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Show IVHAT RAILROADS HAVE DONE FOR THE STATE OF UTAH 'My 1). S. Spencer, (iiMiet'.il Passenger Agent, Oregon Slioit IjIiiu Italhwi) n considering what tho railroads THiVo dono for any section, state or wumunlty, It Is a very lmpto matter mat-ter to drift Into goneralltltes by states stat-es thtat "tho railroads have been raj of the very leading causes of growth and development" In Indus-tr1al Indus-tr1al and all forms of activity, and ttiiffy are certain to continue to be "'U adlng cnuRox" In the future. This is 'so obviously a fact that mention ufMt Is, of course, trite, but to anal-:sks anal-:sks Sits truth.j If such analysis bo nccesrary, need only try to conceive o'fftry present flourishing state or community without railroad facilities; facili-ties; p.utlcularly at this tlmo of national na-tional stress, to much for railroads In general, tina -since I am particularly familiar wltli the Oregon Short Lino, with HEl "Which I am engaged, and with tho wBafc- Union 1'aclflc System of which the Hr "Snort Line Is a unit, I may bo par- Hijf ' tloned for digressing slightly from BR' "' subject In expatiating on my Wjt( home line, by tolling briefly what Hfpff tho Oregon Short Lino means to J Ut all, and gonerally to tho Intor- jt mountain country, for, "Tho Payroll g Builder," I assumo, Is more or less t 'voncerned with tho general progress ji of Its neighborhood, which Includes I all of tho Intermountaln states, and J us tho Union Pacific Systom units aro "playing no favorites," It Is al-' I most unaoi(!ubIo not to write col- I lectively of our galaxy of states ra- IHF ttw Hum to malco distinctions be- HSpT tween them. However, speaking of HEL LTtnh alone, It may not be out of HB$.- llncn to state hero that the Oregon lV&i Short Line expends annually within Hal1 the stato approximately a quarter of W&jff', a million dollars each year In' wages P1 anil taxes and for materials and sup- K? Plies purchased locally. Speaking collectively, It Is tho largest single Indnstrlal enterprise In tho fivo gT Mates It serves, so that It may truly mW' )0 classed as "a big brother among Pk 'tho payroll builders." F, Tho following statistics will bear out this contention Tho average number of employes In the five Intermountaln Inter-mountaln slates It sorves npproxlm-nts npproxlm-nts 10,000 with a monthly payroll of about $1,000,000. And, as an example ex-ample of how payrolls aro growing, wo may lake tho case of one recent month, which shows an Increaso of $192, 45!). 77 over tho samo month In 191G. Wo may safely estimate that tho total Increaso In payrolls of this company for tho present calendar year compared with 191G, will bo close to $2,250,000 or over 25 per cent. Expenditures for materials charged charg-ed to operating expenses In 19 1 G were $ 1.G22.092.C5, nnd estimates for tho year 1917 show $6,794,481.-9 $6,794,481.-9 1, or an Incieaso of approximately $2,500,000. A comparison of budget appropriations appropri-ations for 191G and 1917 "are as follows: Additional Uettcrnionts, 191G, $2,-709,056; $2,-709,056; 1917, $2,989,347. Equipment, 191G, $78,092; 1917, $570,225. Construction, 1916, $270,000; 1917, $555,000. Total Budgets. 1916, $3,057,147; 1917, $1,114,572. Setting aside tho feeling of prejudice pre-judice toward corporations In genor-al, genor-al, which seems to have been an abnormal p)chologlcal part of tho average citizen's attitude In tho past, I bellee tho present unprecedented domands brought about by the war, aro having tho offect of awakening a spirit or co-operation on the part of the public toward tho railroads, more than any other thing could have had, and this Is bringing about a sincere realization of the fact that the railroads rail-roads of tho land nit? the arteries of life-force to tho nation, Just as our blood essoin aro tho seners of life force to our bodies, nnd whan the natural flow of life force is hampered, hamper-ed, suffering and Illness results. The railroads have really been 111 for a a number of years through unfavorable unfavor-able hampeting influences, but it Is to bo hoped that the present days or stress will herald n now ern in which It will bo generally appreciated appreciat-ed that the railroads or any corporation, corpora-tion, cannot develop profits for the stockholders without developing vast benefits and profits to tho communities communi-ties 'and citizens served, for in order to keep pace with the times tho rail- ! roads must of necessity, not only build themselves up and keep up to a high standard of efficiency, 'but they must build up the sections thru which they operate. So it may be taken as a positive axiom that "tho railroads servo best when they are best served," and conscientious, mutual mu-tual appreciation and co-operatlvo action between tho railroads, tho public and governing bodies, "will re-biiU re-biiU In tho greatest good for tho Kieatest number of people. Tho Oregon Short Line Company has helped to mako the Intermountaln Intermoun-taln west grow front home to realization; realiz-ation; from pioneering discouragements discourage-ments to prosperous frultfulness, and looking Into tho future, It can safely bo stated that tho destiny of Utah and tho Intormountaln states In tho matter of futuro growth, commercially commerci-ally and Industrially, Is Immeasurable, Immeasur-able, so that, "what the railroads have done for Utah and the West In tho past" Is but n slight criterion of what they will do in the future. S S |