Imperial Valley press., 1911-12-08
HARb|SON'S SUMMARY CLOSING
SERIES ON THIS VALLEY

Following is the final article by r.
. C.. Harbiton, editor of the San Ber-
nardino Sun, an Imperial Valley:
Two things in the valley begin to
be strongly reminiscent of the south
three things, l might have said, al
4ough the cotton fields themselves
have already been mentioned in form
er articles. But the two characteris-
tics are also products of, or related to,
the cotton fields. One is the cotton
gins, which separate the cotton fiber
from the seeds in the boil, and as the
mass of 1eecy-but greasy-white
comes sliding down from the gins, it is
gathered into bales under powerful
congresses, strapped in with steel
ties, rolled to the platform, labeled
with the owners name or number and
the weight of the bale-and one can
easily imagine himself standing at
some loading station in a southern
state, where this has been the staple
crop since long "befo' de wah.".
1t may be of interest, it was to me,
to learn that every growers cotton is
baled separately, from which it hap
pens that bales are by no means of
uniform weight. At the Imperial gin,
bales this season have ranged all the
way from $50 to almost 700 pounds.
When load comes from the fields, the
experts at the plant quickly estimate
It. If there is judged to be enough for
Two 600 pound bales, that is the way
it is worked up, or three O-pound
bales-whatever it makes. And we
saw wagons with great spreading
frames which We we're told were haul
ing as much as three big bales to mar
ket. In the matter of space, the three
: bales would perhaps not occupy more
than one-siXth of that filled by the
loose cotton
The advantage of baling separately,
of course, is that each owner is i'm
mediately master of his own crop. He
can sell immediately-there are buy
ers in the field now, he may store it in
local warehouses and get advances
from the banks ON the warehouse re-
ceipt, while some growers are said to
be shipping all the way to Texas and
storing there, along with the Texas
crop. although the advantage Of that
hardly appears, ir view of the fact
that there is a constant market for
cotton here on the coast. ||'
The other feature that I referred to
above as suggestive OF the south is
none other than the. colored brother
he and his family. / do not remem.
Der to have seen negro in the valley
during my former visit. But the cot
ton field has brought him in numbers,
and in the fields we saw not only men
and women, but numerous pickanin-
/ MES, dragging the long bags along the
4 rows, as they; gather the product.
Skilled pickers can make from So. to
SIS per day. at the wages paid, and
when a family of Ave or six gets busy.
the return per diem is: something
worth while. Whether the child labor
law exempts cotton picking 1 am not
sure. but if 80" there are fields in. the
Imperial Valley where it is honored
only in the breach t," ,'l.., =.
1'.iH 'SlH t:,..,... e..
Much has been written in these
vagrant letters about the fields and
the farms and' their products. for; be
it remembered, the Imperial Valley is
first and always; an, agricultural para
disc. For ages, ,men have compared
that which is surprisingly. productive
to the matchless fertility of the valley
OF the. Nile. THE Imperial Valley is
our ypty' 1000 years younger than
the SPHINX; but equally as silent about
its origin. Not only sos but Anglo
Saxon energy 'is applying the whip
\ and spur, and CALLING from those stored
depths of soil such wealth of return,
that farmers Of the older school can
not be Convinced until they have seen
with their own eyes. There is daily
stream of those who come into the val
ley as doubters and skeptics. but re-
main to annex as much Of it as their
capital and credit combined can buy.
at prices ranging from SIS to $3.50 per
acre for land under cultivation. the
variation in price being due to !oca-
ton and nd''improvements. and in some
sections. ito the proved quality of the
land 3'ii 81 "i1.ina.,. - "s,,..,Y
But they have towns, and budding
cities thefes as weli.f and outside, ,of
mining 'cehters,i t'dsl to, be doubted
whether es6' wellnbutlt ., townr4s El
Centre is to be equalled for itgf years
/ in all the west It's business district
shows suoh substantial Improvement