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Show Editorial WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE 1 For about 75 years, Milford 's economy has been built around the railroad. The first "excuse" for the founding of Milford was the railroad, and since its coming, Milford has been a "railroad town." Of course, there have been short intervals of sporadic mine-boom sprees, when the poulace didn't particularly particu-larly care a damn vhether the railroads ran or not the ores were rich enough to ship by truck or wagon, and still pay bonanza dividends. But all in all, we have depended upon the whopping railroad payroll for, our existence, and all in all, we have existed well. During the lush war years of heavy traffic and fast-moving freights, the monthly income from , wages paid by the Union Pacific was $200,000, on an average. But times are changing. Progress demands that the UP consider ways of moving trains farther and faster for less money. Less money in payrolls, in equipment upkeep, and transportation costs ; less overhead. Anyone who tries to stand in the way of progress is due for a hell of a jolt. It's like the guy said about rackets : ' ' Never cuss or buck a racket-get racket-get in with it' We don't quite agree with his philosophy, phil-osophy, but we do believe that Milford should encourage encour-age progress go along with it and plan fo profit by it instead of trying to hold it off as long as possible merely because it will mean a few less switchmen in the Milford yards, fewer (or no) dispatchers in the Milford depot, and longer trains moving faster on diesel power instead of steam. Jobs are going to be cut off fellows who have spent their lives here, are going to face transfer or a change to some other line of endeavor. We don't want them to leave they are fixtures in our every-day lives. So, it seems to us, that N,OW is the time to start helping them plan a new, just as lucrative, source of livelihood. Rumors around a railroad terminal fly thicker and faster than in an army camp. We are told that soon the trains will be running from Salt Lake to Milford (and maybe Caliente) without hesitating to change crews or get a "knocking over." We are told the dispatchers will all be moved from Milford. We are told the faster trains will run from Salt Lake to Las Vegas, and Milford will be but a whistle stop. If we believed all the stories we hear from day to ! (Continued on Page Four) (Continued from Page One) day, we 'd be planning on a Milford that amounted to no more, so far as railroad payroll is concerned, than Black Rock does today. What Milford must do is to plan a long-range economy in addition to and supplementing the railroad rail-road payroll, and then we will be comparatively secure. se-cure. For the present, do everything possible to encourage en-courage the UP to keep on spending $80,000 a month for wages in Milford, but in the meantime make plans to get along without that sweet little plum, if necessary. neces-sary. If every merchant ordered shipment of every article he receives via Union Pacific, we'd be getting delivery each day overnight service from Salt Lake City. As it is, altho every merchant in town profits every directly or indirectly from every UP payroll dollar, about half of them have about half of their merchandise shipped by motor truckline, in the belief they get faster service. They're cutting their own throats, and hastening the time of any railroad cut-hacks. cut-hacks. How much money do the motor carriers spend in Milford? And, as part of our long-range planning, we should do everything possible to encourage development develop-ment of the mines in the Milford trading area. With extension of the paving on 21 west, mine operators may more easily get their ores to the railhead at Milford, Mil-ford, with less wear and tear on their trucks and lower hauling costs. And the mill which is being constructed by Metal Producers, to mill low-grade ! ores from the Horn Silver, also will do custom milling and enable many other low-grade diggings to operate profitably. Encouragement of more intensive mining min-ing operations also will mean more rail tonnage to j be shipped from Milford, and thereby make it more ; profitable .for the UP to maintain a larger staff here, with larger payroll, when the thru traffic alone does :iot justify a heavy payroll at Milford. Also, while we're talking about 21 west, the ranchers and farmers from Milford to the Nevada line all want to ship their stock and seed and grain thru Milford and buy their groceries, staples, equipment equip-ment and machinery here but they can't be expected to drive 80 miles over gravel to get to Milford, when it's only a score of miles over pavement into Ely. The more miles of oil we get on 21, the more dollars in revenue the Milford merchants and the Union Pacific freight department will receive, which are now being spent in Nevada. Milford 's future security, we are firmly convinced, con-vinced, lies in full and complete development of the Milford Valley. The South Milford farming area will do more for our little city, if we pass out just a little encouragement and assistance, than all the mines, railroads and ranches we can dig up. Every car of spuds that's shipped from here means a few more dollars in railroad payroll but many times more dollars in groceries and meats and clothing and farm implements that have been spent during the year by the farmers who raised the spuds. We see the dollars floating around town during planting season and harvest season, but the "hidden profit" to Milford Mil-ford lies in the establishment of a farming community on "the flats" a community of year-round residents, resi-dents, families, who buy their daily bread in our city, pay their annual taxes to help defray costs of school and county government, contribute in both money and labor to our churches and our community endeavors. An agricultural community U a stable community. A mining or railroading community depends for its profitable existence upon the vagaries of stock and metal markets, and national prosperity. The more time, money and effort we spend in development of Milford Valley, the more insurance we are storing up against the rainy days of industrial depression. We need farms-alfalfa farms, potato farms, grain farms, chicken and turkey farms, and vegetable farms. Every individual, every business and professional profes-sional man, every civic club and patriotic organization, organiza-tion, should do everything possible to assist the development de-velopment of Milford Valley. Milford 's future is irrevocably tied up with Milford Valley. Let's not forget it. |