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About The Evening herald. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1906-1942 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 1923)
Second Section Klamath Lakes Route Special S prague Riven Valley Has Big Future in Store Member of the Associated Pren Seventeenth Vmr-No, Toad, KLAMATH PAIiljH, OIIKOOX, THURHDAy, OCTOBER 11, 1033 I'PBICK TR CKNTH r & E OPEN 4 ermu o. e. NEW EMPIRE Oregon, California Taps Rich Timber Country On the Eastern Edge ot the Klamath Basin. and Eastern and Farming PUTTING FINAL OKEH ON THE JOB (They say of n. K. Btrahorn author of (he following dmtnrlp tlon of the Ore ron t'nlirornin nnil Kasiorn railway and thn territory It eerves, that ha Imil built all the railways there were to be built around Bpok- no nod In Wlnstorn Oregon be fore he came to thli region, It u lila reputation as a build er that Interested the millets terrliory of eaatorn Oregon In securing hie services. At an age when moat men are willing to retire, and when hla achlnvo tnenta had certainly earned him the right to retire, he was In duced lo tackle the taak of link-lag the aluh. II nvs of ai era Oregon. Ilia own story below will tell you how far bo haa succeeded.) I)y ROBERT K. BTRAHORN THB unique dlatlscllon now accruea to Klamath Falls of being the only city lo the United States which can cslobrate the con struction of two new rsllroadt after klmoat total ceoaatlon of railroad building for about ten yeara, , the regular yearly abandonment ot many more miles of railways thnn were built and despite the fact that financing ot railroad conatructlon Is Still fery "difficult. Buch develop ment attracts nationwide attention and In outside circles excites curios ity as to the strongly Impelling cause.- Even ourselves, In our local nthuslam over the situation, may overlook the tact that when rail roads were not Isglslsted out ot bus- Inssa and railroad returns wers large Bought to tempt ventures in that tin those two Maator builders 1III1 and Hsrrlman, thought enough of thla territory and the feasibility of some linos we ore now building to spend soma 150,000,000 on about half a dozen pieces of railroad which mostly wont nowhoro, na con ditions woro then, and woro loft will) unfinished links varying from Kill to 175 mill's In length without which links probnbly only ono of them (tho present Klnninth Knit Weed lino) could bo mmlo to pay. Hiluic I'lirtliincl Climcr Conipli'llon of tlio 'Natron lino, which will put tlnf gront Kliimnth counlry back, Into Oregon, 4is. happily for us, Imon revived by the s'ruggln fur powalon of thn (Vii tml Pnrlflc. Tlio Southern 1'nolflc won nnd keeps fullh Willi thn roun try It serves; so well, .Inking Its rliiiiicim on public nproclntlon of lln gront ontcrprlso lit being first to complete Ihn most oxpt-nnlvo of these mining links. ,Thiw Kliimiith Knlln Is put on a main north nnd nun Hi const lino ono night's Journoy rront Portland. . My' own fullli tn tlio country's JiLit iriyliiR this construction, provld In'g tho vnst rich country to tlio onst, northeast ,nnd sotithonst Is likewise adequately davolopad by nililltlonnl connecting links, approximately n planned by 1 1111 nnd Hurrlman, Is strong. Tlio socond lino, . itho (iiiliibnilliin ot wlioso completion to lis first Important o'bjoctlvo, Bprng tio River,, wo nro also Indulging In this weak; will' contrlbuto groatly to this end. Wo nro not only celebra ting tho tying up ot Portland nnd Klamath Falls by a lino 179 miles ahortor and much suporlor to tlio existing ! route, . bill ! tlio practical relief from Isolntlon of nil tho country us fur oust na I.aknVlow mill ns fur north 0.1 Sllvor Lnlto, much' of -wlioso bimluoHs Will iiiitiirully. with complotlon of tlio Nutrbn lino, flow out over tho Oregon California ft Eastern through Klnmntll Falls lo Portland ort tho north nnd to tho California cities on tlio south. With 'n little moro compni'lUlvoty Inoxpon slvo oxtotwlon of tho Orogon Calif ornia & Eastern practlcnlly all of tho b'uslnos orlglnntlng In those dlstrlots will for many years come this wny, This answers tho qtt"- tlnn oftim n.iUctl how will the Natron lino affect tho O. C. & K. IWo wol rniuo It us an nlmoat iadlaprnlblo outlet, and tho noaror our lino ap proaches Sllvor 1-uko and Lakovlow, the more Important .will thla con nection become. Tlio Oregon Cnllfornln Eastern The cesiatlon of railroad build ing In Eastern Oregon after the Im posing atart above reforrcd to not only discredited a mighty good country, but put a damper upon the assurance of rail facilities and left so much of wreck and ruin among poorly financed sottlors, snd even business enterprises, that desperate offorts were made to aecuro relief. Thus It happened that Portland, Dend, Klamath Falls, Lakovlow and Burns became very. Inslstont In Interesting me and equally lavish In promise of support If I would tackle the problem. Klamath Falls made such offers of money, terminals and rlghta ot way In excess of all others combined, snd the wealth of Its tributary country appealod to me ao Irroslstably, that about alx years ago I committed my self to thla railway development eastward and northward. 1 will paas the heartbreaking story of failure of most Internals and communities, save Klamath Falls, to make good, the almost fatal war Intortorenco and the gonoral unpop ularity ot railway aocurllloa, and my havln gto carry tho heavy toad at great personal sacrifice alomst alone. Theso account fully for our slow progress and that we have only now finally a promising, going railroad concern which begins to do the country- the good that waa expected, and can reasonably hope for easier financing and much moro rapid pro groa from now on. About $1,000. 000 In cash lias boon oxponilod on tho en tiro project and many miles ot right nt wny nnd numerous torminuls obtnluud for future expan sion. 80, in reviewing, after some thous ands of mill's of surveys and an In finite amount ot Investigation, plnu nltig, enKlncoriiig und othor work, tlio Orogon Call lor & .Eastern Hallway company was argunlzod to connect tip what might lie termed thu four Hill mid llnrrimiin rail way outposts of tlio great Oregon country cast of tho Cuscodo mount ains. Theso woro Bond nt tho northwo.it, Crime and Burns nt the northeast, Klamath Fulls nt tho southwest and Lakovlow nt Iho southeast. It wn.i found that 307 in II os of mod orate cost railway would furnish theso ronnoclnlg links on comparatively easy grades by which the tormina! branches ot four, grout transcontinental linos could be welded togotbor and form several now trunk linos which would snvo from 1 GO to GOO miles over existing rnll routes. This wss so plnnnod that the best truffle produc ing zones would no directly served and tho best outlynlg districts rondnrcd onitlly nvallabla throughout a rnllrondloss torrltory ns largo as a first class oastorn stnto. Siirngua river valley. 40 mllos from Klamath Knll.s, wus fixed as the first objec tive " Tim Vnlley Route" It was found toiislhlo to locnto lliln system through tho six largest and richest valleys of Central nnd Soulhorn Oregon and traverse or litivo directly tributary numerous smaller ones, which unusual advan tage has given It tho nnmo of "The Vnlloy Route." Those main valleys aro the great Klamath Valley of 250,000 acros , the road running eastward from tho Southern Pacific connoclmon through the heart of tho Klnmntll valley for tho first ten miles after leavnlg Klamath Falls. Spraguo River ralloy 60 mllos long nnd 1 to B miles wldo, Sllvor I,:ilto ' ' " I Strahorn, the Builder Tells of Trials and Achievements MAP OF ! l- 6PBAGUE RIVER DIVISION OF ; "Cf , t OREGON-CAUFORNIA & EASTERN RY. .. , t Jj '"T SHOWING SECTION COMPLETED tf'ifff ) $Hk4 ''1 TO SPRA6UE RIVER f TO -...... Ir 'jTYfC, I -.v Apttjyfsmz "" ' A, sirti .c&o'y ; - " ' KIAMATH I I f m'"jr . J 'VjV J j ' ' I ' t i tAvitw I prominent shippers are the Ewauna, Big Lakes, Ackley Bros, Wheeler- Olmstoad and lakeside Lumber and Box companies of Klamath Falls; Nice - Lumber company. Meadow Lake, White Pine Lumber company. Swan Lake Lumber company. Swan Lake, W. H. Kltts Lumber company, Bonanza, Langell . Valley Lumber company. Bonanza, Southern Ore gon Lumber company, Hilderbrand, Long Pine Lumber company Hilder brand. To these will soon be added the Saddle Mountain Lumber com pany, and Sprague White Pine Mills on Sprague River. The high grade product goes as far as the Ney England states while the lower grades supply the boxes for the fruit products of tho west. A Great Live Stork Country The Oregon, .California & East ern Railway region has for genera tions been noted as the greatest single . producer of cattle, horses, sboep and wool ot any section ot similar exient west of the Rockies. The vast extent of conveniently loc ated natural meadows or hay lands of any region of similar extent west of the Rocky mountains are gener ally known. The superiority of the hay from these natural meadows, both for promoting growth of ani mate and fattening them, over the grasses of trans-Mllsourl meadows I itiHSZ&Zstta iTJASDCS55if.r, i'.Hit5R??wLwSF? -.V . M'wiSjiJ r i Sp-i s.- "H 3 " I (I . n. avk im 'ie . . m. - v. -r m 1" ll 11 T 1 -ais'is : Chrlalmns Lnko and , Fort Rock valleys merging Into each other with about 250,000 acres Deschutes vnlloy whero the survey conects with the Union PuclCIa and Hill lines at Rend another Irrlgnlilo omplro In Itsolt ot 250,000 acres Hnrney valley with Its towns ot Burns and Cruuu, tho point whur the O. . C. and U. muots tho Oregon Short lino, anuthor , rich , ilojiuln of 250,000 acres, and (loose 'Lake- valley, sur rounding the city ot I.nkcvluw, whero tho Oregon California & Knst orn' connects with tho Novuda, Calif ornia Oregon R. R. giving an outlet to tho Southnrii Pacific and whore thore uro 11)0,000 rich lrrlgutod acres. Those main valleys have a total ot about 1,300,000 acres which can be Irrigated anil rondcrod most highly productive ot nil hardy staple grnlns, Vegetables nml granges, nnd usually hardy fruits. Reclamation by clrulnnKO nnd Irrigation hns pro ceeded on a large sealo and Is still progressing, with assurance ot ulti mately covering 1.500,000 acres, or tlvo tlmos tho nrca of the famous YnUlma valley. Somo $10,000,000 has already been spent on the hon ored 3 ot miles of canals. I'liii.Minl Combination of Wealth white pine lumber activity ot the United stntos in the comparatively small area along the ens: slope of Flnnkfiig nil of theso valleys are ' tho Coscado mountains. What this the more extensive bonches and i will mean to this particular lumber .ilopos merging Into tho timbered up-1 region, Klamath Falls and this new lands aro tho dry farm lands, ag gregating millions of acres, upon which much of the grain raising Is now being done. Thoy , also consti tute a largo part of tfto gracing nrea of the country. As tho forests aro railroad can be In a measure real Izcd by consideration of the former mapnllude of the total plue lumber business ot the New England States Now York, Pennsylvania. Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and the South- removed there will bo important . orn Canadian provinces adjoining Irrigable dry farming areas. j these status.'- Many railroads have The Oregon, California & .East-1 had their principal traffic' from It em Railway territory la noted fori and scoros of cities have been solid- Its wonderful forests ot western whlto jilne, Our ndoptcd . system hns tributary :i0;000,0()0,000 foot of lilno alone. Willi its uumirai.io location nnd thu innniie tlon of Its connections throughout tho great lumber consuming torrl tory of Iho United Stntos It should soon nfter Its complotlon rank as ono of tho great lumber cnrrlors of Iho country, Pino a (Iroi.t Asset for Klnmntll Tho present rate ot dopletlon of while plno forests east - ot tho Rockies is claimed to mean their practical extinction 1n about five years. This will centor tho vnst ly established upon the socuro found ation of Its groat payrolls. Thousands of foryines havo been de rived therefrom ajid humlredcs of ratnltlfa-1 thousand of people hnvo been en gaged In Its notlvitles.- rourtix'ii Mill Ship Over I.ino The Oreson California & East ern already has 14 lumber mills shipping over Its rails, some clamor ing for eloser approach or extension to their log supply, nnd more lumbor manufacturer desire to . establish themselves still further along as quickly na they can bo nssured ot shipping facilities. Among-presont generally Is most mnrkod. Of equal Importance Is' the splen did balancing nnd convenient prox imity of tho summer nml winter ranges. It should not bu forgotten that much oC the forost area. the finest summer pasturage and that much of it wll also ultiuately be splendid farming country. In the tower bnsns aro large lake surroun ded by extensive marshes end hay lauds upon which thu herds are maintained und fattened when snows cover the uplands. AuR.iientiug the tens of thousands of tons of hay produced upon ' these natural meadows are many more tons ot thousnnc'a of alfalfa, clover, timothy and rod top produced upon the rapidly increasing area ot Irrigated valleys. Tons ot thousands of head of cattle and sheep aro marketed from this .stock country annually. The product Is growing larger and better owing to the universal Improvement In breeding nnd handling and espec ially on account ot tho constant rapid Increase In production of tame grasses. The Oregon, California & Eastern lines are Ideally located to serve this great Industry. Several thousand carloads of livestock are marketed from this region annually of which about 1,000 carloads are I from the country tributary to the, ' Sprague River division. As noted, construction of the Ore gon, California & Eastern .common- v, ced with the southerly or fiprague River division, at the Klamath Falls connection with the Southern Pacific This division, consists ot the forty mile section of main line to Sprague River and the Swan Valley and Bon anza branches aggregating 10 miles. The line was completed to Olene. 10 miles, In 1918; to Dairy, 20 mllef in 1920; to Hilderbrand, 24 miles. In 1922; to Sprague River, 40 miles, In September 1923. A few: milee have also been completed meantime on the' Swan Valley and Bonanza, branches. , . . ! After posing for ' tea -: miles through the heart of Klamath valley the line crosses rich Foe valley, several miles .wide and ten miles long, and then' tor ton mile through the Important- Yonna valley and with Its Bonanza branch reaches well Into the great Langell valley where the federal govern ment - Is spending hundreds ot thousands on Irrigation prolcta. - A - largo business will come to the road at Bonanza, which will quickly be' come an Important lumuering at well as an agricultural center, , While there are several impor tant lumber and log shipping points, such as Pine Grove, Swan. Lake, Dairy and Hilderbrand, - the real continuous forests district is entered at tho head ot Yohno. valley 26 miles from Klamath Falls and persists thence through to Sprague River, fourteen miles further. Hhe crossing of the divide, about 80 miies out Is a suberb scenic detail and the entire line presents a lovely combina tion of wooded hills and fertile farm lands. New irrigation districts have been . formed covering some 80,000 acres ot rich lands along and tributary tn the first twenty-five miles of tho line, ot which many thousands acres will be in crop next season, Sprague River valley 40, mllos - north of Klamath Falls, Is some SO miles long and one to five miles wide. It la a great farming nnd live stock country and already feels the quickening Impulse ot this rail road. It will also be the center ot some of the largest lumbering devel opments In the West, as vast Pipe forests stretch out tor many mllos In every direction. The futnre city of Sprague River Is projetced on a beautiful slope ' overlooking the river. It has tribu tary 10,000,000,000 feet of the finest western pine and many thous and acres of tine farming land whjch, with the great trade territory extending north, east and west. In sures the early creation of an attac tlve, thrifty and substantial busi ness center. The rich Sllvor Lake coutnry 10 miles north, and the great tjike vlew region, thn same distance east of this Sprague River terminal, will here contribute largely to the traffic ot the new railroad and the business ot Klamath Falls. All Intervelng country with such trading points as Deatty, Sycan and Rly,, 'is rich , In trnffio probabilities. .Density . ot traffic on tho Spruguo River division Is bost attested by the need for fifteen loading points. Including Klamath Falln. Their names and approximate distances follow In miles from Klamath Falls: Morrill Road, 5; Pine Grove, 7; Olcho, 10; Ppe Valley, 12; Swan Lake Jet, 14; Swan Lako fon Swan Valley branch) 10; Pine Flat, 17; Dairy 20; Ronanza, (on Bonanza Tiranch 27; Hlldorbran 24; Horton 28; Egerts 30; Squaw Valley. 32; Cherry Creek, 27; Sprague River, 40;
