Imperial Valley press., 1908-06-13

More than one hundred San Diegans came into Imperial Valley by special train last Saturday night and spent the next two days visiting the towns and farming districts and filling up with information about the reclaimed desert They were entertained first at Imperial, and came on Sunday to El Centro, where they were met by a reception committee of twenty mem bers of the Fl Centro Chamber of Commerce..
 Because the schedule of the train had not been made known in advance, no formal entertainment had been ar ranged, but the impromptu reception was hearty and seemed to be quite as satisfactory to the visitors. They went to Holtville in the afternoon, and in the evening they returned to El Centro and were guests of the town at dinner in the Hotel El Centro. Most of them attended the evening services of the Christian Church, con- ducted by pr. R. P Shepherd in the Opera House.
 Dr. Shepherd talked to the San Diegans before he delivered his ser mon, and he talked so well that the audience forgot it was in church and broke into applause frequently and en- IArN " to the inter-county road project. Such q road was needed by the people of both counties, he said. Imperial Val ley people would be glad to be able to ge to the coast in few hours with out having to cross, as now, the deserts of Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles, and San Diegans would appreciate the opportunity open ed to them to get away from the fogs. cold winds and rains of the coast into the saIubrious climate of Imperial Val ley. He reminded the San Diegans gently that they were not to look upon Imperial Valley as San Diego's back yard. . .
 The visitors remained to listen to Dr. Shepherds regular lecture or ser mon, which was virile, rational talk without notes on the subject of Man hood and Character, and when they came out of church they said one to another Say, do you know that preacher is a real man. That sort of a sermon is worth coming across the desert to hear"
 Representative of the San Diego papers were with the party, and the Tribune had this to say of the excur- sion:
 Of the 1O6 members of the party who went into the valley, almost 100 have come out startled at tue pro- gross they have seen, in love with the hospitality of the many prosperous communities in the valley, and sure that the future will bring to those people and those communities success almost, if not quite, equaling the pro- gress and success of the past
 There has been no cessation in the measure of enjoyment offered to the people Of the excursion ana lew OI them, but are tired through sheer eX- haustion because of their efforts to keep up with the pace set by their en- tertainerS.
 Fl Centro seems to be taking on the signs of a city more certainly than the other places of the valley and there the reception seemed to be a little more metropolitan in it's way. The city has built rapidly and substantially and it's storerooms, all occupied, seem ed to be doing more business, though it was Sunday.
 Calexico cared for the people with a trip to the c. M. Ranch as the main feature, and Brawley drove the cXcur- sionists over the melon fields until they were tired enough to retire early for the return trip.