The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1921-12-01
CREW SAYS COUNTY
NEEDS MORE FOLK


of the Hood River club. MIR. Crew
article has brought him many compli
ments. 1t appears below:
Close one eye and hold the unpreten
tlous copper cent at arms length il
line of vision with the full moon ant
the greater body is totally obscured b,
the lesser. So it is when one tries t,
arrive at decision as to the thing
most needed by a community to pro
mote its prosperity and general vel
fare. the little thing because of it
proximity. may easily be allowed t,
eclipse the far more important fact
thereby causing much waste of effor
in gaining some temporary advantage
while allowing the truly essential thinl
to slip by unnoticed.
1t is highly important that one SHOULD
study the present and delve into tn,
past, and their relations one to an
other, before it is at all possible to ar
rive at'even a partial solution fof the
problem yet to be met. All this mus
be done before an intelligent opinion
can be arrived at as to what is the
truly essential thing most needed
This the writer has tried to do, and
while figures are rather dry reading,
it is sometimes necessary to employ
them and | shall use few as possible
to make my argument clear.
Hood River county Is essentially ar
agricultural county, more strictly
speaking, a horticultural county, as
apples, pears and Strawberries are its
principal products for which it is Justly
famous, not only for the quality of the
products, butsfor. the "Integrity,of the
Pack. Z"
The citizenry of Hood River county
is.a type above the average, and es-
pecially is this true of the rural sec
tion. They are always abreast of the
times, alert and progressive. When
convinced that a certain thing is need
ed for the general good of the com
munity, they go to work with a firm
until that thing is an
accomplished fact. When it became
evident that more and better fruit
could be produced by irrigation they
quietly set to work and, without one
cent from state or national govern
ment, placed practically the entire
valley under water. Again when they
were called upon for SIS, 900 for con.
struction of the Columbia River High
way even though the prosperity of the
was low ebb, the bonds
were voted and what is now the most
scenic part of this great highway was
made possible. And more recently
when the fate of the Mount Hood Loop
road was at stake, they again arose to
the occasion and voted $780, 600 for the
of this great road that
will open to the public the scenic beau
ties of wonderland that others might
share the natural playground centering
about beautiful Mount Hood and entic-
ing Lost Lake.
A part of this same "loop road" ira
verses section of the county, a great
portion of which is tillable land, but as
yet uncleared and unproductive. 1t is
this uncleared and untitled land that !
wish to make the subject of this
article.
According to the assessors roll, the
total acres of all lands in Hood River
is in round numbers 130, 600.
Of this total acreage SO, 600 acres are
.ilable. Now here is the meat of the
situation:
Acres in cultivation, 81, 900; assessed
1t $4, 1l7,000. Acres tillable, not in
81, 900; assessed at S76 000
We're it possible to bring this uncul-
jvated land into the same state of
production as that which is now titled,
t would increase the assessed valua-
ion by approximately Sc, 000, 600, max
ng a total of $40, 600, 900 for farm land
lone, which is 81, 500, 900 more than
he total assessed value of all proper
les both real and personal in the
ountv at the present ime.
Again, during the year 1919, which,
f course was a banner year, both as to
and price of fruit, there was
hipped out of Hood River nearly 5000
ars of fruit, or a total value of
3, 500. 900. Suppose, then. that the
Productive acreage was doubled. The
fleet is quite clear.
OF the 81, 600 acres yet uncleared. it
) estimated by the county assessor
hat one-third or 10000 acres, is now
nder the ditch awaiting the clearing
0 be at once available for intensive
arming. The prime reason for this
is a matter of finance. Peo-
o not care to spend their time and
loney in clearing and developing land |
t is a much simpler and easier process
or them to buy improved land. The
ian of little means cannot. And now
f all times we need to urge the back |
, the land" program. The war bled
ne rural sections of their men much |
lore than the urban. They were called |
} the service, to the munitions plants |
nd the shipbuilding centers, and have |
OF returned in any considerable num- |
ers.
1t is not for the writer TO give the |
llution; it must be worked out. But |
he thought persists in presenting it
IF that the removing of stumps and |
rush might come under the head of |
md reclamation as we'll as the supply
g of water to the semi arid regions.
he various states and the national
Dvernment have spent millions on ir-
cation projects of various degrees of
crit. Is it not possible to extend
lis process and include the logged
,er land in the program under a sim
r repayment plan.
The state of Oregon is now spending
illions on market roads, many OF
hich pass through or near thousands
acres of rich land yet uncleared.
Ould it not be good business to in
ease the usefulness of these roads by
creasing the productivity of the
Iuntry they are meant to serve?
In a nutshell, cannot some plan be
whereby the man Of small
cans might be assisted in the clear
& process, thereby encouraging him
return to the land and become a
oducer. To enable him to build a
me for himself and family, Hood
Iver county offers. in common with
her tried portions of the state sim
srly situated. wonderful opportunity
r some constructive program. Ii is
e one thing that is too big for its .
.ople to do alone to snv considerable
tent. Conld they do il. / am sure IT
Duld already have been done.
There was a time when men were
Hing to face the privations necessary