The Philipsburg mail., 1899-07-21
A. GARDEN IN ARID WEST
The Johnston Land Company Plans Some
Big Irrigation Work.
TO REVIVE THE BILLINGS CANAL
Abandoned Project to BE Kesurrected by
st. Paul COrporation-Forty Thous-
and Acres to BE Reclaimed.
Cooperate with State.

The d. S. B. Johnston Land COM
pany Of st. Paul, which bought last
year Il half million acres of land in
Minnesota and North Dakota from the
Northern Pacific Railway company,
has had such active sales that it has
concluded to extend it's operations fur
ther west, says the st. Paul Pioneer
Press.
G. l.. Johnston, vice president, and
a. ID. 5. Johnston, secretary of the
company. have just returned from
trip to Helena, where they have con-
ferred with the state ard land COM
mission respecting the proposition to
complete the projected Billings canal
and reclaim the state and railroad lands
of that district. These lands aggre-
gate about 40, 900 acres. half of which
is owned by the Northern Pacific COM
pany, the rest being donated by the
federal government to the state. The
arid land commission at one time eX-
pected to build the canal and COM
pleted the sarvey for it, bat the plan
fell through owing to a change of the
policy of the Northern Pacific COM
proposes to build IA canal and settle the
lands, taking in payment for the work
bonds to be issued by the commission
under what is known us the Carey act.
Engineers will be sent to Billings to
examine the survey of the proposed
canal and to draw new specifications
to be submitted to the aid land COM
mission for approval.
n = IobuCtDp said tbot tbo
plans are substantially complete. "If
we accept this proposition, and | be-
lieve we will, - said Mr.. Johnston, II
have little doubt that we will be able
to dispose of the Billings land at a
profit. We have sold 1000 acres of onr
Minnesota and North Dakota railroad
lands since our purchase last August
and have, of course, several hundred
thousand acres still ou hand. We have,
however. felt the necessity of possess
ing and being able to supply irrigated
lands, for there is a growing apprecia-
tiOn Of intense farming.
with our well organized machinery
throughout Iowa, southern Minnesota
Wisconsin and illinois | am satisfied
that we will be able to dispose quickly
of all the lands we may secure for the
construction of the canal. 1t is our
plan to place only the best farmers on
the land, as we have done in North
Dakota and Minnesota. The vast mum
ber of renters in these states who de-
mand cheap lands is constantly con-
tributing first class farmers with ready
means to p ope the northwest, and
nauy Of them demand farms that are
not dependent on the whins of the
elements to insure crops We viii es-
tablish c!eLmeries and in other ways
encourage our farmers to live and work
as they have done in these older com.
munities. There are plenty of these
men to be found, and from what have
seen of the possibility of farming in
the Yellowstone valley l believe they
must surely meet with success.
1.-THE lands are exceptionally rich
and only need water to convert them
into veritable gardens. This water will
be supplied by the canal that it is our
intention to build, and, of course, be-
ing sold by the arid land commission,
will insure perpetual low price for it.
1t is our intention to begin work Oh
the canal this fall, provided, of course,
we approve the report of our engin-
eers, and think it will be completed
next year. The work does not offer
any unusual difficulties, except at one
point, where tunnel will have to be
driven through sandstone about 2OOO
feet. That is near Billings, and I
understand that there is no way the
construction of this tunnel can be
avoided. The rest of the work will be
comparatively easy. We would put
steam shovels at work and in a few
months could have the canal com.
pleted, aside from the tunnel''