The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1903-10-29
GREAT GROW TIL
BUT THE POSSIBILITIES ARE
MUCH GREATER.
President Hill of the Great North
ern Speaks at Irrigation Con-
Made Productive in Washing
ton, Montana and the DakOtas.


Bismarck n. D., Oct. 23.-In an adj
dress before the North Dakota irriga-
ton congress at Bismarck, President
James J. Hill, of the Great Northern
declared that Is, 900, 900 acres of Wash.
ington arid lands can be made produc-
tive to an enormous degree by irr;ga-
ton.
"My figures, | trust, are exact he
said. 81 have prepared them with
some care, and they show that Wash
ington has Is, 000, 900 acres of land
subject to irrigation, Idaho 10000, 900
acres, Montana 80, 900, 900 acres. North
and South Dakota have together ap-
proxmately 15,000,0 900 acres. This tre-
mendous domain of 100000 acres
lies useless without water. Washing
ton, with her wonderful richness, can
support millions of additional farmers,
giving each a substantial farm from the
land suitable to irrigation alone"
Mr.. Hill championed the small farm
er, asserting that "ten farmers with
100 acres each occupy no more of the
states land than one farmer with 900
acres, and increase tenfold the volume
of trade and the activity of business"
He referred only once and indirectly
to the merger, when he stated laugh
ingly that he was charged with owning
all the railways north of st. Louis, but
stated that he was kept pretty busy
looking after his own line, finishing
with the statement that with all this
growth we get the same return on our
money. We get per cent on our
money, just as we did before"
Referring to the growth of the Great
Northern. he stated that the mileage of
the system had increased since 1882
from 1907 miles to 5,598 miles in
1902.
"Now here" said Mr.. Hill, sis the
material growth of the Northwest. In
1882 we moved 1907 200 tons of
freight; in 1903 We hauled 16,14S, 900
tons. In 1882 our rate for carrying
ton of freight-that is, the average rate
of freight over the whole line-100
miles was 81 81. In 1892 it was 81 so
and in 1908 it is IS cents, which is one
third what the rate was 81 years ago.
Had the company received the same
average rate per ton per mile in 1908
as in 1882 it would have collected $780,
$50, 100 for freight earnings during the
past year, while actual collections were
$50, 9l5, 900, decrease through reduc-
ton of freight rates of $50. 904.S 75.
That means that if the rate of 81 years
ago had been in force you could not
have raised grain enough to pay the
cost of cultivating the soil and paying
us for carrying it to the markets. The
reduction in freight rates has been
brought out by increasing the volume
of traffic so that we have created new
traffic by making it possible for them
to cultivate the soil and raise crops
which we carry to the market.
"Before you can get traffic you must
make it, and l want you to bear in
mind that whatever benefits you, indi-
rectly or directly, Whatever gives you
pleasure, directly or indirectly, will in
almost every case put money in our
treasury"
Mr.. Hill alluded to the great value
of system of practical education of
pupils in schools along agricultural
lines. In closing be said:
''Some of our good friends in the
East have opposed national iri igation
from fear that the products of West
ern farms would be increased and com
pete with those of Eastern farmers.
The nrOducts of fertile lands however
great they may be, however much they
may contribute to the prosperity of
those " no till the soil, will find in the
markets of Asia an outleG which will
absorb them in all the years of the flu
ture that are to come"