OCR Text |
Show UTAH'S I JNDUSTHIES By Mamie Thomas, Eighth Grade Central School, Provo. Awarded Fourth Prize In the Essay Contest Spanish trappers tramped tho ds-ert ds-ert wnsto of tho UcnnoUllo basin and decided that It was not oven a good hunting ground. Later camo Colonel Colon-el Ilridger, Indian scout and guide, who passed It by ns a desert wasto unfit for human habitation. Later still camo tho pioneers and even tboy did not boo tho sourco of hidden wcath that lay beneath tho sunbaked soli, but saw only n Place of refuge where they might rest from their toll-somo toll-somo Journey. Today, after sixty-eight sixty-eight years of preparatory work, wo as a stato arc only nt the beginning In tho development of our resources, Watered by tho mountain streams our fertile valleys now yield annually annual-ly 14,500,000 bushels of cereals, 3,-000,000, 3,-000,000, bushels of potatoes, 142,000 barrels' of apples, besides millions of dollars worth of miscellaneous products. pro-ducts. As yet only thrco per cent of the area of tho stato has been brought under cultivation. It is estimated esti-mated that there are yet 23,000,000 acres of land In Utah that will some day ho mado to yield profitable crops which will provldo homes for twenty twen-ty times the present population. On tho mountains shoep and cattlo fcrazo and unproductive lands ato bringing wealth to tho stato amounting amount-ing to $43,000,000 nnnunlly. In 184" tho early settlers went to California to seek their fortunes In gold fields along tho Sacramento rlv. er, little knowing that at home thoro was untold wealth bidden In tho mountain ranges. Today, Utah stands third in tho production of silver, third In lend, fourth In gold, fifth In copper, and sixth In zinc. Tho vnluo of minerals produced nnnunlly reaches the enormous enor-mous sum of $15,000,000. At Bingham nro located the chief copper mines of tho stato, whcro huge steam shovels nro transferring n mountain of copper benrlng oro Into In-to wealth for our stato. At Eureka and Tlntlo tho precious metals gom silver, copper, nnd zlno, are mined and refined at largo reduction plants In this vicinity. Itccently n body of potash has been located In Mnrysvalo tho first to bo found In tho United States. Vnluablo supplies of coal nro found in various parts of tho stato. It hai been frequently asserted by mining engineers that we can furnish enough coal to supply tho entire western portion of tho United States for nn Indefinite period. Of growing Importance as wealth producing factors, aro tho manufacturing manufac-turing establishments among which aro tho sugar factories, seven In numbor turning out over 80,848,000 pounds of sugnr annually. This creates cre-ates an enormous payroll, which Is distributed among our farming communities. com-munities. Salt refineries nro turning out enough salt to supply tho world for centuries. Nearly onohnlf million dollars is HCnt put of tho stato for cereal foods, but wo now Intend to manufacturo theso food products nt tho now mills nt Ogden. At Provo nro tho lnrgest woolen nill'B west of tho Missouri rlvor. Then in vlow of past developments our stato has a bright futuro it her citizens Bhow their loyalty to homo industries by buying homo products. Payroll Builder. - |