The Snowflake herald., 1922-12-01
MINES AND RAILS
LEAD DEVELOPMENT
Cooperation Of S. P. With Mines Increases
Business and Population

The vast, wealth-laden territory
west of the Rocky Mountains owes it's
development primarily to two agen-
! cies-Mining and Railroading.
The attention of the world was first
attracted to the West with the an
nouncement Of the discovery of gold.
A great influx of people followed and
the tales of the resources and possi-
bilities in the West spread to all
parts of the globe.
The one great obstacle in the way
of development was the lack of trans
portation facilities. The long, peri
lous voyage around Cape Horn in
''windjammers" mitigated against any
considerable interchange of commerce.
Fortunately there were captains of
industry and finance possessed of
broad vision, courage and sufficient
ceive and bring to completion great
| systems of transcontinental railways.
| Among these the Southern Pacific
were the first lines.
For many years there were nothing
| but main lines of railroads through
the mining territory and the ores and
rich minerals were transported to the
railways by mules, donkeys and horses
| from mines far back in the mountains.
The placer mining camps of the early
days were about the only ones located
/ adjacent to the railroad.
In the last twenty-five years the
greater mining development on the
Southern Pacific has been in Nevada
and in Arizona and New Mexico. Op-
erations in these districts have re-
suited in very heavy movements OF
mining supplies such as concentrating,
smelling and other treating machinery,
explosives, timbers and fuel.
| There also has developed a very
heavy outbound tonnage of bullion
and other finished or semi-completed
mineral products from the mines.
S. p. Co-operates
The policy of the Southern Pacific
| always has been to cooperate in the
development of these properties. In
/
publishing reasonable freight rates on
the materials and supplies used in the
| mines and in the treatment of the
| products of the mines, with low rates
/ on the ores or on the manufactured
| products out of the smelterS.
In the adjustment of rates on the
| products of the mines it has been the
- fS1h
| upon the values of the product. The
! principle has been recognized that a
| producer of ore worth 500 ton can
| afford to pay higher charge than
| can the producer of ore valued at $20
| This has been done in recognition
of the fact that the great bulk of the
| ores transported would be of lesser
value and with the view of encourag
| ing the greatest possible production of
| low grade ores, so that in the aggre-
| gate would be transported sufficient
volume of tonnage to afford a reason
able return on the investment.
The company also has encouraged
to the fullest extent the treatment
of minerals at the point of produc-
| tiOn
These policies have resulted in the
maintenance of the closest possible
| feeling of cooperation between mine
owners and the railroad, bringing
| about constantly increasing popula-
ton in the mountain and desert re-
gions, with development in the thriv-
ing industrial cities, where only few
years ago there was nothing but
struggling mining camps.
twenty-five years ago both mining
and railroad development in Arizona
were in their infancy. Then the as
sessed value. Of all railroads operating
within the state was less than $3,000,-
900, while the assessed value of min
ing property of all description was less
than 100000.
Assessed Valuations
The assessed valuations in 1921
forcefully show how the railroads and
the mines constantly have progressed
in the pioneering work Of develop
ment.
The assessed valuation of the rail
amounted to more than $101, 100000,
while that of the mining properties
was more than $407, 100000.
This enormous increase in the min
ing development in Arizona, from
comparatively insignificant copper pro-
ducer twenty-five years ago to the
greatest copper producing section of
the United States today, has been
due to marked degree to the rail
road development
1t is considered highly significant
that some of the greatest copper pro-
ducing sections of the state actually
have been developed only after the
railroads were built into those terri
tories.
One example of this was in the con.
struction of what now is the Arizona
Eastern Railroad, a line 124 miles
long, into Globe, for one large mine