the action of the
Southern Pacific, Northern Pacific. Union Pacific, Great North
ern and other great constructive railroads, as their policy is
to cross an unpopulated country, and by helping materially III
it's settlement and development, build for themselves a rich
contributory territory. The agricultural territory is the
forr,fory r,nct docipa1 hu 1rOad n If toroafpc q huIk of
passenger and freight traffic that compels a return trade with
the manufacturing centers.