The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1919-10-21
ALBERTA MAN A
BLACKFOOT GUEST
Helps Locate Settlers
on New Lands in
Canada
SEES IMPROVEMENT

Don n. BARK, formerly in charge
of irrigation investigation and the
duty of water for Idaho, with head
quarters at Boise, visited Idaho the
past week on a mixed business and
pleasure trip. He was accompanied
by Mrs. Bark, whose people live at
Clifton, Idaho, and Mr.. Bark was
seeking to purchase Grimm's alfalfa
seed from the producers on the Aber-
deem tract.
Mr.. Bark is Jim Hill of the
Canadian Pacific railroad in Alberta
so far as agriculture is concered. His
activities cover SO many lines of work
all centering around irrigation that
ne occupies position with a large
district somewhat similar to the
county agents as we have them here
Mr.. Bark's territory is about seventy
five miles wide by 200 miles long
and he has district managers work
ing under him who are almost like
the county agents. They have an ir-
rigation system that covers part of
the country, but it is not fully de-
veloped yet. He says they get prac-
tically all of their irrigators from the
states and they have to be specially
trained to succeed in irrigation as
they have it there. He says the ex-
perienced irrigators from the nUited
States have to have one years train
ing before they can make success
of irrigation there. The Canadians
do not fill such places as that. They
may become irrigators after a NUM-
Der of years, but their system does
not employ irrigators as leaders.
The Canadian Pacific has system
for studying farms and the selling of
them ready made with improvements
on them. The settler who does not
want to go upon the raw land and
who prefers to pay for having the
first improvements made can do so.
This makes it necessary for the
colonization department. to have an
army of workers of every kind to
pillow the land and farm it, to build
fences and houses and carry on the
regular. work of the many settlers.
During the season of 1918 when men
were scarce and irrigators almost i'm
possible to find, Mr.. Bark had
seventy-five of these new farms to
irrigate and they were scattered out
over a distance of 100 miles He said
it was an immense job to find irriga-
tors and keep the work moving along
on all those farms even if there had
been nothing else to do. and that was
only one of the many tasks.
Mr.. Bark lived at Twin Falls in
the early days and when he left there
for Canada he leased his farm and
started out by wagon for Canada.
By happy coincidence he rode back
to the magic city few years later in
a private car, Some of his friends
who met him, supposing it was his
own car, expressed their convictions
that Canada must be land of great
wealth and opportunity, but Bark
was apologize and said the private
car was not his own, He was merely
riding as a guest of P. l.. Naismith,
who was sort of secretary of agri-
culture in Canada and had heard
Bark talk so much about the Twin
Falls country that he made trip
down to Idaho to study things at first
hand and brought Mr.. Bark along
as guest and guide. That was two
years ago and the information OBJ
tanned on that trip was used to good
effect in Canada.
Mr.. Bark was profuse in his
praises of the growth of Blackfoot
In the last five years since he had
seen it. He says he always remem-
bered it as a place without paved
streets and without many very good
buildings. On his return this time
these things were a scource of real
delight and satisfaction to him.
In speaking of the Americans and
[dahoans, who have gone up to
Canada, he mentioned the activities
Of w. D. Trego and the successful
in which he has an
active leadership. He says Mr.. Trego
IS very successful organizer of large
Industries and has been counted one
If the very successful farmers of the
province. He owns large amount
If land, looks after the farming OPP
srations himself and is a stakeholder
ind director in corporation that
las a chain of elevators scattered
.hru the province of Alberta.
a