Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1894-12-08
About the Willamette Valley Of
Oregon.
No DROUTH AND NO CROP FAILURE
Most Desirable Objective Point
for Home Seekers.

The press of the state is speakin,
quite freely of the growing tide of i'm
migration from the east to Oregon
The forerunners of an army of severa
hundred thou'and people are now ar
irving on every train. The hundred
OF thousands undoubtedly are to com,
in the next two years. No one cal
doubt that the population of the viii
lamette valley will double within fiv,
years and contain e round half millior
of people.
IHE JOURNAL speaks from pt sitivt
knowledge when 1t says thousands o
families in the Dakotas, Iowa, Mime
sofa, Nebraska, Illinois, Missouri and
Kansas will come to Western Oregon
In the next six months. Those states
haYe all been more or less afflicted with
drouth, short crops and intolerable suf.
fering from hot weather the past year.
The effect of these widespread dis.
listers are twofold. First, large npm-
bers of people have left and gone to
their relatives and friends in states just
east of them. There they will winter
awhile and pull themselves together for
a new start. The next effect will be to
send class of people who have means
# seeking a new home. They are com
ing to the Pacific Coast or going to tie
south. They prefer to come west. A
majority will come west. tits natures
plan. In the older states like Mime
sofa, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and
Missouri farming lands are steadily ad-
vancing to the 500 per acre mark. Pros
porous farmers are enlarging their
farms, Smaller farmers are being
crowded out. Not being generally
adapted to fruit growing there is no
Q ndency to cut land up into small
tracts. Grain, corn, grass, dairy and
stock-growing demands large areas for
results. Smaller holders of
land must leave for new scenes of ac-
tivity. The cities and towns there are
over-populated now. This class and
their families must come west. This In
outline is the situation that, as we see
it, underlies the great westward move
ment from the states named. Ol
course, there will be Pacific coast JIM
migration from all eastern states, but
we are speaking now from conditions
In regions actually known to us.
The principal mission Of THE JOUR
NAL editor who has just spent nine
weeks in the great Mississippi valley
states was to come In touch with Thu
movement. He conferred about i'm
migration with the officials Of the grea
transportation companies TO see II b.
cooperation with them we could no
come In direct communication with al
such families who are contemplating
coming TO the Pacific coast, and plao
before them the merits Of Western ore
son. Such arrangements have bee
perfected with some Of the leadln
railroad companies Of the east, VIII
have stations in the region we hay
described,
In interviews WIN s0hle VI lls 's'k
daily newspapers Of the east III
lJouRsAL editor succeeded Ia placing
truthful estimate Of our resources belo'
their readers, one tbree'eolumn lnls'
view about Oregon in the Iowa STA
Register going 10 the 300 900 readers
that great pspsr and practically p'a
log il within reach Of lowa's s'oO'o'
oopulsuon, The same iolsfylew D.
been copied Into the Wsesly Ffs''
iowa, We speak Of ibis not 70 boa
bat 10 inform our readers of wha' y
bssn done by THF Jou9sAI 10 .
dlIsetion of lmlhfally Advertising %
Z stats 10 ihe East Oregon must 70
: sdysnisss of lpis gfsal Ss''"a'' y v
. Of immigration, WIN proper 'l'~' T"
goa eao gsl boz shsfs 'hs none ~.
snd lhs bsst flsmsels " w. lba'
4lstfu i.uisulUlH STATS