Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1907-02-15
'''7'a77 ss5N ~ 5NSS Illgf ~ y
POLK COUNTY
Its Past, Present and
Future.

OF one OF Oregon's earliest pioneers rpsiaont
OF Dallas, who has been keen observAr ~ ,oo.
anu close student OF events The OBSERVER
gladly gives 1t space, as it contains much that
wlii be oil interest not only to pioneers. but to
the many people who have come to Polk county
IN recent years to make their homes.-EdI
Continued from Last Week
Dallas is how on the threshold oF q
great timber boom, which in very
short time will materialize into pro.
portions Of which many Of us little
dream. 1t will bring, without.doubt.
riches untold to the operators and en-
ployment to labor. The interest Of
labor has already been advanced ma
terially, as we'll as the cost of living
thereby benefiting the producer. But
where is the man with the fixed SAL
ary? How is he doing? Some NAV
say that he should have his salary in.
creased to suit the times. This is all
very fine talk for the young, com.
petent and ambitious man, with the
world before him, but there are thou
sands who, on account of age or in
flrmity, or both, cannot do that thing.
Then, in a term of years, the mount
aims and hills of Polk county will be
denuded.o Of their fleece" and what
then?
We will attempt to give picture of
the situation, as we see it in our i'm
agination. We will, for convenience,
imagine that we are living in the year
20O7, when Polk county will be teem-
ing with million or more inhabit-
ants; when every foot of land will be
under intense cultivation, and when
to own an acre Of ground will be the
good lot Of but few; when the smoke
of thousands Of great and small fac
tories will dim the sun in the valley !;
when the hills shall be entirely COW
cred with orchards and vineyards,
and the fertile sides of the mountains,
where once stood the monarchs of the
forest, are terraced and in cultivation,
with automobile, motorcycle and
carriage drives winding everywhere
among scenes Of beauty, made so by
the thriving tenantry that occupy
vine-clad cottages while the rich, in
their villas and mansions for perma-
nent or summer homes, find rest from
the busy scenes and heat Of the valley
below. We see, too, many places OF
public summer resort, where thou
sands congregate about some water
fall or fishing stream, brought thither
by electric cars that wind up and
down the beautiful mountain streams,
while the rich man will, make daily
automobile trips over the macadam
roads to spend the night in the invig-
Grating air of the beautiful Coast
range.
One may say that this picture is
over-optimistic and overdrawn, but
why? The climate and the soil OF
Oregon make it possible OF results
that will eclipse all other places in the
world. We are in the great belt oil
civilization that runs around the
globe Qook at the map and othel
countries have approached very close
to the mark set here, except in those
countries where electricity plays nc
mart so why not? The Yankees of the
West surpass the world with TINS
powerful agent as helper.
The mind almost gets dizzy WheL
one contemplates the rich harvest
when all the resources of this ricl
country are made available; when th'
fine forests, coal, pottery. clay, oil
salt, building and cement stone TN
finest to be found in the world, as wei
az the mineral water, manganese am
paint deposits are developed AM
brought into use by man. In
greatest of all these resources IN fon
county are the stone quarrles Una
overhang the corporate limits Q
Dallas. These quarries are OIL III
estimable value, from the fact Una
when the forests have been swept Irol
the mountains and lumber IS mig
opd almost unobtainable, then tines
stone deposits will become an apsolu'
necessity for building purposes Inc
are known to be CT the highest grad
for building purposes, and it Is Dc
Iioved that cement OF a superlo
nnality can be made from them.
these conclusions are facts, then Wna'
# is believed that the world is no 10
entering what will be known as III
Cement Age; that cement will be use
in connection with steel excluslVei
sor construction work, and that u
nrooass of its manufacture will be
simnIified and cheapened that u
snrn,or can make his own cemen
provided he can procure the stone
Pio' l,o,v valuable to Polk couni