The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-08-04
A new RAILROAD
Santa Fe's Plane for Southern
Kansas and New HoxicO.
New COImOr Cutoff to Connect
With Fl. Sumner Line.
OPEN UP NEW LAND
In Southwestern Kansas and
Northeastern New Mexico.
Prices of Land There Advancing
by Leaps and Bounds.
OPEN UP NEW LAND

The Santa Fe has just announced the
building of a new line of railroad that
will open up a large acreage heretofore
undeveloped in northeastern New Mex
leo because of the lack of railroad
facilities, and will bring thousands of
acres of land in direct communication
with eastern, markets and furnish work
for hundreds of laborers. This road,
known as the Colmor cutoff, is practi-
cally a straight line from Dodge City,
Kan. to Colmor, N NJ.
A few weeks ago. this paper an
nounced that the Santa Fe had just
completed a survey from Sunnyside or
Fort Sumner, N NJ, to Las Vegas, and
the building of these two lines, which
will connect at or near Las Vegas, will
open up Ell Moro. and San Miguel coun-
ties, which embrace two of the largest
land grants in New Mexico. All of the
best agricultural land in New Mexico
is contained in the old original Spanish
Land Grants and these grants carry
the majority of the water rights of the
territory.
During the last two or three years.
immigrants and home builders have
been pouring into New Mexico, buying
land under irrigation projects at prices
which are merely nominal as compared
with what they will be in two or three
years-nominal to what is being real
lied now for farms sown to alfalfa, set
to fruit, or planted to sugar beetS.
A Topeka man has just returned from
a trip of inspection to his company's
property north and east of Ribera,
". NJ. He took a long trip out through
that country and returned with this re-
port: Il never saw New Mexico, or
any country for that matter, look so
%oo &C flnnS0 UaIloVE leading q WAV
from the Glorieta mountains. These
valleys are covered with a splendid
growth of green grass, dotted here and
there with an occasional pine or ever
green tree. Looks like a park. Crops
are in excellent condition down there.
They have had more rain in New Mex
leo this year than was really necessary
to develop their crops" The country
east of Ribera and Las Vegas is des-
tined to and is already becoming
wonderful sugar beet district.
New Mexico ranks first among local.
tiles best suited to the growing of high
grade sugar beets. Authorities on ell
mate, soil and conditions best adapted
to the culture of the sugar beet INDUS
trv rank New Mexico ahead of Colo
RADIO. The sugar beet zone or ~ Qe-
grees, or that belt of the United States
best adapted to the growing or sugar
beets. extends across the country and
embraces that portion having mean
summer temperature between o9 ana Il
degrees. This zone enters the northern
boundary of Colorado, passes through
the entire state and into New Mexico
where it forms q loop in the south
central portion of the territory, taking
in San Miguel county
The Antonio Ortiz tract in this sugar
beet belt is soon to be developed into a
beet growing district The American
Sugar Manufacturing & Refining Com
pany is willing to back the farmers in
growing sugar beets, willing to con-
tract to paw them five dollars ton for
their entire crop of beets, regardless
of tonnage, for five year PERIODS eacn,
and is ready and willing to build a su-
gar factory to handle the beets as soon
as the contracts are signed. Tests of
sugar beets grown in this vicinity show
as high as Is to % per cent saccharine
and yield a tonnage of 20 to IS tons per
acre.
This year abundant rains have falleE
in New Mexico and all vegetation there
is luxuriant. Ordinarily, however, dry
farming has proven very successful
and under this method the farmers
have secured good crops. Without 1rr1-
cation, wheat yields from Is to 30
bushels per acre; oats from 40 to 90;
corn from 20 to 40; alfalfa from 3 to
tons; potatoes $50 to 200 bushels. With
irrigation, these yields are almost
doubled The Land Department of the
Sugar Company handling the lands OF
the Antonio Ortiz tract will irrigate
large part of their land by means OF
reservoirs and storage basins. and as
soon as the contracts for raising the
required acreage of sugar beets are Sc
cured will erect a beet sugar factory
there A part of the land is being mar
keted in tracts of five acres and up, at
a price that will sell it ell rapidly
When this is all disposed of. the price
of the balance of the land will be raised
to such a figure as will make a hand
some profit to the company. The
pioneers in a new country get their
lands at small price, but the fellows
who come after must pay the price of
delay.
why come to New Mexico?" asks
the governor of the territory and leaves
the answer to the residents of the land
of Sunshine and silver" Because 1t
is the country that offers, without
doubt, the largest returns in the fruits
of the soil, in remuneration for crops,
and in health, long life and happiness,
for our expenditure in money and eff
fort" Too far away? That's what the
boy up in Maine said to the man from
New York. There are things doing
now and still more will be on the pro-
gram in this country. The man on the
ground floor, working in conjunction
with caDtaI will be the first to reap