The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1919-02-21

struggle necessary to develop h a
country, under such stern conditions,
develops of necessity strong men,"
evolved Richard. "Oh. yes, l believe
that, too"
"Oh. more than that. 1t is not 50
much the struggle as the necessity for
cooperation. The mutual dependence
is one of the blessings of aridity.'
zone of the blessings of aridity :"
echoed his listener. "You are u philos-
opher." He had not yet touched the
others thought at the spring.
"You might as well call me a social
list because I praise irrigation In that
it stands for the small farm unit"
retOrted the valley nan THAT is n
of its flats; the small unit. 1t is the
small farm that pays. That fact brings
many advantages. What is the charm
Of Riverside7 It comes to me always
like the unreal dream Of the socialist
come true. 1t is a city Of farms. Of
small farms. where q ia may make
his living of his ten acres Of oranges
or lemons: and with all the comforts
and cOnveniences Of 4 city within
reach. his neighb0rs not ten miles OF !!
A farmer in Riverside or in any irri-
gated community does not have to
postpone living for himself or his fam
lily until he can sell the farml He
can 60 to church, can walk there; the
trolley a which passes his door
takes him to a public library or the
opera house. His children ride to
school. His wife does not need to be
q drudge. The bread wagon and the
steam laundry wagon stop ut her
door,"
Richard observed that perhaps he
did not know anything about Irrigation
after all! He had not thought Of it
before in its sociological relation but
merely Al 1t touched his profession.
-Not going into soil values. for that
Is q long story began the older man.
irrigation is the answer which sci
ence gives to the agriculturist who Is
impat mt Of haphaxard methods. Irri-
CATION is not . compromise. Is 50 many
believe who know nothing about it. 1t
II Q distinct advantage over the old
fashioned methods.
Il Inn one Of those who always
thought It . compromise" admitted
the engineer.
Better call rain q compromise" re-
torted the irrigationist. 1.-The man
who irrigates gives water to the tree
which needs It; rain nourishes one
tree and browns out another. Irriga-
ton Is an insurance policy against
drought, q guarantee against floods.
The farmer who has once operated an
irrigated farm would be IS impatient
were he again subjected to the caprice
Of rain as q housewife would be were
she compelled to wait for rain to oil
her washtub. There Is no irregnlarity
or caprice about irrigation"
"Wonder how the old fellow picked
It all up7" unused Richard with dis
respect. Aloud he said. "You were
speaking OF the value OF the soill"
"Look at the earth those plOws are
turning over. See how rich aud friable
1t is. how 1t crumbles1 You can dig
for hundreds Of feet and still find that
sort Of soil, eight hundred feet down
It il d~isintegrated rock and leaf mold
brought In here in the making Of q
delta. Heavy rainfalls are rare here,
though VI have had them. in spite Of
Popular opinion. Were we to have
frequent rains the chemical properties
which rain farmers must guy to enrich
their WORKOUT soils would be leached
out, drained from the soil. / cant
make this comprehensive. but I've q
monograph on desert soil. II you are
interested I'll send It to you"
II should like it-immensely." rs
sented the engineer, still amused.
1T explains the choice Of the Axtecs
Of the Incas, Of Carthaginians. the
Mo0rs," observed the stranger. ''They
chose the desert, not in spite OF the
soil but because Of 1t. I doubt If they
were awake to the social advantages
of the system. but It was their co
operative brotherhood that helped
them to their glory. We are centuries
behind them. I'm getting Out here
Imperial. II you come up to Imperial
look me up. Brandon's my name. I've
no card these days |"
"There are several things / want t.
hear from you," answered Richard
following brown necktie and pointed
beard to the platform. .Tll be sure
to look yoa mp. Mines Richard"
The breeze which was now entering
the chr windows had blown ' e the
cl0ver-leafed fields. tn message was
sweet and fresh. Richard could sex
the canals leading OF IKE dlve,
threads to tho homes and farms OF the
future: ~the socialism dream come
truet" willows Of two Or three years.
growth outlined the hanks. Here and
there tent " q ramada ct up Z
fhraVo de0ance aRnin0t the hard con.