Los Angeles herald., 1910-09-30
HUGE DEAL WILL
DEVELOP BIG AREA
San Joaquin Valley to GET Cheap
Power Through $25,000,-
600 Transaction
SEVEN COUNTIES TO BENEFIT
Big Corporation to Extend Lines
Over Oil District and
to Farms
SEVEN COUNTIES TO BENEFIT

The greatest stride of the year to-
ward developing the San Joaquin val
ley has just been taken by the San
Joaquin Light and Power corporation,
by the completion OF a trust deed and
mortgage for s25,OOO,OoO with the Trust
Company of America, a New York
concern, which will retire the out
standing bonds of the company and
will furnish ample funds for the de-
veloping of Marlcopa, Merced, Fresno,
MADEIRA, Tulare, Kern and Kings
counties.
This action by the company was
taken as the direct result Of the pur-
chase of the Power Transit and Light
company of Bakersfield and the Merced
Gas and Electric company last July,
After the retirement of the old bond
issues, which are of but small amount,
there will be issued at once $1,bOO,OOO
per cent bonds for the completion
of the San Joaquin power plant and
for the finishing of the Bakersfelo
steam plant A system of high ten
sion lines also will be run connecting
all of the company's properties be-
tween Bakersfield and Merced, a dis
tance of about two hundred miles.
Just what this will mean to the
future of the San Joaquin valley Is
shown by the fact that the high power
lines are being extended to the oil
fields at Midway, Kern, Coalinga, Sun
set and Maricopa for the purpose or
pumping and lighting the oil wells by
electricity in order to assure the safety
of the oil industry from fire, while the
whole valley will be threaded with
lines to supply the agricultural dis
tricts with irrigating power.
PLANT TO BE INCREASED
To supply the large territory to be
served the 10000 horsepower of the San
Joaquin plant is being augmented with
q second generating system OF equal
capacity, which will be completed
some time next January, while work
already has been started on the steam
plant in Bakersfield, which will be
capable of furnishing 275O horsepower.
The present capacity of all plants Is
about 10000 horsepower
1t is the plan of the company to sup
ply the seven counties in the san
JOAQUIN valley with ample and cheap
electric power for the irrigation of land
now marketable at from $25 to $50 an
acre, which under irrigation would pc
worth from $400 to $500.
A. N Kemp. comptroller of the COM
pany, said yesterday:
"This is a step taken in bringing
about an adequate development OF the
San Joaquin valley. At the present
time there are about $4,000 square miles
Of ii Land that support a population of
only about 10000 people. All that
this land needs is water to make 1t
some of the richest in the world.
'In the little district around Fresno
last year the products totaled $5O,OO0,-
900 for about 10000 agriculturtsts.
WILL DEVELOP FARMS
1--WE have been working with the
United States government OFFICIALS IN
the recIaiming of farms that have been
drowned out by the seepage from the
canals, and in this work have discov-
cred that the water level in the whole
valley is only about twenty-five feet
below the surface. This lends itself
readily to irrigation and electrical
humping, and under this method the
farmer is not under the expense of
employing an engineer to attend TO
gasoline or steam pumping plants.
ION supposedly worthless foothill
land that was purchased less than five
years ago at $5 an acre p. M. Bafer
received $1022.3o an acre last year from
his Malaga grapes, With an expense
for electrical power pumping per year
of only S. an acre.
"When the electric lines are extended
throughout the valley it will be pos
sible to irrigate all this land at little
cost. and land now producing $5 an
acre in wheat and worth $50 an acre
will practically double in value simply
through these extensions.
"The growth through the San Joa-
ouin valley is in its infancy, and for
this reason we are making every eff
fort to bring about a speedy develop
ment, especially as the railroads report
that they are bringing 10000 colonists
a year into the state who must be
provided with homes.
"In the oil fields we are preparing
alton of the pumping plants and for
the supplying of the wells with light.
This is in order to protect them from
the possibility Of fire."
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