Show 1 caf flo 7 L live ive cc 10 cl ic dl sit d U 4 it 10 LOS ANGELES kNI GELES january 16 1929 the transcontinental railroads have always played and always will play an important part in the building up of the great west and southwest there is still a big undeveloped area that we see in riding from the missouri river to the west coast and looking back we marvel at the courage and hope of the pioneers who sponsored the building of the railroads through the desolate country from the missouri river to the pacific coast keeping in mind also that not so long ago red oak iowa was in the so called great american desert e ahe the building of the pacific railroads was subsidized to some extent by the federal government largely in land grants and it looked like the more land they had bad the poorer they were although in recent years some of the roads have been greatly enriched through their holdings of original grants the promise of financial returns at the outset depended depend on tying together the populated and i productive east with the rapidly i growing pacific slope country the disco discovery verv of gold in california had its influence in railroad building and in populating that section the union pacific and the central I 1 pacific formed the first connecting link between the east and the west and in discussions and deliberations I 1 concerning the construction of what we now 1 know now as the union pacific reference was made to the union pacific with construction completed a definite and active campaign was started by the railroads to develop the vast land area traversed to record the trials and tribulations i of the early settler would t take ake t too 0 0 much time and space but the transcontinental railroads were actual actually lv behind every effort to colonize and ana to assist the locator locater in making a living out of the soil and it was good business to do so especially low rates and fares were made seed ceeil grain and supplies and in many other ways aid was given to the pioneers by the railroads the surface had hardly been scratched so to speak as to the development of an enormous land area most of which depends upon the availability of water for agricultural purposes but even in the sections that are regarded as highly developed devel and prosperous there are s still ti ii many problems to solve the most important on one with respect to production and continued use of the soil where water is abundant lies in adequate replenishment to maintain soil fertility because we can no more continue to take out of the soil without replenishing than we can continue to draw on our bank account without depositing impoverished soil soon shows its effects in decreased volume and quality of production limiting the distribution and amount to be distributed and transported we recognize this when we consider that the superior quality has the greatest distributing possibilities so far as history re records colds livestock has been the chief means of farm fertilization it is not only th the most available but the most practical I 1 and economical besides livestock furnishes a means mean of diversification and a convenient and definite way y of getting cash as needed abilia ability N to find ready sale especially with tho the e small livestock li producer was not always a the case but since since open markets ket have been established at ogden salt lake city spokane S portland san francisco and los angeles all producers have an open forum for the ready marketing of their production coming back to the railroads the western estern railroads should and doubtless will with the proper understanding lend their support to the building up of production because it means additional tonnage it seems especially especial y desirable that they should asi as assist ss i t not only our agricultural schools but exhibitions of agricultural products and livestock because these events are so inspiring and encouraging cou raging to better production and our transportation agencies should also sponsor the junior effort in livestock production and judging successful agriculture never has and based upon the past pa st never will succeed without livestock association it was good business for the railroads to build west and it is good business for them to continue to take a leading part in building up and stabilizing every agricultural en deavor |