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Show ' Oreni Road Should Be Recognized With 2000 of Utah's i'on;nio.st shippers asking the inter-r.lutn inter-r.lutn commercn commission to allow the Salt Lake and. Utah railroad company to continue participation in the haul of transcontinental freight through this state it would seem fitting that this body reconsider its findings of some months In making this request these shippers realize the importance im-portance of favorable action on the part of the commission. They know the needs of this state and they appreciate the service the Salt Lake and Utah railroad is rendering to the territory it serves. it is pointed out, and no one knowing the financial condition con-dition of the company doubts the statement, that the very existence of the Orem road depends upon the revenues it is capable of developing through such transcontinental participation. partici-pation. There is no reason why this road should not receive favorable consideration on the part of the interstate commerce com-merce commission. It is extremely unjust that an enterprise enter-prise of the magnitude of this one, with an investment of nearly eight millions of dollars and paying taxes into the various units of this state aggregating more than $62,330.13 annually, should be so restricted that it must be shut out of enough of its annual revenue to stifle it to death. The people of Utah should not permit such discrimination any more than they should force an individual to confine his efforts ef-forts to a given limited territory. Especially so since it is vlcarly shown there is a public interest and necessity for the road and the splendid service it is rendering. The Salt Lake and Utah railroad, although a short line and, indeed, small as compared with the competing railroads, was built and equipped to haul freight and passengers. In the freight business it originates and terminates a considerable consider-able tonnage to and from various parts of the country. With the intensive service given the towns of Utah county, much money is saved the individual shippers on these long hauls. In addition to this it affords Salt Lake and Utah counties a frequent, safe and economical passenger service in the same manner that electric street cars serve the people in the city To lose this service would be disastrous to all of the communities com-munities involved. It would not only eliminate a convenience and necessity of great importance to this section of the stale, but it also would reflect retrogression and a lack of progress throughout the territory it serves. In this connection it might not be amiss to state that the Salt Lake and Utah railroad is purely a local institution, owned largely by Utah people. Aside from the large loss they would have to bear the state would lose a splendid payroll and an operating expenditure of more than half a million dollars annually. In conclusion, viewing the Salt Lake and Utah railroad in the light of a local industry about to lose a legitimate source of revenue vitally necessary to its proper maintenance mainten-ance and expansion, if not its very existence, should not every effort be made to save for Utah the same participating tariff that is enjoyed by short line carriers of other states throughout the entire nation? |