Semi-weekly herald., 1912-08-05

is between 10000 and $4,000. The
largest city in the region is Durango,
which has a population of about 5000
people. Other substantial and we'll
built towns and cities afford trading
facilities to the various sections.
Schools, churches, banks and other
usual institutions are ample for the
requirements. The people are wide
awake, intelligent and aggressive, and
as fine population as can be found
in any country
TRANSFORMATION communication
addressed to the Los Angeles chamber
of commerce under date of Oct. 81,
1910, sets forth the transportation
conditions in the San Juan region and
the benefits to be derived by both the
San Juan district and Los Angeles
from the construction of a broad
gauge railroad connecting up the city
of Durango, through Pennington,
from the south, with existing line or
lines from the Pacific coast. We refer
to this letter for more extended in
formation but believe the following
I quotations are now in order:
I'VE desire to call your attention
to a matter in which your chamber
of commerce and the people of Los
Angeles are interested, as directly, if
not as vitally, as our own body and
the people Of this vicinity.
The construction of a road TO De-
fiance teight miles west of Gallup
would bring to the very doors of Los
! Angeles practically the entire trade of
an immense, well-watered country,
embracing not only agricultural re-
sources, but great mineral wealth in
coal and metaliferous mines.
The region directly tributary to
this road is traversed and watered by
the Navajo, Blanco, San Juan, Piedra,
Los Pinos, Florida, Animas, La Plata,
Mancos and Dolores rivers, with their
numerous branches, which streams
carry more water than all the streams
on the eastern slope of Colorado, and
more water than all the rivers of
California south of the Sacramento.
THE Territory opened up to you by
the railroad would include all of the
northwestern part of New Mexico ly-
ing west and north of the Continental
divide, part of southeastern Utah and
the counties of La Plata. Montezuma,
Archuleta, San Juan, Dolores, San
Miguel, Ouray and portions of Hins-
dale and Rio Grande in Colorado.
This entire territory is served at
present only by narrow gauge lines OF
the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad
company, except that the line between
Durango and Pennington, N. NJ, is d
standard gauge line, but all products
of the country have, at present, to be
handled from this narrow gauge line
and over three mountain ranges to the
Denver market, distance OF some 45[
miles; and the supplies received in
the territory must come substantially
the same way
BY the construction of the pro.
posed line from Defiance to Farm.
ington, N. NJ, distance of only liz
miles, a thorough standard gauge con
nection frsn Los Angeles could bt
made, which, at all seasons of the
year, would be open for traffic ant
which would place Durango within
twenty-eight hours of Los Angeles
: as against within twenty three hour
: of Denver, and the line would hav,
no heavy grades.
| At present, the products of you
city, which are consumed in this coun
try, come over the Santa Fe, passing
, through Gallup and Defiance, contin
7 uing on to Albuquerque, Las Vegas
(, La Junta and back to Pueblo or Den
' Wei biiOll dpNil llCl NIdNGi up
5 wards of 1000 miles beyond Defianc
= before reaching US.
, The distance from Defiance to Du
, range (the distributing center for
} present population of $4,000 is onl
: 167 miles, and if your products coul
be delivered by way of Defiance, an
our products could be sent to you i
. the same way, you can readily Sc
that the business of the entire terri
tory would naturally flow towar
your city.
2 For SIX years we have been max
Y ing an effort to break into busines
: relations with you and we regret t
4 say that we do not seem to hav
: had any assistance or encouragement
from you.
e Less than three million dollars wi
e be required to build the railroad fror
+ Defiance to Pennington, and it's cor
7 struction will put your city in i'm
mediate and direct communicable
S with this entire territory"
= Conclusion-As above stated, for
) full week we devoted our time ex
clusively to investigating the re
f sources, advantages and possibilitie
of the San Juan basin, and we ar
1 fully convinced that it is capable O
3 oelng developed quickly into one o
the most productive regions of tn
4 United States, and to accomplish thi
4 it only needs facilities for getting it
G products to market. We believe tina
if n short line of railroad was con
structed to connect the San Juan basi
= with the Santa Fe near Gallup, N. M
or with the Southern Pacific in Ari
e zona, or both, it would be vastly t
! the advantage of the commercial in
terests of Los Angeles, as it woul
4 surely bring to this city an increas
ing volume of busines from a regio
4 whoe trade will be very valuable i
q a short time after proper transporta
e ton facilities are assured. We belev
e that the San Juan basin, with its nat
5 ural advantages, with its courageou
= and determined citizenship and in tn
assurance that its coming development
4 should be of large mutual benefit, i
- worthy of the best efforts of the Lo
= Angeles chamber of commerce to wor
A with it, in all practicable ways, 70
the establishment of this direct lin
], of communication and transportation
A Respectfully submitted,
/ GEO, II. STEWART,
t A. II. NAFTZGER,
: CHAS. WIER,
: Committee