Gunnison news-champion., 1920-07-30
CARLSON GIVES TUNNEL PROP.
OSITION GREAT IMPETUS

Montrose Press
At the Belvidere hotel at ii o'clock
Friday luncheon was given in honor
OF former Governor Carlson of Denver
who Is making tour of the state,
working for the trio tunnel PROPOSE
ton Following an appetizing menu,
President Ernest of the Chamber of
Commerce introduced Mr. Carlson who
spoke very enthusiastically for thirty
minutes He said Opportunity is
knocking today at the door of the
western slope, the richest portion of
the great state of Colorado. You can
help yourself; you can solve the
situation; you can shorten your rail-
road exit by 100 miles and eliminate a
thousand foot lift for every pound of
produce that goes out. Northwestern
Colorado is dead in earnest about it;
southwestern Colorado is equally alive
and alert.
Under the term of the bill all three
tunnels must be built simultaneously
No one can be built without the other
two and no money can be transferred
from one to the other until it is finish
ed. There will be an immediate APP
preparation of funds, so much for each
tunnel
Il bring to you a message of hope
| come to urge your support and CO.
operation in convincing other sections
of the state of your need. See to il
that you get hundred per cent vote
here for it."
The governor said that many un-
founded reports were being circulated
in communities unfavorable to the tun-
nels. Canon City, for instance, says
that the tunnel will be used to divert
water from the western slope, whereas
the tunnels will be of the hip style
and cannot convey water. Again
there is no water in the vicinity of the
sites to divert, and if there was, such
diversion would result in endless liti-
cation for the commission.
The governor urged that each one
write letters to friends on the eastern
slope telling them our needs and our
transportation troubles and urging
their support. He urged that the
chamber of commerce send letters to
newspapers and that it cooperate with
the commercial bodies of the west
slope in a compact western slope tun-
mel corporation, so that committees
may go forth to eastern towns and
present the real facts.
He declared that when communities
learn the real facts they will support
the tunnels. He called attention to
the fact that Pueblo, Canon City, Gree
ley, Ft. Collins, Boulder and other
eastern towns have larger state insti-
tutions with millions invested and
that the western slope has for years
contributed to their support without
any return favor. Now is the time
when these people should return the
favor
He declared that the saving in trans
portation alone on the Moffat tunnel
would be sufficient to pay 6 per- cent
interest on thirty million dollars and
the savings on the Monarch pass and
Cumbres pass tunnels would be equally
as great.
The great railroad interests of the
east are concerned only with improv-
ing the transcontinental lines; they
have no interet in aiding small COM
munities. Colorado in the past fifteen
years has built no railroads but on the
other hand has junked, wrecked and
torn up railroads.
There are two billion four hundred
million tons of coal, state owned, in
western Colorado, far more than in
Alaska where the government is
spending fifty millions on railroad.
The governor closed with wonder
full preoration showing what an unde-
veloped empire We have here, declar-
ing that this is the only place in the
nation where young men may go and
have achance; it is the only undevel-
oped region left. and if We had the
California spirit the tunnels would
have long ago been constructed and
we would today have a million inhabi-
tants instead Of 135, 900 on the western
slope. He declared that this is the
biggest vision of constructive develop
ment ever presented to the people Of
the state, the unification Of the whole
state which today is divided into seq
ments and sections He urged our
united effort to convince the unbe-
lieving portions Of the state that the
tunnels must ha huilf