Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1913-07-17
FINS.

Eighth and Last in Series.)
Then what shall We say OF the
Rogue River Valley? Are there nat
ural obstacles, over which man has
no control, that hinder it? No place
in all this broad land is there soil
more fecund. Twenty acres of it, in
telligently titled and watered, viii
produce as much as one hundred and
sixty acres Of land in the middle west
and more than a half section in the
( eastern states. | refer now to our
best land. Therefore, twenty acres
of our best land is worth as much
as one hundred and sixty acres in
the middle west, for production
alone; that is of products that are
used at home; but. in considering
cash crops, those that must be mar
keted in distant parts, the proximity
to and steadiness of the market
counts as much as the amount the
land will produce, for, what good is
production not used at home unless
there is a steady and profitable mar
ket for it? Therefore, not only the
fertility and adaptability of the soil,
but the proximity to market must
enter into the calculation in deter
mining the price at which land can
be profitably utilized. The character
OF crops counts for much. Perish
able commodities must be forced at
once on the market, and our system
of distribution seems to be so laid
out that commodities bring a lower
price at harvest time than any other
season Of the year, therefore wisdom
dictates to go more into the produc-
tion of nonperishable staples and to
make preparation to evaporate, can
and otherwise process our fruits so
they may be held for fair market.
Last year thousands of dollars
were sent out of the valley for arti-
cles than can just as well be pro-
duced here. The valley cannot reach
her best until every commodity con-
sumed here that can be is raised
/ here.
Much of the land on the south side
of the hills which is now without
/ timber, and apparently too dry for
| profitable culture, if sown to sweet
clover would maintain numberless
dairy cattle.
But, the price on such land must
be reduced to where it can be profit
ably employed for such uses.
Land values in the Rogue River
Valley, as in every part of the west
and middle west, have shrunken ma
terially since the crest of the boom
was reached two years ago. We
doubt if the values placed upon the
lands as tax base have been reduced
/ in proportion to the decline in sell
/ ing value. Jackson county now has
tax valuation OF some thirty-eight
million dollars. Both the taxable
value and the rate are now too high.
Circumstances over which the people
here have no control have decreed
that transfers in land should slow
down. Buyers are not as numerous
as they were during the boom. Times
are quiet and no doubt will be for
some time. County expenditures
should be SO much curtailed as the
circumstances will permit. The value
for taxation should settle back to
a reasonable basis and the rate
should be decreased so that the bur-
den of taxes shall become as light as
may be.
Towns in the valley should now
proceed cautiously in matters of such
public improvements as will tend to
raise the taxes. The time has come
Tor the speedy and substantial de-
velopment of agricultural and horti-
cultural resources. For a while now
we must depend mostly on production
and all available resources can more
| profitably be utilized in agricultural
development than in public works.