Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1907-04-04
.>ss* Irrigation and Progress s*s

This country is progressing along
all lines. Values are increasing in
all classes OF property and farm
lands have proven to be the most
paying as we'll as the safest OF spec
ulativc investments. With con-
stantly lowering interest rates and
constantly increasing crops due to
better methods of cultivation and
increased fertility of the soil, the
prices of land will in my opinion
steadily increase. The time is not
far distant when all the irrigable
land in this part of Idaho will be
brought under water and will have
reached its full value. AS soon
as land is brought under cultiva-
tion it ceases to be CHEAP land.
We all know that as soon as the
water is delivered on the high lands
south of Roswell, and Parma, those
lands that are now held under
homestead entry and but a short
time ago would not be taken for a
gift, will be worth 500 to $50
per acre and with the additional
lands producing we will have more
milk for our creamcries, more grain
for our mills, more bccts for our
factories, more hogs for our pack
ing houses, more fruit for our ship
pers and these institutions as you
very well know could by reason of
such increased supply run their
business on closer margin and pay
Inorcc for their raw material. Our
markets arc at hand and all around
AS. We will see the highest prices
paid for farm products when the
supply is such as to handle in large
quantities and supply the demand
in the most satisfactory manner.
There is no need to worry about
a market. Thirteen years ago when
] came here | was warned that
there was an over production of hay
but there is a far better demand
now than then and prices are better.
In your stores you will get Nebraska
corn, Oregon or Utah flour. Chicago
hams, Mormon butter and Kansas
eggs. The other day | saw nine
cars of Nebraska hogs going to Port
land.
Our home demand, and by this
mean the demand of our inter-
mountain country, keeps pace with
the production of our irrigated
lands and with all Of our develop
ment of irrigation, when we are
all through, our irrigated areas
will be only shoestrings along the
line of our streams, surrounded on
all sides by the great stretches of
mining, timber and range lands
ready like sponge to suck up the
products of our valleys.
No man has so poor a market as
he who has nothing to sell. Our
markets are built up and improved
according to our ability to supply
them things we have to sell
are staple and no country on the
face OF the earth can produce our
products cheaper or of better quail
ity. This is particularly. true of
our fruit and il is in the handling
OF this crop that we have recently
been making the most progress,
and our progress in this line is only
just begun. This increased skill
with which our fruit is being
handled, packed and marketed is
multiplying the value vi our or
chards.
So conclude that in the future
as in the past farm lands will have
a speculative value; there is de-
mand for irrigated lands, they in
crease in fertility by cultivation,
they command an ever increasing
market for their products, they can
be purchased with cheaper money.
And the satisfactory thing is that
these lands are income producers
at the same time that their value is
increasing. Their owner need not
be like the Westcrner who was in
such hurry to get rich that he
didn't have time to take to make &
living. There is a living anc
riches too for the skillful farmer.
But if our lands are bound to in.
crease in value anyway, what neec
is there to attempt to boost the
price? Why should the farmer anc
land owner worry about the pric,
of his land? There is no need anc
this is what l had in mind t
say when l commenced to tall
about the values of land We ar,
not going to get the benefit VIZ
onhgt out of our farms until WI
cease thinking about the increas,
in the selling pricee of our Lane
and figure more on the increase il
the selling value of our products
The selling value of the land vii