The border vidette., 1922-11-25
MINES AND RAILS.
Cooperation of s. p. With Mines In-
 creases Business.

and Ga1lrOedlnR.
 The attention of the world was first attr3 cted to the west with the announcement of the dis covery of gold. A great influx of people followed and the tales of the resources and possibilities in the west spread to all parts of the globe.
 The one great obstacle in the way of development was the lack of transportation facilities. The long, perilous voyage around Cape Horn in "windjammers" mitigated against any consider able interchange of commerce.
 Fortunately there were cap tains of industry and finance possessed of broad vision, cour age and sufficient faith in the future of the west to conceive and bring to completion great systems of transcontinental rail ways. Among these the South ern Pacific were the first lines.
 For many years there were nothing but main lines of rail roads through the mining terri tory and the ores and rich min erals were transported to the railways by mules, donkeys and horses from mines far back in the mountains. The placer min- ing camps of the early days were about the only ones locat ed adjacent to the railroad
 Ia the last twenty five years the greater mining development on the Southern Pacific has been in Nevada and in Arizona and New Mexico. Operations in these districts have resulted in very heavy movements of mining sup plies such as concentrating, smelling and other treating ma chinery, explosives, timbers and fuel.
 There also has developed & very heavy outbound tonnage of bullion and other finished or semi completed mineral products from the mines.
 s. P. CO-OPERATES
 The policy of tue Southern Pacific always has been to co operate in the development of these properties. In doing so it has followed the plan of publish ing reasonable freight rates on the materials and supplies used in the mines and in the treat [. ment of the products of the mines, with low rates on the ores or on the manufactured products out of the smelters.
 n fhn oRi 0r7 the products of the mines it has been the policy to establish sche dules based upon the values of the product. The principle has been recognized that 8 producer of ore worth S1OO ton can af ford to pay & higher charge than can the producer of ore valued at S2O.
 This has been done in recog milton of the fact that the great bulk of the ores transported would be of lesser value and with the viewsof encouraging the greatest possible production of low grade ores, so that in the would be transported sufficient volume of tonnage to afford a reasonable return on the investment.
 The company also has encour- aged to the fullest extent the treatment of minerals at the point of production.
 These policies have resulted in the maintenance of the closest feeling of cooperation between mine owners and the railroad, bringing about con stantly increasing population in the mountain and desert regions, with development in the thriv ing industrial cities, where only a few years ago there was no thing but struggling mining camps.
 At Virginia City, Nevada, where the mines have produced approximately, $500, 900, ,OOO from high grade ore, a plant now is being completed at a cost of more than S3,OOO,O ,OOO for the pur pose of working the low grade ore left in the mines when the more valuable ore was extracted. This plant is to have a capacity of ,, ,O0O tons daily.
 The mines at Tonopah, Ne va6a wora 6jScOyara6 in I0(EO