The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1894-07-12
CALAMITY AS A BLESSING.

tremely successful in bringing colo
nization to the West. 1t is a hstor-
ical fact that business depressions
lend an impulse to the settlement Of
agricultural lands. An army of
wholly or partially idle men, various
ly estimated at from 1000, 900 to
3 900, 900 exists in the United States
to- day. Some of them have savings,
but all must live somewhere and earn
their bread by the sweat Of their
brows. Idaho has water and land
enough to support every one of them
in reasonable luxury. She has the
brains to map out an industrial scheme
whereby each of them, on farm no
larger than forty acres at the maxi
mum could produce almost everything
they consumed and Il surplus for mar
ket If our state legislature, through
the enactment of proper irrigation
laws, would put into operation the a
gencies that would provide means for
the opening to the settlement of homes
for | 600 1000 people, attract the pop
ulation to occupy these homes and
show them the means of prosperity
when they bad arrived, a great deal
would be accomplished for humanity.
1t is curious fact that population
creates wealth, and the strongest hold
of Idaho at this time is to make an
opening for a few pair of hands to go
to creating wealth within her borders.
Nebraska one time had about $50, =
600 inhabitants and they thought
they were doing well, but suddenly
a wave Of immigration rolled in upon
her, and her barren prairies became
cities, and railroads were built in all
directions. This kept up until her
population reached and passed the
million mark and had not the next
wave been one of drouth and hard
times, she would now boast of two
million.
Idaho is away ahead of Nebraska
in resources, variety of products and
diversity OF climate. Where Nebras-
ka supports one man in good shape,
Idaho can support two The valley
Of the Snake, when watcred by album
dant state canals and a well-regulated
irrigation system makes the desert
bloom, has a capacity of holding,
without crowding, 10000 people
All Idaho has to do is put the water
on her arid lands, let the myriads of
farmers in the central west and east
appreciate the opportunity, and here
they will come There should be
ready an abundance of reliable infor-
nation, regulated by state statutes,
telling them where they can get good
homes and make an honest living.
More injury has been done by men
going beck to Nebraska, Kansas and
Iowa, who were sadly disappointed
and inhospitably received, than by
any other influence But, says some
one, while we admit that within the
borders of our state there are hun
dreds of thousands of acres of fertile
land uncultivated, and millions Of
acres of virgin forest yet untouched,
it is useless to ask them to come
here and raise more products from
the soil to be sold at the deprecated
prices which the gold standard inn
poses. Our reply to this is That
human appetite for food has not
deprecated with silver, and that the
man who is in a position to feed ana
clothe his family from the products
of his own labor, though he may not
have one dollar in his pocket, is as
independent as any who lives by clip
ping coupons from government bonds,
and it is against every possibility that
the gold standard will remain with
us. We will shed our blood before it
shall