Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1909-07-02
EDITORS IMPRESSIONS ON TRIP TO HARVEY COUNTY


We reached Vae MaIheur county, at L a, m Tuesday,
There are immense crops OF alfalfa being harvested
AT Ontario the gas we'll project'iS safely capped and
large flow Of gas is awaiting development OF manufactu-
ing enterprises,
have more confidence in alfalfa than in gas or oil.
At Vale half dozen oil wells are going down.
Steam is made with sage brush for fuel.
Going after oil and gas is clearing off square miles OF
sage brush lands,
Nobody objects to this but the jack rabbits.
Vale the end of the Ontario branch of the Oregon
Short Line
Here the freghting begins into the interior.
Stage lines run 10 Burns, DreWSeN Skull Springs, Cord
and IronSldes,
You can take an auto to BunS-fve passengers at $40
each or 500 for one
Stage line to Burns takes 26 hours continuous riding
We went in on auto--or rather we started to 90 in
early Wednesday morning
How we got there will tell you later
Work begins between now and July 10 on a N-mIe ex-
tension Of the Oregon Short Line from Vale to Bogan In
Malheur county,
The contract has been let TO D. NJ Bogan who has con-
Struced three storage reservoirs on the Willows river.
The Pole creek reservoir holds 1000 acre feet OF water
another l2700 feet and another being built to hold Az
900 feet
An acre foot of water will furnish water to irrigate
grain alfalfa or fruit crop for one acre.
The estimates on lands on the Willows show that crops
take seven inches 10 tWo-thrdS OF an acre,
Mr. Bogan IS Seattle man who has handled irrigation
projects on the Yakima and WenatChee.
He came into the Maheur country two years ago and has
been doing things ever SnCe
The Willows is rich valley for all kinds Of farming and
fruit growing.
There are 800 to 500 people in the Willows valley,
The townSlte OF BOgan is laid off, will have warehouses,
parks schools, bricWardS and creamereS,
The Fourth of July will be celebrated Saturday. with Hon.
w. H. Brooke OF Ontario as orator Of the day,
here viii be horse races baseball, grand ball and the
eagle screaming in three coOrS,
Nearly everybody who attends will 90 in there on auto
mobiles.
Mr. Bogan has expended quarter of a million dollars
on lands reservoirs, water rights, etc,
He has constantly employed 40 to 200 men and teams.
He will put 10000 to 10000 acres under irrigation by
his individual efforts.
land into comfortable homes for 1000 to 5000 families
The first p families that went into the BOgan district
got 40 acres each at $500 an acre with Perpetual water
rights.
When Mr. Brogan sells water with the land the water
is on the landl not merely promised on map,
There are $4,000 brick burned to hotel and bank at
Bogan
The $4,000, national bank has $4,000 stock sub
Scdbed and paid up,
The money in the bank at Vale for a large mercan-
tile firm.
The irrigated tracts are all cut up in 10 to 20 acre fruit
and dairy farms selling at 500 to 1925 an acre,
There are old orchards at Bogan ard the Willows val
ley that bear every year without fail.
Mr., Bogan took this uit-appes peaches pears, neca-
gnes and all small uitS-and exhibited them at the north
Western fruit shows
He has set out 835 acres new orchard the past year.
OF 2600 acres sold this year he has 1900 acres contract
ed 10 be set In orchards,
Mr. Brogan did all these things before he asked the Ore
gon Short Line to extend the railroad,
The railroad people were surprised when their ncredu
oS experts reported what was being done on the Willows.
They decided there business at Brogan business on
the Willows and that Mr.. Brogan himself was business.
They probably reasoned that man who had the iron