Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-04-03

THE IRRIGATION AGE
In the minds of many. % large par,
of the Southern Pacific territory exists
merely as a mental vision of -emi-arid
waste sparsely populated ana largely
undeveloped. This o. large eN emit,
was a fact iu the days of Huntington.
but 10 is not true OF this country In
the Hartman era.
Irrigation is changing vast areas
within It's territory; the cattle man Is
giving way to the farmer-One rmrh
becoming the homes of hundreds of set
tiers. Where formerly the traffic o.
the Southern Pacific was largely COM
posed of low class business, the per-
centage of freight 90 higher grades is
steadily increasing 10 Dr.. Furthermore, 70
mistake to suppose chat Southern Pa
cidC's hold upon california traffic can
DO seriously disturbed by the entrance
of rival lines. The Southern Pacific Is
thore. and has been there lor a. genera
ton. It's lines permcato tine indu-t tries
Of the state. its advantages in san
Francisco arc comparable and probably
superior 20 the advantages of the Penn
-ylvania in Pittshurg
LAS little danger. if any, may b. an
tipicated from tine outcome OF pending
litigation whereby 90 is sought % 3e-
stroy the relation now existing between
the Onion Pacific and Southern Pacific
systems. the value of the Southern Pa
cihcs right Of way, equipment and IIi-
orlty in its field. and the advance au1
inteusinCatiOn Of It's traffic. cannot be
destroyed or by any means taken away
from Southern Pacific shareholdeD 8.
The worst that could happen would bc
less efficient management and less 4d-
vautageous traffic arrangements than
possibilities are hardly 10 be regarded
as dangers sufficiently Imminent 10 bee
considered by the most careful investor
How great a factor ls Irrigation Do The
transformation of Southern Pacific ter-
ritory Is shown by an examination OF
the governments work in this field,
ana without taking account OF many
private projects
IN the ueighb0rhood OF Yuma. ou the
Colorado river. 100000 acres. partly in
Arizona aud partly iu CALIFORNIA. win
Dee served boy the canals. on which rapid
/ progress rs being made. Profitable sul-
| tivation OF This soil has heretofore bsen
| impossible owing 90 the destructive
floods oi the Gila river Now this Sec
ton U.s. ready for the settler In The
same ueighhorho0d the lands saved
from destruction by the Southern Pa
ciGc's success in closing the brea d in
the Colorado are yielding phenomenal
crops
with Pbonefx. Arizona. as center.
another vast irrigation work covering
20u.uOo acres ie bing carried out. Here,
also is the climate OF oranges and
other fruits of many kinds. and the
| far-sightcd settlers who are taking up
iond in tlis region come into "a wen
| organized and highly developed come
/ munity
TRuCEEE-CARSON PROJECT
on The TrucEco-Carson project in
! Nevada. the government ie spending
/ SA,00o.oOo on thc reclamation of $780,
| 600 acres. This 90 ON the ogden route
| of the southern Pacific. from which
/ branch limo between Hazon and FullOn
| has been buIlt diaglnallE across the
| newly irrlgatod ar0a. Further north,
I ON thc border lime between california
and oregon. la tho klamath
I project which VIII eventually run
I from Whecd California. 90 Natron
/ oregon. and become the main line OF
! Dc road in this territory 100 place Of
| the present Shasta route. Nearly
/ 100000 acres of "a fertile soil win De
affected hy the irrigation work now
/ under way here.
san joaquin county California in
/ 1900 had l8t6 farms averaging tt0
| acres each. To-day the average is
/ eos acres. ANA where there were 9S
farms of less cham DO acres eight
/ Nonrs ago. there are now 1902 farms
/ of ghis size. and ESQ farms of less than
/ 20 acres.
ELECTRlFICATlON PROJECT
The olecu.hcatiou of the southern
/ lacIhc's Oakland and Alameda sub-
urban lines is an undertaking come
pairing n extent to thc elcrtriA uE NJ
/ tne NcW York CeuraIH terminal co..
tract Iu NDN York After the lre ana
/ hguake the company haE ferries
carried 2.uUU,0OU passenger month
or almost double tho average before
thf April disaster Electr'nInr the
connecting shore lines seemed t1 De
tho only solution oft the problem of
Transporting thls enormous number of
people. ANA thc work WIN Boz pushed no.
completion aa rapidly as possible
Electricity viii also he tho solution
of tho problem of how 40 improve tno
crossing of tho SIerraH
North Of san Francisco thc most Im-
uurlaui Improvement De- the uDW line
begun nt Nau0n and running south
f0 meet thC California North Eastern
limo at klamath Fails These TWO
roads VIII give the Southern PacIno
nn entirely new route Tor half the dis-
lance between san Francisco and Porte