Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-01-07

.Or irrigation. CERTAIN SludkeTS, Seehiile
= temporary substitute for 1.-The prom
tsed land" happened to find themselve:
IN Prowers county. Colorado. How the!
happened to find themselves there while
prosecuting such search is quite i'm
material, but any way, they fount
themselves in Prowers county, which !:
in the Arkansas valley of Colorado. ant
also In the hands of various men inter,
ested in the development of that valley
And they liked the appearance OF thu
country round about.
I'VE are looking" said the Quakers
"for place where we can colonize.
Here Is the place" was the reply.
1--WE represent said the Quakers
members of the Society of friends a.
present scattered over Ohio Indiana ant
Illinois, and we desire to get together
We want our own schools and our owr
meeting houses and our own local gov
eminent: in fact we want such contro
of 5000 acres of good land that we car
say who shall live on it and who shal
not We have no desire to be offensiVelS
exclusive, but our ways are not the
ways of many other people, and we de-
sire to control the associations annie
which we will rear and educate oui
children
Here is the place." was the reply.
"Of course, we must have good, pro-
ductive land said the Quakers.
Here is the place" was the reply
The industrial commissioner and pro-
moter know the value of iteration ano
reiteration, and they never let anything
get away from them when few i'm
pressive words will do the business.
at looks like fertile country said
the Quakers.
"It is fertile country" was the re-
Fly.
How about the rainfall?" asked the
Quakers.
Here they were playing right into the
hands of the promoters.
We'll" said the latter. you ouy tne
land and we'll throw in the raln1aii.
Furthermore, we'll give 1T to you JUST
when you need 1t.
But the Lord giveth rain, salo the
Quaker. .,,,.
tho Wise man stores 1t up for future
use" !,
Thus the Quakers were made converts
To the principle of artificial irrigation
And right here let 1t be said. tnat .heie
are few people in the east who pegih 10
apprecinte the growing importance anu
vai,,e of irrigation in the west. Ihere are
fo,,, districts in which there IS not
.,ouph water for all practical purposes
If only it was to be had at the rlsi. '',n. :.
IT comes when 1t is not neeaeu anu -
zone when it is most essential 10. tns
growing crops. There is where the efoue
lie lies. and therein also lies the saiue u
irrigation. a. ius.
INST the right amount of water AT jug.
the right time doubles, ana soilie'ilaes
even ouadruples, the productlVehess y.
the soil. If this can be guaranteed, y,
bas heen found in some instances ina.
forty acres are better than l6O unaer
ordinary conditions. In irrigated as
tricts farms are smaller. land is more
valuable. and communities are more
The element OF chance-
which has worried and wrecked SO many
farmers-is largely eliminated. me pus-
iness Of farming Is brought, at least APP
to the sume basis as that
NJ a mercantile establishment, for his
point from which he
must figure-are more stable; they 90
not fuctuate with the weather.
The rainfall heretofore has been IKE
the perishable goods that merchant
handles; it had to be utilized immedl-
ately or it was Of no value NOW u
may be kept any reasonable length OF
time. Just as the merchant has learned
TO nut his perishable goods in cold stor-
age, so the farmer has learned to put
his water in reservoirs and canals and
keep it until he needs 1t.
AS a result of this what were once
considered arid regions are becoming
more productive than the best of farm
districts more favored by nature. Here,
too is found the solution of the grow
ing problem of surplus population. Ar
tificial irrigation is even more suscepti-
BILE of development in districts where
water is plentiful than in arid regions.
and artificial irrigation means that far
legs land is required to support an indi-
yidual: it means more produce and more
room; it increases the capacity OF the
world for the support of the people
thereon, and incidentally 1t means less
work in collecting living from Mother
Earth.
All this has been demonstrated in
many parts of the west, but for the
NEST part the easth is still unmfndful OF
it. Perhaps the best proof of 1t lies In
the fact that the farm unit Of the irri-
gated district is forty acres, while 1t Is
100 acres elsewhere. This is what is
deemed essential to support family in
comfort, and of course, 1t naturally fol-
ows that the smaller farm can be Guilt
waited with greater ease, and that with
a more compact population there is
better chance for social life and for the
of modern conveniences.
AT any rate that seems to have been
the way the Quakers figured 1t out, for
they have decided to take 5000 acres of
and and establish their own colony up
on it. The advantages of this plan are
numerous. At present the Quakers are
scattered over three or four states. They
have many little colonies, but they are
a part Of the general population. They
wish to get together where they can
cooperate on larger scale in the mat
ter of school facilities and local govern
ment Possibly 1t would cost no more
to get the necessary land In a non-irri-
gated district, but they would Of neces-
sity be more widely separated and CO.
operation would be more difficult They
would require three or four times as
srable distances to be traversed to reach
4 common school or a common meeting
house.