The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1911-05-26
IDAHO MEN IN PORTLAND
portland Oregonian)

Representatives from 10 states will
arrive in Portland today to hold a
convention at the Commonwealth Club
rooms, with a view of creating senti-
ment, through the aid of the Omaha
gateway, to divert the ravel going
lsouthWard and to Canada. The con-
ference will be held by the state
members of the executive committee
+ of the Western Development League,
organized last January in Omaha,
through the efforts of r. w. Ray
mond of Portland, and others vitality
intedested i'll the effort to stem the
tide of travel to Western Canada.
Among the delegates now in Portland
are: S. J. Rich, of Boise, State Immi-
grafton Commissioner of Idaho; Riley
Atkinson secretary of the Boise Com
mercial club; H. C. Coker, of Pocatel-
10, Idaho, secretary of the Pocatello
Commercial club and President
Lynch, Of the California promotion
committee.
The last meeting of the league was
held in Salt Lake, where complete
Organization was effected.
The visitors will take luncheon
with the Portland AID club at noon
today, after which there will be a
business session at o'clock, follow
ed by conference with the promo
ton committee of the Commercial
club at 4:30 O clock and an informal
dinner at $50.
Valuable Wealth Lost
idaho is lined up strongly on the
proposal to divert the tread of colon
ial travel" said S. ]. Rich, of Boise,
yesterday. THE subject is becoming
very serious. The colonist travel to
| Western Canada has grown from H.
900 ten years ago to 10000 for the
season of 1909-1910. These people
took with them approximately $780,
100000 of American money and we
cannot afford to lose this valuable
acquisition to our own resources.
am convinced that we can secure a
greater share of this travel toward
the Northwest and over the lines Of
the Union Pacific, Oregon Short Line
and the O.-W. r. & N. Railway. We
Ineed the immigration. There are
hundreds of thousands of acres in
Idaho alone that are available to the
American settler. 1t is better land
than exists in Western Canada. Fur
thermore the climate is a vast i'm
provement over that which the set
tier has to undergo in Alberta or the
|neighhoring provinces We expect
the cooperation of the railways in
this general movement and we shall
bring to our aid the ablest publicity
experts known in the country so that
the east and middle west will be thor
oughly convinced of the merit of our
proposition. 1t will take some money
but we expect to find the money
ready for us. However, in the main,
it will be the aim of the organization
to suggest and in some cases direct
the work to bring about the results
desired"
The Western Development league
is in no way connected with the
Northwestern Development league,
organized by Louis w. Hill, president
of the Great Northern railroad. The
Western Development league is being
fathered by the Hartman system.
Exhibit Train to be Shown
One of the principal efatures of
the work of the league will be to
organize what is known as an "exhib-
it train" in which each state of the
league will be represented by car
showing the products of the SOIL
These cars will be taken in a single
section train to the various cities
of the east, where they will be thrown
open to inspection, and the crowds
will be entertained by various meth
DDS. 1t is proposed to have one car
devoted to motion pictures, another
car to a reading room and another
car to features that will exemplify
the whole country. 1t is believed
that train of this sort will furnish
the right kind of material to educate
the intending settler to the opportun-
tiles open to him in the country con-
tiguous to the Omaha gateway, in
which Oregon is quite an important
factor.
ex-governor Brady, of Idaho,
member of the executive committee
of the league, will arrive today and
take part in the deliberations.
Idaho is progressing