Imperial Valley press., 1922-10-16

productive.
That which makes the prospect differ
ent - just this understanding mention
Il. knowledge is Power. The force
which is to get us out of the Slough
OF Despond il an intangible thing, but
its resource is infinite and it never
fails.
Examination Into Causes
Thoughtful people of the valley have
examination of the causes which have
been retarding development and, i'll in
dividual eases, causing failure. 1t is
hopeful sign--just the fact that peo-
pie are thinking constructively about
the thing. Here is what one of the
valleys most far-seeing citizens, the
head of Il great creamery enterprise,
said to the writer in answer to the
question:; What is most needed in I'm
perial Valley!
"It is my business TO know the
needs of the dairy business he said.
"In this one little industrial sphere, !
believe that | have at least discovered
the fundamentals. | can 90 to dairy
ranch and inspect the herd, look at the
| male, size up Feed conditions and make
| an inventory of a few other essentials,
and / can tell whether that dairyh,an is
making u success or not. In the dairy
industry few factors make such a
contribution to success or failure that
any trained iifaM can predict the out.
come of the enterprise. There are
| dairymen-many of thenl-whom ]
!
| fundamental conditions surrounding
their situation which render success i'm
possible. There is M possible question
about it. They haven t a chance.
"And / believe that if one had the
understanding he could go to hog ranch
es, or grain farms, or cotton fields
to those in the lettuce and cantaloupe
busness-to any OF the various enter.
| prises of which there are so many in
Imperial Valley, and an examination
OF, conditions would demonstrate con-
| clusively that persons are employing
their capital and directing their labor
in such u way thht success is beyond
possibility. They haven't Il chance.
| "Thc answer to the question, there
fore, in my estimation, is that the need.
full thing is to improve the quality, not
| of farms, but of farm management. +"
An Erroneous Tradition
One must admit that there is much
! reason in what this man SAYS. The
| reason for the condition that he men.
tions is not that Imperial Valley has
| inherited lower order of business in.
telligence than other communities, but
that we have been influenced by IN
erroneous tradition. Most of us were
told when we came here that the coun.
try was so rich that a person could
prosper without work. Here nature
was so bountiful in her bestowments
that one could abandon the habits of
thrift which are made necessary in
other places and enter immediately into
the enjoyment of luXuries. The har.
vests of the country were so abundant,
we were told, that one only needed a
part to prosper. To get all would be
too much.
Encouragement to Adventures
Then, too, conditions here have en-
couraged people to become sadventur.
ers. Everything was new. Possibili
ties seemed unlimited. A hundred pro.
missing propositions were untried. Peo.
pie reasoned: 'Such and such a prod
uct sells for so many cents n pound.
Indications are that one can raise so
many tons to the acre, and if one can
do that, or even not so well, he can
get rich out of single CROP"
And so farmers have plunged into
untried enterprises in the hope of re-
tiring at the end Of the season. When
failure met their efforts they launched
into another experiment the next year,
always with the hope of getting rich
at q stroke and then moving on; sci.
dom with the purpose Of building up
a fortune by slow processes and by
patient application to business, by over.
coming of difficulties and correction
OF mistakes through experience. In1
too many cases the Imperial farmer has
not been satisfied TO experiment in
small way and then enlarge his activi
ties as he gained experience. The tenn.
tation has been to try to get rich in n
year and have the tedious business, over
with
The Old, Old Way, the Only Way
1t T be done.
A person prospers here by the same
methods that he does elsewhere. The
first esSeptial is hard work. The sec
ond essential is to work eonsiste atly--
to stick to one thing until you get there,
like the postage stamp OF proverb.
There are endless opportunities in
Imperial Valley. II is really true thai
returns here are greater than they |
are elsewhere; but one cannot ignore