East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1908-12-10
lspecIal Correspondence.l

Hermiston, Dec. l0.-That the
Hermiston country is destined for a
great future Is the opinion of Miss
Anna Beard, one of the first purchas,
ers of land under the Umatilla project.
who has just visited in this city. look,
| ing over her purchases. with which
she is very much pleased. Miss Beard
has visited every irrigated section in
the country and talks Interestingly
OF the experiences which warrant her
faith in Hermiston.
My first desire to possess some ir-
rigated land" said Miss Beard. "camc
from watching 640-acre desert
claim-or rather two claims belong,
ing to two brothers-develop from
sand into alfalfa fields from which
were cut five crops Of alfalfa. Later
or melons were raised that went into
the Eastern markets ahead Of the
Florida crop. And still later on /
saw this same place sell with the wa,
Ter right for 100000 And one or
these men was the worst cross-eyed
men | have ever seen. This place was
! in Tucson. Arizona.
When | went to Phoenix. | learned
a little more OF the wonders Of irrl.
cation. The whole salt River valley
about Phoenix has been converted
from desert to broad expanses OF
green. The palatial residences scat.
tered throughout the country render
further words of the success of irrl,
cation unnecessary. At Indo. Callfor-
mia, where l spent few months. I
saw how artesian wells-quite insig-
uificant looking pipes, but few.
inches above ground, quietly yelling
out. transform the most forsaken
looking laud-almost void of any veg.
citation. into patches Of green. From
there watermelons and cantaloupes
are shipped out by fast express in
train lots to all points month ahead
Of the Eastern crops
"All that has been accomplished by
irrigation in the Yakima district ia
very familiar to all you Oregon peo>
PIE. | suppose but when saw with
my own eyes what had been done
there | wished more than ever to Sc.
cure piece Of irrigable land-but at
ground floor prices. As / was LEAVING
Yakima | heard of the government
project at Hermiston; that ii was con.
sidered one of the best. If not the best
and most promising Of all the govern
ment projects; that the land values
were still very low and that there was
SIN deed land to be bought and
smell amount to be opened for nc me-.
stoads. | was on my way to Canada.
but | made special trip from Seattle
TO see this project and found climate.
crop prospects. transportation and
nearness to good markets: and land
values, all to be as had heard.
'Of course the government studies
the waer supply for years before 1t
begins a project. For that reason the
possibility to secure water at a critical
time in the season is made Certain.
Quarrels over water rights are done
away with and flimsy construction 6t
reservoirs and fumes with the c5nse,
Guent high maintenance charge. are
also avoided. Added to all these ld-
v1ntaGes | found a mild winter SIM
lar to southern Arizona and q very
early spring. / did not hesitate for
moment to invest in ESQ acres near
town. Two years have elapsed since
then and I am not sorry I made the
investment
"Your lands are still cheaper
everything considered-than anything
| have seen lately. | have just come
through Calgary, Canada, and Seattle.
Washington. In Canada they were
offering raw fruit lands on Lake Ok
anogan, for 5000 an acre with no per-
oanent reservoirs and SO per acre per
year maintenance charge on their
fumes. At Seattle the lowest offer
made me in the government land in
the Sunnyside project near North va
kima, was 800 an acre; water right
and maintenance extra. While in
Hermlston, your lands two miles ana
further from the railroad station are
only $50 an acre. with ten years to
pay for the water right-ample time
allowed for first payment People
who are looking for what | hunted
years to get, had better buy now or
some day in the near future they will
wake up to the fact that Hermiston
has become famous as a fruit coun-
try and that prices have gone up. No.
I'm not sorry bought land near Her
miston."