The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-12-27

Boise, Dec. 26.-Idaho. land of prom
Use TO ali those who love her. and a roll
of them would list the population. has,
during the year now closing, proven
herself a land of fulfillment instead
The state has never grown in wealth
and prosperity so satisfactorily as dur
ing the past twelve months. Of its
present population of upwards of $780,
QUO II is conServatively estimated that
$1,000 are newcomers whose citizenship
is still less than a year old. During
the past two years. since the November
election of 1906. the population has in
creased fully 30 per cent. Great as this
advance has been. however, the wealth
of the state has shown an even greater
proportional advance, and the feeling
is everywhere prevalent that her
growth in all ways will be greater IN
the immediate future than ever before
In attempting to give any statement
of the years activities, as applied to
the whole state, 1t seems best tina;
some mention should be made of this
growth among the number of its citI-
zenS preliminary TO any effort to give
record of growth in material ways.
First Influx From Farther West.
During the first years of statehood
Idaho. unlike all the other far western
states. grew in population by influx of
people from other northwestern com
munities-Oregon, Washington. Carr
fornia, Nevada, Utah and Montana
Thousands of persons travelling from
The eastern states, and seeking homes
on the Pacific slope, passed over her
broad and barren plains in the SOUTH
or through her rugged mountain
chains in the north, and could sec
nothing to attract their home-loving
souls Idaho's pioneers were the p:o-
neefs of all the Westland-brave hearts
TO whom the hope OF adventure was as
n iodestone, leading them into the VIII
derness. there to carve out an empire
Its second crop of settlers, if the tern.
may be excused, were largely the sons
and daughters of pioneers of other
western lands, most of them coming
from nearer the setting OF the sun
These Scions OF piOneerLlom are stin
being engrafted on Idaho soil. but the
greater number of her new citizens
during the past half dozen years have
come from the south and east. Ne
braska, Kansas. Missouri, Tennessee,
North and South Carolina the Dako-
tas, Iowa, Illirois. Indiana and OHIO
nave been furnishing far the larger
portion of our growth. Those who have.
come are of the best and have absorbed
Idaho faith and energy apparently with
the breathing OF the air. To them and
their energy the state can be said to
owe It's later and better growth. With
but little increase in transportation
facilities, with the opening of few. II
any, more markets for the things prt,-
duced. the latent wealth Of the state
has been developed in Idaho during the
past six or eight years as il has not
been IN any other far western state In
the same length of time. It's mines, It's
enormous timber resources. its agricul-
tural lands, its stock ranges. its fruit
and garden lands. its water powers
have all attracted the attention or
these builders of empire. AS a conse>
Guence OF these expenditures of energy
In the exploitation of our natural re-
sources. the scheduling production ana
expectation does not in any sense ten
the story of prosperity that has come
TO the state and its people during the
year 1908.
State Divided Geographically.
1t is impossible perhaps to tell the
years story in any other way than that
briefly outlined in the tabulated state
ment at the head of the article. bat
with only these figures TO guide him
the reader viii be at a decided fisad-
vantage in estimating the prosperity of
the average producing Idahoan. Idaho
is a divided commonwealth greograph-
ically The northern part of the state
Is OF one topography. the southern part
of another, and the two are extremely
dissimilar. Each of them is extremely
rich in natural resources The north
has the richest lead-silver deposit in
the world in the Occur d'Alenes. cop
per deposits Of great value both in the