The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-08-27
VIEWS OF MAYOR
ON NEW RAILWAY
City's Chief Executive Thinks
Western Pacific Means
Much for Utah.
OPENS UP RICH MINING
DISTRICTS IN NEVADA
Will Secure for Salt Lake Min
ing Trade of Deep Greek
Country.

Here are Mayor Bransford S views
of what the opening OF the Western
Pacific means TO Salt Lake City and
Utah, as expressed in recent edition
of the Sacramento Bee descriptive of
the new road;
'fI do not think that Utah as yet
half appreciates what the opening of
the Western Pacific is to be for the
state. and especially for this city. It
places this city on a direct line of
transcontinental road and makes it n
most important point, for il is the only
spot within 600 miles in either direc-
tion where the road can have a renew
ing station or where tired travellers
can stop off and find fine hotels, thea.
ters, wonderful bathing, churches of all
denominations and in an hour 8 ride by
automobile get to see most gigantic min
ing carried on and the reduction of
thousands of tons of ore daily.
"Then it opens up for trade on new
lines, Plumas and Lassen counties, Cal
ifornia, and places the city within a
day of the great early fruit belt of
Butte county The road opens for Salt
Lake people new summer resorts, for
American valley in Plumas county is
about the most beautiful place In sum
mer or autumn on this Or. any other con-
tinent.
Opens Mining Districts.
cit opens, too, the mining districts
of northern Nevada, and branch of
forty miles will secure to Salt Lake
the mining trade of the Deep creek
country which has more promise than
any other in Nevada that is as yet but
partially explored. Then it opens new
road on the lowest possible grades to
the shore of the Pacific. which will
draw more and more traffic this way
until the road will become river of
steel. bearing countless argosies of trade
ccssion forever
Perhaps the opening of the road
has more significance to me than 10 the
average man. for | went to Plumas
county a boy and remained there many
years. You will remember that the
great Judah, the first engineer of the
old Central Pacific railroad, urged the
Big Four of Sacramento 10 cross
the Sierras by that route, up the north
fork of Feather river, explaining to
them that there would be 1850 feet less
altitude TO overcome than by any other
route. But as they were building the
Donner lake toll road at the time, their
interests seemed 10 them to center in
the route via Truckee, and then their
horizons were not as broad as they be-
came later,
First Survey Was Made.
"In the Cos a Plumas county engi-
neer made the survey Of the canyon on
the north fork of the Feather and dem.
onstrated that feasible route could
be made through it and that the steep
est grade would not exceed sixtY-fve
feet per mile. or one and one fourth per
cent All through my boyhood and
early manhood the men of Plumas coun-
ty hoped and prayed for the road. |
went back there two months ago; those
people were almost all gone, They
waited for the road until their eyes
grew dim and finally closed in the long
sleep.
''But the road finally came, the val
ley and the incompa arable mountains
were there to receive it, and the chill
dren of men who prayed for it were
there TO hail it as one Of the splendid
achievements of modern times
The edition of the Sacramento paper
containing this article also has ar Ax.
cellent likeness of Salt Lake City s
chief executive.