OCR Text |
Show WEBER COUNTY AS The National Copper bank's weekly lotter dwells at length on the resources, re-sources, industries and future of Weber We-ber county, tho transcontinental automobile auto-mobile highway question, tho importance impor-tance of the announcement of the proposed electrification of the Denver Den-ver & Rio Grande railroad from Helper Help-er to Salt Lake, and other subjects of vital Importance In vthe present development era of the state. Weber County. The letter in part icjllows. Weber county, about 10 miles to the north of Salt Lake, if, with one exception, the smallest in the state, only Including about 425.000 acres, jet II stands second in manufactures, second in jobbing and third in population. pop-ulation. Only five counties exceed It in the total value of its farm property. prop-erty. Tho county is a narrow, elongated elon-gated area, with Its giealest dimension dimen-sion east and west. "The agriculture of the county has boen developed principally by Irrigation, Irriga-tion, only about a quarter of tho G0,-000 G0,-000 acre area of developed land being farmed by ordinary methods. The largest portion of it is in the flat westorn part of the county, and is served by at least fhe main Irrigating Irrigat-ing canals, having a total length of M0 miles, which have been improved and enlarged from time to time as increased in-creased water service was demanded The recent concreting and reallgn- , ment of one of them has provided for the irrigation of an additional 8,000 ! acres not now in crop, and further development is planned t Bench Fruit Lands. "The agricultural land west of the mountains fails naturally into two divisions, di-visions, that is, the bench extending northwest and southeast along the base of the mountains, and the more extensive alluvial lands lying westward west-ward toward the lake. The county's coun-ty's fruit is for the most part grown tpon the bench, where the soil Is somewhat gravellv, and the drainage of water and air oxcollont The fruit Is of high quality, and besides prodding pro-dding for pxtensive shipments to tho eastern markets Is one of the sources of supply for the actho canning industry in-dustry of Ogden "New acrcnge is being planted each year. A large bulk of small crops is raised on this bench As one approaches ap-proaches the laUe there aie less of these, with the exception of the sup-ar sup-ar beet, which apparently holds its sway almost to (he lake shore, but there Is more of grass and grain The last census showed that' much more than half the developed land west of Ogdon is utilized in growins the smaller and more profitable crop'' a fact which accounts for the h'pb alue of the county's farm proper as compared with its total aiea. "A third of the cultivated farm land Is in units of less than 20 acres, and Its record of pioduction affords an illuminating example of the earning earn-ing power of small Irrigated tracts of land. The sooner the wholo state follows In the footsteps of Weber county In this regard the wealthier it will be. Industry Grows. "As a result of the attention paid to the growing of fruits and small vegetables, the canning industry in the county has become very acthe There are 12 canneries, conducting about 75 per cent of the business of tho slato. Twenty-one different groups of products, from pork and beans to soups, catsups and fruits of all sorts, are handled by these houses, and the Utah brands have an established estab-lished reputation Nearly 11 million cans of goods have been put out this year. "Weber county's roads have a high aorage excellence. About 75 miles of road are spiinklcd, and there are about 30 miles macadamized, 15 of which were "built during the last year. "The American Automobile association associa-tion is laying out a series of transcontinental trans-continental routes and Is to spend 510.000.000 in the surfacing of the first highway chosen. The choice of tho national association at this time lies between the 'Santa Fe trail' and tho 'Midland' route, the first missing the state entirely, and tho second not only passing through it. but displaying a large part of its industries and sources of wealth. That the 'Midland' 'Mid-land' route be chosen Is the thing of primary importance to the state, and all othor considerations should yield to it. That won, the route within the state should bo so mapped that for the greatest possible percentage of its length It will pass through developed devel-oped districts, and fndividual considerations con-siderations should yield to this need also. City of Ogden. "Ogden itself is a splendidly situated situat-ed city, both for residence and business. busi-ness. It lies squarely against the hills, which are on Its east, and which rise so abruptly from the valley that one of the peaks, apparently within gunshot of the city, stands a full I mile above It. "There are pretty mountain resorts re-sorts close at hand, and the canyon breezes have much to do with the pleasant climate Ogden enjoys. It is served by an electric railway to Salt Lake City and by another northward to Brlgham City. "Still another is being built through Ogden canyon, which will give railway rail-way transportation to tho Ogden valley, val-ley, increasing the aluo of its land and transforming the character of its agriculture. A new line has also been built to Plain City, a town of 1,100 people in the northwestern part of tho county. Ogden is moreover a junction point for four railroads, a fact which has enabled It to steadily maintain Its position as the second largest manufacturing and distributing point in the state and intermountaln country, coun-try, and which Insures its future share in tho development of that territo- rv. Utah a Garden. "Utah Is a garden, not a desert, and the eastern tourist must be made to know this if possible. But let none of us forget that we are citizens of our slato first, nnd of our town second, sec-ond, and that if It proves Impossible to secure the Ideal mapping, every effort should be concentrated on making mak-ing certain at least that the route finally fi-nally selected shall pass through Utah, even though not in the way we would most like "The month has been marked by several important announcements, the chief of which Is that made by President Pres-ident Bush of the Denver & Rio Grande to the effect that during the next year his road will spend about SG.000,000 on the division betwoen Helper, Utah, and Salt Lake, In double dou-ble tracking, grade reducing and electrification. elec-trification. The strain involved in handling the largo coal and coke output out-put of the Utah mines has been the primary factor leading to the decision decis-ion as announced, though all sorts of freight are Increasing. "Tho principal object to be achieved achiev-ed is tho elimination of the heavy grades and sharp curves at Soldier's Summit which the swift expansion in freight offerings from Utah has caused caus-ed to become a handicap to efficient service. i "Tho grade will bo reduced 'from 1 v-- - ' per cent to '1 per cent; the road from Helper to Salt Lake, a distance of llfj miles, will be double tracked, and electricity Is to be substituted for steam power on this division, the first occurrence of the sort west of New York City. The construction work is to bo completed within the next year "Right on this same Soldier's Summit Sum-mit there is located a largo deposit of the rare mineral wax, ozokerite, found elsewhere only in Austria, but there forming the basis of a considerable consid-erable industry. It is closely allied with petroleum. Is like beeswax except ex-cept for a higher melting point, is unaffected by acids and may be used in a groat variety of ways. "Engineers state that the deposit Is of lilgh grade, and the property Is said to bo well equipped and producing pro-ducing steadily. It Is traversed by thy lailroad, and is therefore excellently excel-lently located with regard to shipping ship-ping and market facilities. Its development devel-opment is giving a new and important Industry to the state, in the production produc-tion of a staple pioduct for which there is a wide market." |