American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1910-04-02
DAHO TO Be
POTATO STATE
|otbing Can Stand in the Way
Of Big Future.
H.. Energy viii be Put Forth to Add
n Idaho, Greatness and Gain
For Il a Reputation as
Potato State.


reamers. They are pronounced i'm
tactical and with that their ideas are
smissed with smile, more of toler-
lion than aught else.
Rut there is a great dreamer who
rs done much for Idaho and who has,
erbaps. never received the credit due
;m And the peculiar thing about it
that his early dreams are coming
ue. instead of waking up he contin-
IS to dream other dreams.
This man some twenty years ago
W for the first time an irrigated tract
land. He didn't know thing about
rrigation, but he saw things that
tbers failed to see;-he dreamed. He
W thousands of families cultivating
IN of Idaho made fertile by the trans
,ission of water where but single
milv was found. He anticipated
hat it meant to have water to seep
to the soil reaching the seeds and
bots of grain and trees, just at the
erv time that water would do the most
bod. for he lived in Nebraska where
ater was often lacking just at the
homent when its presence would
ouble or treble the crop that was pro-
nced when it did come.
When David E. Burley accepted the
osition of general passenger agent for
he Oregon Short Line railway, he was
ot satisfied to see his trains loaded
18th people to Oregon or Washington
pints, or from those points through to
me eastern point; he wanted to see
he time arrive when his trains would
carrying passengers back and forth
Idaho and carrying tickets from out
de points to points within that state
hich carried so many miles OF the
hort Line system. That ambition
elped him magnify his dreams per-
bps, but the first work he did was to
i about inducing people to come to
laho.
He had desperate time of it, and
. (ankly acknowledges that it cost him
ore to get one man located in Idaho
Zen than it does to get thousand OF
em today. He first adopted the
eory that the man who knew by per
nal experience what irrigation woulc
was the proper man to send among
e farmers of Iowa, Nebraska, Kan
5 and surrounding states. Accord
gly he furnished free transportation
all who would take trip from Idaho
go back and preach the doctrine OF
hgated lands. Those approached
wever, looked with suspicion on the
counts of the productiveness of lrrl
tion, and resused to believe what
ey were told.
Then what amounted to detective
|ency was adopted. Whenever Il
nld be learned that anywhere in the
ntral western states man had solC
farm and was thinking of goins
ewhere, agents were sent to him tt
esent the claims of this wonderful
hho land. Still the results were un
asfactory even tho personal solicita
\ was resorted to.
put Burley dreamed on. These ives
n men who had tried irrigation anC
ew what it would do were not be
Fed' Some other plan had to be de
ed. Every land agent of every rail
v running west of Chicago and ev
real estate agent in all the town
mat country was made agent of th'
senger department of the Shor
and they were paid commission
IN every sale of Idaho land mad
0ugh them. They exerted ever.
fgy to induce people to visit thes
noerful lands. Passes were givel
agents so that they might com
see Tor themselves and might know
'ney were not being asked to mis-
resent. They came, and, of course
more than satisfied. The strean
Immigration was started.
neh the new and more extensive ir
'uon plans were made and carrie,
execution.
~ dreamer began to see the real
a0n of his dreams.
Is dreaming again now. He see
producing potatoes to feed tn
~ This dreamer who. has tn
VI making his dreams come true
nothing but potatoes, III
ms potatoes.
eu that no other country is s
.uapted to potato culture thi