The Huttig news., 1912-06-22
NEED MORE MILES OF RAILROAD.
Five Southwestern States Will Then Develop
 As They Shoald.

A IdIlf odQ pt t6SluG1G 6Illdi kGu recently that railroad mileage in the Southwest had increased 50 per cent faster than the population. A study of mileage of railroad in five Southwestern states, together with population, as compared with five typical middle Western states. confirms this view.
 The average for the five South western states Arkansas, Mis- souri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Tex as-is 35 miles of line per 10000 population, while the five middle Western states s-Illinois, Iowa. Michigan. Wisconsin and Indiana show an average of less than 30 miles of line per group of 10000 inhabitants.
 Nevertheless. the Southwestern groups territory is nowhere nearly so well covered by railroads as is the case in the middle West. Side by side the average number of square miles of territory served by one mile of railroad is more than twice as large in the Southwest as in the longer settled region of the middle West. The average num- Der of square miles of territory to l mile of railroad in the five South western states is liz, while in corresponding middle Western states the average is less than six.
 Illinois has about 100 people to the square mile, while Texas has less than 5; Arkansas has 50 and Iowa 40; Missouri AZ and Michigan 49; Kansas 90 and Wisconsin AZ. Oklahoma 24 and Indiana z5.
 To make 1t possible for Missouri. Arkansas, Oklahoma. New Mexico, Louisiana and Texas to continue to increase in population as they have done in the past twenty years fthey gained GA per eent), the railroad mileage will have to grow at least as fast as it did during that time (98 per cent and these six states, which now have about 43.-S GOO miles of railroad, should in twenty years have at least zO,52O miles, or 2z. .52O new miles, and should have at least half as much additional mileage in second and third track, siding, yards and ter minals. This would mean a total of Al, ,28O miles of new railroad.
 Using $45,OOO per mile as the cost of 2z, ,52o miles of new track with it's sidings, yards. terminals and equipment. and $3O,OOO per miles as the cost of the l3,Z6O miles additional track, this would call for expenditure of l,651,- 100000. Spread over twenty years, this would mean an average annual expenditure of $82, ,56O,- GOO to properly take care of the increased population and business of these six Southwestern states.
 Not one of these six Southwest ern states has as yet gotton out of the swaddling clothes of develop ment.
 In discussing the development of the several states he said noth- ing had been done to utilize Mis- souri's iron ores; large areas of lead and zinc deposits await the miner, it's coal fields are only partly developed and it's agricultural re- sources are mostly undeveloped. In the extreme southeastern cor her of Missouri, the overflow sec ton, there are 100000 acres which, receiving the benefits of re- cent drainage, have appreciated tremendously Tn value. There are 25,OOO,OOO acres of land on 10th sides of the Mississippi river below Cape Girardeau, Mo, which await proper draining facilities. Of these, 100000 acres are located in Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana Divided into 4O-acre farms, these would provi1e homes and compe- tenoe for 100000 people. An average production valued at $40 an acre af.sr dranage would bring