Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1907-04-04

entirely OUTSIDE Oh ouI Individual
efforts, these causes have al
ready touched upon; lower interest
rate: best developed markets, the
general increase of population and
demand for farm lands, etc. These
developments go on whether we
live or die, work or play, are shift
less OF progressive.
The real value of land is finally
fixed by the same rule that is sp-
piled to any other investment and
is determined by its producing pow
er. Factories, railroads and mines,
banks and mercantile institutions
are valued by the dividends they
pay and the stability and safety of
the investment. Compared to other
investments it goes without saying
that farm lands rank in the first
class as to stability and safety of
the investment. What we are
particularly concerned in and what
we in a large measure have under
control is the producing power, the
income or dividend that the farm
may be made to pay.
1t requires very simple arith-
netic to compute that an acre of
ground that will produce so bushels
of wheat is worth at least twice
as much as an acre predicting Is
bushels, an acre raising tons of
hay twice as much as an acre rails
ing tons.
II we are concerned then in BOOST
ing the value of farm lands, the
surest way to do it is by increasing
their producing power. In other
words we should be farmers, not
spectators permanent residents,
not transients; progressive citi-
zens, not boomers; home makers,
not land SPECTATORS.
Perhaps the citizens of Parma
and Roswell are all of this-if they
are not then no community in Ida
no can aspire TO the homer. Your
farms testify to your intelligent
work, your home surroundings to
your love of the beautiful, your
school houses and churches to your
public spirit; this farmers insti-
tute TO your iesire for intelligent
cooperation.
There is no calling that requir es
more skill or more intelligent
thought than farming and l believe
this is doubly true of the farmer in
the irrigated section who has not
only bis land but his water supply
Under his control. We spend
thousands of dollars in enlarging
canals and building reservoirs for
I increasing our water supply; the
careful farmer increases his water
supply by increasing the efficiency
of his irrigation so that the value OF
water right may be increased as
much by the more skillful use OF
water OH the land as by the bet
terment of the canals to take water
to the land.
And so want to impress upon
you that the surest way to increase
the value of your land is to increase
the value of your crops and the
readiest way to increase the value
of your water right is to increase
the duty of water.
There is think in the west and
in our own locality a certain feeling
of uneasiness, of desire to change
and an impatience with results
which characterize the pioneer and
impel him to new and untricd
fields. l confess to great sympa-
thy with this restlessness that leads
men across the desert, away from
their old associations.
1t is the same spirit that lead
Columbus across the unknown seas,
that caused the '49er to fight his
way across the continent in search
of gold, that is now impciling the
farmer of the Mississippi Valley tc
lNORASbCA bhC dCoCtl llidhC
blossom with the homes of Amer.
lean citizens.
But the advancing tide of immi.
grafton has reached the Pacific anc
is being turned back upon the in.
termountain country. If there are
new fields, at any rate there are
none better than ours, and it seem:
to me that it is time that the ole
restlessness should die out anc
that for the excitement of con
quest we should substitute tn,
peace and happiness that come,
from permanent home ties, OLE
associations and an orderly, wei
adapted community.
well remember in early days
and in days not so early, the new
conner would invariably exclaim
"What beautiful country this i
going to be- Well, the prophec,