Imperial Valley press., 1913-10-11

one have /,
Cleoa dwelleth in palace-in II
cottage L.
To own a million acres has been
the dream of thousands and to own
even a cottage the dream of thousands
more. To own cottage would be a
blessing without doubt. Would a mil
lion acres be blessing, burden, or
misfortune? The tossing victim of
the ocean might wall:
"Now would I give thousand fur
longs of the sea
For an acre of barren land"
and one solid acre would be more
than enough to satisfy him.
The value of an acre is purely rela-
tive. Originally the word meant SIM
ply an open field or pasture without
regard to size. The main idea being
plenty of room. This primitive idea
clings today.
The wheat kings of Dakota wanted
plenty of room; and the ploughman
bid his family fearful farewell be-
fore starting on his weeks job of
running furrow to the end of the
field and back The cattle barons of
Wyoming thought thousand acres
about the right size for ''The Vir-
ginian" to chase a single calf in, and
cried that the nation was going to
the condemned bow-wows when the
homesteader came asking only 100
acres and peace.
One hundred years ago the good
Padres Of the San Fernando Mission
(1807) thought their 100000 acres
all too small for their handful of In
dians. Do they look down now on
that same tract, half city and ha'f
suburbs, and think of yesterday when
their revenue came only from the
sale of tallow, soap, horns and hides
sold to trading ships from far off
Russia? Do they look at the trees
still living, at the olive, pear, fig,
pomegranate, peach, orange, lime and
cherry their hands planted to keep
off nostalgia, and see in them the
germs Of the prosperity of today?
The old settler is rarely a good
guide in his own region. 1t is the new
conner who studies the methods of
the old-times, improves upon them
and prospers accordingly. 1t is the
man with new ideas who sets new
standards in spite of the croakings Of
the oldest inhabitant and chronic
back-number. 1t is men who make
their dreams come true who rise the
value of an acre. The value Of an
acre is always what it will produce,
whether it be evil or good; hard, cold,
metallic gold, or warm, leaping heart
beats of joy; skycrapers concealing
the spiders of commerce, or cottages
cradling those who are to bring JOY
and peace to the hearts of mankind.
Each crop is to be measured by its
own standard.
! You cannot measure oranges ard
health with the same yard stick. An
arid acre in the heart of Nevada may
be doing its duty in purifying the air,
drawing the clouds from the ocean to
the waiting orchards, and giving life,
health and happiness to weak lungs.
An acre in Wall street may be chok-
ing and polluting the financial cur
rents and distributing death, disease
and misery. The single acre that
gives man or woman true home in
their declining years, that feeds and
clothes them, and leaves a balance for
the last hours has greater value to
the world at large and to humanity
than an acre that only supports a hu-
man hive of greed in the city.
Under the dollar standard the value
of Uncle Sans acres are advancing
with leaps and bounds. The acre
that few months ago supported only
a jack rabbit and a snake, to say
nothing of the lizard, is now worth
hundreds for raising dates. Lands
whose proximity to Hades was
clinched by the fact that they were
below sea level are blossoming white
with cotton and yellow gold. There
are, however. standards other than
gold with which to measure the value
of an acre. Acres of sand and sun
shine are bringing the wine of new
life, new hopes, and new ambition in
to the veins of those who came in
WEAKNESS to lie down and die. Who
can estimate their value? The value
of an acre has risen from the dollar
to $40, 500 and to over $4,000 for
titled crops alone, and the end is not
yet. Imagination ever seeks new
marks, and the past cannot furnish