The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1909-10-30
JAMES J. HILL PRINCIPAL SPEAK.
Err AT OPENING SESSION
IN BILLINGS.
MOVETO CHANGE NAME
BIG EXHIBITION OF DRY FARM.
ING PRODUCTS OPENED IN
EXPOSITION HALL.

to be made to change the name of the
Dry Farming Congress became appar'
ent at the fourth annual meeting here
Tuesday. The movement cropped out
a half dozen times and Is certain to be
a feature of every business session
until it is settled one way or the 9TH
er Suggestions for suitable substi-
tute for the word dry" are forthcom-
ing, but none seems to suit all the del
egates. Some want it to be "scien-
tific," while others favor the term
practical"
The opening sessions were largely
attended and were of great interest
to the delegates. The first session
was taken up with the addresses OF
welcome, the chief of which was that
of Governor Norris. who urged
change in the name Of the congress.
Preston D. Moss, chairman OF the
Montana Board Of Control, also well
coined the delegates.
James ]. Hill. chairman of the board
of directors of the Great Northern
Railway. who was the central figure
of the morning session of the Dry
Farming Congress. made a friendly
talk, calculated to aid the dry farm
ing movement and incidentally sound
ed a few words of warning. He said
in part:
las we look down on the Northern
Pacific and see a marvellous work,
well equipped, on fine track from
end to end, we are apt to forget that
it is the result of three or four fail
ures. You had not the people at first.
You might put railroad in the gar
den of Eden. but if there was nobody
there but Adam and Eve 1t would be q
failure.
Now it is easy to build railroad
in Montana, and you want good
many miles of railroad that you have
not now, and il l may just speak
word OF advice. be good neighbors to
your railroads and depend upon 1t
they will be good neighbors to you.
because before they can get 81 Of
profit. or get it out of your products,
you have got to earn it and pay for 1t.
and they would no more injure you
and they would no more destroy your
power to produce than the father Of
good family would destroy or impair
the strength or health OF his children.
III we increase our population as 1t
has increased, or even at lower ra-
ito. in 1850 we will have over 100000
900 of people. Now where will they
60 and what will they do?
Modern scientific agriculture calls
fos as high an order of intelligence as
any other science.
Now to go back to your 200, 100000
OF people. With us in this country,
the average consumption per capita is
six and one-half bushels Of wheat, but
since the high prices of meat we find
throughout the bread eating nations
the quantity necessary for bread and
seed per capita per annum has in
creased. Last year we exported 6S,-
100000 bushels of wheat, or 3S,000,000
bushels more than we had to spare.
What was the consequence? When
my farmer neighbors in Minnesota
we're selling their wheat at S5 and 80
cents a bushel, l told my man to keep
on plowing and I would not sell until
spring. l got $1.25 for mine. They
got, hope, little experience. II
it has served them this year, they are
not rushing their wheat to market, al
though the Great Northern railway is
taking from 100000 to 100000 bush
els day to market"
In connection with the congress,
the second annual dry farming eXposi-
tion opened with elaborate ceremo-
nies this morning. The exposition hall
is crowded all the time and the vari-
Gus exhibits are large and well ar
ranged. Lieutenant Governor w. r.
Allen officiated at the opening exer-
cises.