The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1920-02-03
FAIR ASSOCIATION
ANNALS REVIEWED
Short Sketches of Men
Who Labored for Its
Success
CHAPTER FOUR
Chapter Nv.
Staked Everything and Won

The year 1903 saw a few changes
in, the board of directors and W. D,
TregO was president. He was one OF
the half dozen men who carried out
the plans to secure the sugar factory
for Blackfoot, and after trying the
venture of raising sugar beets in
large acreage he gave up the job. In
the year 1906 he planted the largest
acreage of any individual in the
state and probably secured the low
| est yield on the average. He planted
beets on lands that were good, bad
and Indifferent; lands that had not
been properly rotated to give the
beets chance to make good growth.
He had beets that averaged so little
that they were never harvested.
The sugar company has always ad-
vised against wholesale raising of
beets and Mr.. Trego demonstrated
that their advice was good, but he
always wanted to do things on a
large scale so he went to Canada and
bought large tract of wild land Of
the Canadian Pacific railway. The
first year or two brought him
bumper crops and he bought all the
land that Joined him, buying on the
installment plan. Then for two or
three years they had crop failures or.
near failures and he became almost
bankrupt. @ $a g
He decided that by putting all of
his resources into one crop he could
get a crop put in and trust to
nature to mature it. If it failed he
was at the end of his resources. If
it proved to be a good year he would
still have fighting chance for sub
sequent years. He staked every
thing he had and won.
In the years that followed he paid
up his installments on the adjoun-
ing territory and during the war he
raised upwards of forty cars of
wheat each year for the allies. This
was place where he could farm on
a big scale successfully, raising
wheat on plan that would be fail
ure with sugar beets. A good many
men went into that district from the
Snake river valley, and strangely
enough they bought land that had a |
bogus irrigation scheme attached to
it. They did not discover the bogus
element Of the deal until they had a
dry season and asked for water, and |
then every farmer got about enough |
water to wet the upper corner of his |
tract. ,.,..- .-,t.
Mr.. Trego and few others went |
out organizing the farmers in an eff
fort to make the Canadian Pacific re-
fund to them the cost of their water |
rights, but the Canadian Pacific was
fixed for them and refused to render
accounts. They spent several years
organizing their forces to obtain
enough backing to get a settlement
,hru commission composed of
'orty-nine men; sixteen of whom
we're appointed by the Canadian
Pacific, sixteen by the farmers and
sixteen by the Canadian government.
Mr. Trego presided over the commits
ion in the deliberations that finally
cached an agreement that called for
lie refunding of the price of the
water rights to the settlers and regu-
atiOns for number of other diff
erences among which were unjust
lemurage charge on freight cars to
he settlers and discrimination
Igainst the settlers in furnishing
ars at all where the elevators
wanted the cars. The organization
hru which the settlers work is called
he United Farmers of Alberta and
lr. Treg0 is their vice-president. He
5 also interested in line of grain
levators extending thru Alberta and ,
ianitoba. He and his family are
pending the present winter in Pheo-
tx, AriZ. . Is
Had Some Reverses
GEORGE HOLBROOK was en- &
aged in the grocery business during I
le early years of the fair, but met
18th reverses and had a business c
lilure. He continued for number
years as salesman in local mer- l
antile stablishment, then engaged /
politics and was elected auditor r
1d recorder Of this county in 1915. d
Mr.. Holbrook became manager Of t
large mercantile establishment at S
ock Springs, Wyo., about two years t
30 and is still there making good.
g recently made visit to Black
Ot and spent q week with his 8
mily. He accuses himself Of get o
ng old and his hair il a little grayer "
an when he was home last. Per- b
Ips this is accounted for in part by a
Q fact that he had severe attack z