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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (March 13, 1916)
RAILROAD OREGON BUILDER ASKS MEN OF TO FO RM CONSTRUCTIVE IRRIGATION AND ; DRAINAGE POLICY SO STATE CAN DEVELOP Robert E, Strahorn at Salem4 Conference Says Capital Is Being Discouraged by Failure of Unoccupied Land , Tapped by Rail Lines to Settle Up. ; .""Railways end Reclamation" wai the topic of Mr. Bobert E. gtrahorn'a ad dress at the irrigation, drainage and rural credits conierence. but. eira horn's address was one of the few real ly constructive addresses delivered at the conference, and shows clearly how reclamation of wet lands and arid lands .would greatly stimulate the state's prosperity. Mr. "Strahorn said: "T hav thmtorht nf flnthnritv to apeak for any railway . interest except the one so near my heart in central Da rrnn TI-aiiAt kAanlnv irt mind f h a thrtitaanila rt f mUaa nf rollwuvi are largely dependent for their revenue upon privately Irrigated lands, that the crops grown in 1914 on government reclamation projects alone totalled 130,000 carloads, and that the prosper ity, improvement and extension of our transportation systems are so depend ent upon me wonting out oi tnese de velopment problems, I will necessarily Indulge in observations involving them arenerallv. The ereat and hlehlv nrof- ttable agriculture of Colorado, Utah, prosperous railways. -1J M X. A. xkua xs wuiik ovr S 1.000.000 from oDeratlon of Its ft .... . I nlln. though important losses oy me iiiu - jivBtmii In Orraron. anil larzelv dimin ished earnings on the Oregon lines or other roads, in spite of their important outlays xor Determents ui ciusa jrotn wnicn no aaaiuonai eanunn can clmnot nnharohU !nad n f tATflHnn. anxiously for some means of relief. measure of this in the matter we are JICI O fcVf BC1IUUOIJ LUHOlucii UVi A. V u u I , " to Wisely promote? I cannof imagine of such a tide of nrasDerltv and such a volume of increased traffic as would spring from the doubling of the pro- auctmty or western Oregon's 3,uoo,uoo acres oi wee ianas. ine accruing oen efits would seem to be out of all pro- portion to the cost. "fenelncers rouehlv figure the cost ui antiiwge 01 meae iuiium 10 fi MJic, auu Ui 1111115 HUCIB U1Q 1H.L- ter may be necessary, at from $15 to $20 per acre, say 25 per acre for com plete reclamation. Properly issued. - eiaio ruamnieto long-time drainage i bonds would be sound as gold dollars - and sell at such low interest rate and -. mi Bucn lmem terms oi reouvmeni. 'f hat th Hnfitt onuM renHlv h titll. . Seneiits of Bralnasre Sxnlained. "Our expert farmers estimate in to 100 per cent, or easily sufficient to pay the entire expense in three or four years, Drainage is the best perma nent improvement, ordinarily less ex pensive for maintenance than irriga tion works and means the maximum in stead of the minimum yielding nad taxpaying ability of the land. ' -Providing it can be financed, this looks Kood for the farmer. But what f about its effects on the railroads and deevlopment generally? Take the Wil lamette valley alone, which is as well served by railroads as average similar areas. In Illinois and Iowa. "Under present conditions this won derful vale of the Willamette, the pride of the Pacific, deducting, its handful of bill lands in fruit, and its mere speck of bottom lands in hops, produces - less tonnage acre for acre for its railroads than me Palouse coun try or thet Walla Walla uplands. Large areas. of "the wet sour lands are in close proximity to the railroads. "With an Increased production of only 50 per cent on the 1,000,000 acres of Willamette valley wet lands alone, increased tonnage of that amount from that source' and Increased prosperity, activities and traffic of all kinds, it is not-hard to figure where industrial and general prosperity would be vastly enhanced and an important part of that railroad deficit .would be wiped out. What could do more to fill up our over-built cities and create the tonnage that would bring' ships to our docks? Kallway still languishes. "When we built the Portland, Eugene & Eastern it was confidently expected that ways would be devised to drain the great areas of wet lands between Corvallls and Eugene especially. That would have Insured a profitable traffic and greatly encouraged the completion and electrification of the entire system. But efforts for drainage failed, and the railway project still languishes in part. Miles upon miles of that beautiful level territory is far less productive today than when first set tled 50 or 60 years ago, and will con tinue depreciating under present con ditions. "The Oregon Electric and Southern Pacific are furnishing the best railway facilities in the country to many thou sands of acres of such lands almost m sight of the great market of Port land. There are numerous other sim ilar examples in western Oregon. '"Those whose capital is invested in such roads will shy from all railroad extension in Oregon until such lands, contrmute at least a reasonable pro portion of the traffic they ought to furnish. Owners Wot Criticised. "This is no criticism of the owners) of these lands. They have frequently made attempts to organize the work, but have been appalled by the unfa- Treating Eyestrain V 4 it ' s ' f Near-sighted, fw-sighted, astigmatic or whatever the visual trouble may be, this wonderful instrument, reflects that knowl edge with unerrirng positiveness to the operator. ' THE FAR-SIGHTED EYE B0W rays focus beyond This Ulartratea the far-slghte! the retina, causinrlBiperf ect rUlon. ye with defect corrwteo. THE NEAR-SIGHTED EYE Hot bow til rays foena before reaching the retiaa.causlag myopia or near sight. Shows w orreetlon of defect wita proper glass, aUowls; the rays to foona on the retina. q No matter how excellent the mechanical work in a pair of glasses, it counts for nothing unless the formula 'from which the lenses are ground is the correct one for your eyes. q The formula will only be correct when it is based on : the result of a careful examination. I Consequently, a thorough examination is the first ; requisite for a satisfactory pair, of glasses. I Our system of eyesight testing has no superior. q Our 26 years experience is behind this system. V- ' 209-10-11 Corbett BIdgn ,5th and Morrison f.4-' : Manufacturers of the Genuine Kryptok Lenses miliar problem Involved.: I believe they have always, been, .and. are now, enthusiastically in favor of a proper plant for reclamation, and are willing to pay the price. It Is a matter of organization of business with which they are not familiar, and they have a right to expeet that the business in terests of the state will be public spir ited enough, wise enough and honest enough to devise the machinery by which, such undertakings can be prop erly and economically put through. The people wish and expect that such projects will be surrounded with every safeguard human ingenuity can pro vide. "What is said of drainage in west ern Oregon applies with considerable force to irrigation. Am is well known, such areas as those along; the east side of the Willamette valley as far south as Eugene, an Important part of the McKenzie valley- and 'much of the Rogue river and Umpqua valleys suf fer from deficiency in moisture, and could be made mope productive by a moderate- amount of irrigation wntca in these cases can be applied at a fninlmum of expense. Like the araln ae areas the lands are all settled, many well improved, and now being worth from S30 to $60 or more per acre, would be Ideal security for the capital necessary to reclaim them, acclamation Important There. The reclamation problem in Central Oregon and most of eastern Oregon is relatively morel Important than west of the Cascades. Over there we arc not blessed with the large areas or land which are naturally productive, We must sink or swim by reclama tion of soma sort almost everywhere. Drv land farming alone and the measure of reclamation by irrigation and drainage now existing will not warrant any considerable additional settlement, because it will not war-. rant the additional transportation fa cilities necessary to make the coun try economically or comfortably habit able. What this means to the state of Orearon and to our country may be ap' predated from the fact that in five counties of Central Oregon alone, with which I am now chiefly con cerned, there are roughly 10,000,000 acres of tillable land, an area as Jarge as Massachusetts and New Jersey combined, of which only a little over 10 ner cent Is cultivated. "At least half of the land returned as cultivated is natural hay land, leav lng only about five per cent of the tillable land actually cultivated. A large- proportion of these hay lands produced less than a ton per acre and most of them need drainage, with wliiah, and cultivation to proper crons. thev would yield from three to ten times their present food prod uct, according to the crop used. Water for 1.000,000 Acres. "Including existing irrigated lands, there are in those five counties about 1,000.000 acres of arid or irrigable lands for which an adequate water sudoIv can be obtained, and about 400.000 acres of marsh lands which can be drained and afterwards irrigat ed. often at reasonable cost. There are some areas whose cost of reclama tion would, under present conditions, be excessive. But easily one-fourth of the 1,000.000 acres are included in projects irrigable at $25 to $50 per acre where sufficient settlement and development had taken place to make reclamation very desirable and finan cially safe under present conditions. "Such a comparatively small devel oped area would give us increased pro duction, population and general activ ity eaual to Yakima valley witn its 100.000 people, its numerous railroads and many towns of from 1000 to 20, 000 highly prosperous Inhabitant each. "Most of the marsh lands could be reclaimed on an equally conservative basis. They are among the richest lands in the world. They are also par ticularly inviting because of the under surface moisture which in such situ ations is usually present. . Koney Cannot Bo Borrowed. "fhe eight of nine millions Of acres ofVdry farming lands separating these arid and marsh lands might as well be in the midst of Sahara so far as their further development is concerned. "Until the arid and marsh lands with their large possibilities of intensive cultivation, heavy yield and much larger proportionate population aro put in the way of reclamation there can be little hope of railway extension. "The dry farming lands, although a vast potential asset on account of the millions of bushels of grain they will ultimately produce, will not with their much llKhter yield alone coax capital during these trying times nto such an unattractive investment as railway building. "No man, no matter how deserving or what .his possessions or product may be, can borrow any money at any rate of interest even in the best com munities of that dry belt. I recall one valley in a favored part of which there are 27 schools and where some farms produced as hig as 12,000 bushels of wheat last year. More of them want to do the same and they need a mod est amount of financing to do it. "1 have spent days in Portland and Spokane earnestly endeavoring to get money for some of the best of those people on what I call the best security iu the world, a real working family, good farm and everything they have with it, but could not, even at 10 per cent. Bo Justice to Pioneers. "I appeal to you men from the wet belts or the irrigated belts who are more comfortably situated that there is something wrong about this. "Those pioneers over there have a right to live and enjoy the fruits of their work and to be considered as the important factor in our state bnUdlng which they arc Ana we should devise some way to put thorn on their feet with as many more like them as wo , can coax over there and - keep them i there, whether It bo by a little more ! Jnalcloos railway building, rural cred-' its or state guarantee of reclamation j bonds or- all together. j "But two of the five -railroads which have painfully worked their way up through the canyons to the outer edges of the central Oregon plateau pay operating expenses, to say nothing of interest on cost of construction. It is a fact, ominous for Portland and our Oregon railroads, that the two excepy tions are thriving on trade abstracted from southern and central Oregon by San Francisco. Taking Business Prom Portland. "A third road approaching from the east is unintentionally performing the same good offices on Harney and Mal heur valley business for Boise and Salt Lake. No only is great losa mi ready being suffered, but trade, move ments and financial alliances are thus being created which will not be easy to reverse. "With this rapid alienation of a large proportion of our own state, our own business and our own. people, should we leave any stone unturned to insure the prompt building of rail roads from- the direction of Portland rather than from these foreign trade r liters? - " "Our Portland roads have' balked and cannot reasonably be expected to connect up these rich but distant fields, partly because of some .unfa vorable competitive conditions, but mainly because of the broad sones of lean territory intervening. The pres ent oases are few,, far between and jl limited in area. More and larger ones can be created where the settler a are i already upon the ground by this pro- ; posed reclamation program. uregon has no larger question be fore her today than the recovery by adequate railway construction of what is oeing lost in ber eastern naif, ana the greatest step, - the one vitally nec essary step in fact, is the further de velopment of traffic producing re sources along lines we are here con sidering. It is suggested that we should not embark on this undertaking because lands under existing reclamation proj ects are not fully settled. Also because some projects which have been men tioned are unsafe and undeserving. Also because we have thousands of acres of logged off lands and other lands unoccupied. What Have Wo to Offer f "The 100 per cent margin necessarily loaded upon Carey act projects, the ex cessive costs per acre, terms of pay ment and other conditions affecting government projects and the impos sible terms of various kinds affecting private or corporation projects, ought to be a sufficient answer to the first proposition. If we cannot discriminate, profit by past experience and discard the mani festly unsound projects and administer such a trust honestly, wisely and .dis creetly, as thousands of other trusts are administered, then I am unable to answer the second objection. The impractical and unworthy en terprises we have with us always, but this does not deter us from proceeding with those which appeal to sound rea son and ripe experience. As to the present abundance of other lands for settlement: Can we really offer them of a nature and on terms within the reach of the man and family who must start with their bare hands? I think not. Canada Getting Best Ken. "We no longer have that tyDe of pioneer who without a dollar of capital can be expected to acquire and make productive the cheapest Willamette valley logged off lands anywhere. Without decrying the settlement of logged off lands, we all know that it costs vastly more money and effort to make a start on th'em than on even the most expensively Irrigated or drained lands. There are manv de serving families who would make a success, with modest assfirtanca by rur al credit, on lands reclaimed and sold on proper terms, which the district's credit backed by the state's credit could safely offer. Canada gets from one to two hundred thousand of our best bono and sinew annually by giv ing every man who is a worker such a start whether he has a dollar or not. "Whatever may be said about Carey act projects, it must not be forgotten that they have been chiefly responsible for the increase of 6000 people and a valuation of over $3,000,000 of farms in Crook county alone. Also that in spite of the untoward conditions re cently prevailing, of the 70,000 acres re claimed 50,000 acres have been actually sold. State Should Be Willing. "If this could be accomplished dur ing the hardest period for such pro jects within our memory and under the much more rigorous terms than wouid be imposed under state auspices, might we not reasonably expect a much greater degree of success from well conceived and properly administered district projects enjoying the low In terest rates and other advantages of state participation? The state being the chief beneficiary through increased taxable area, population and produc tion would be giving but small return by its carefully safeguarded guarantee. "Our state, in its administration of the school funds, of which it is now loaning over $6,000,000 to our farm ers at a cost of one-fifth of one ner cent of the net revenue, furnishes an il lustration of its ability to care for such trusts, as well as the best private business organization. Doubtless some of this same machinery could be eco nomically utilized to care for details of rural credits and guarantees of district drainage and Irrigation project financ ing. "It is plain that the national gov ernment will not take up any new pro ject in Oregon for years. It is agreed that capital cannot be obtained for such private or corporation projects on any terms. National rural credit legislation applicable to our wants Is apparently far removed, and yet it is perfectly apparent that if we are to in- Answer in Rhyme Comes toYonth v From Hoosier Poet During letter' writing week Vearl Crooks, a pupil of the Highland school, invited James Whitcomb Riley to visit ' the i Rose Festival in June. In re- - ' 4t ply the poet sent the follow- Hr ing poem: On the Sunny Side. Hi and whoop-hooray, boys! Sine a sons of cheer! Here's a holiday, boys, 0 . Lasting half a year! Round the world, and half is Shadow we have tried; jjt Now we're where the laugh Is On the sunny side! 3t Robins in the peach-tree; Bluebirds In the pear, Blossoms over each tree . In the orchard there! All the world's in Joy, boys, Glad and glorified 4 -A a romping boy. boys, On the sunny side! - Where's a heart as mellow Where's a soul as free Where is any fellow We would rather be? 4fr Just ourselves or none, boys, 0 World around and wide. Mfe Laughing in the sun, boys, On the sunny side! & James Whitcomb Riley. Newberg Has Hopes For New Factory Jones Brothers Company of Portland Investigate Plaid With Tlew to Es tablishing Branch of Their Business. Newberg, Or., March 13. The possi bility of having Jones Brothers & Co. of Portland establish a branch business in Newberg for the making of cider and vinegar and also putting up logan berry Juice, is encouraging. President Jones of that company was in New berg on a tour of investigation and was favorably Impressed. Thursday of last week two members of the Newberg Commercial club R. J. Moore and George Larkln called on Mr. Jones at the factory in Portland and was requested by President Jones to secure If possible a lease on a por tion of the cannery building here. At a meeting today of the cannery board it was voted to make the lease desired. There are about 1000 acres of commer cial apple orchards just coming into bearing in this vicinity, in addition to many acres of family orchards and in no part of the state are grown logan berries superior to those grown here. Crashed by Machinery. Tacoma, Wash., March 13. (P. N. S.) Three heavy crates of machinery toppled over on Robert Fyrk, aged 26, a longshoreman, at the Milwaukee dock last night, and probably Injured him fatally. The crates were about to be loaded on a steamer for Russia, when two of them became unbalanced and fell against the third, which Fyrk had just arranged in position. crease our farming Industry or its ef ficiency to any marked extent, It must be done along these lines. "Are ws then in this Imperial stats so devoil of man and measures and public spirit and financial resources that development of half of our arable area must be abandoned? Does any man in this room, or any outside of it, believe that there to any question of our united ability and disposition to provide for these undertakings without saddling upon the stats a penny of real liability qr loss? If not, than shall ws meekly sit down, see our best Industry go backward and conspire to discour age the greatsit railway dsrsiopmsnt that has been Inaugurated in many years T Surely in this great common wealth, ws can find enough character, ability and experience to steer us from the shoals of parsimony and stagnation on the one hand and from the rooks of extravaganoo and speculation on the other." April Butterick Patterns Ready. "Butterick Fashions." 25c and any 10c-15c pattern free. tsUUliJl The Quality" 5t i 1S67 or Portland Delineator for Subscribers now ready 'n our Pattern Store, Sec ond Floor, Fifth Street. Fourth Floor Sixth Street Fourth Floor Sixth Street Just in By Express Big Assortment Stylish, Inexpensive New Spring $2.75 to $5.00 Models Popular-priced Spring Millinery Js in demand and we're ready to supply it. Table after table is spread with these new models just in and the output of bur own expert milliners every pit as stylish and good-looking as the higher priced millinery! Come in tomorrow and see the wonders we've accomplished. $5 Millinery a Leader We've a wonderful display of hats at this very conserv ative price. Flower and ribbon trimmed, newest styles and chic tailored hats. $2.75 to $4.50 Hats -Embrace every possible' style for early Spring. Sailors, tri cornes, toques, turbans flowers, ribbon and wing trimmed. Black and colors. Untrimmed Shapes $1.25-$3.50 ' A huge assortment in.Milans and hemps very latest shapes in black and colors. Flowers and Foliage, 15c to $1.50 For the trimming of these shapes. High and sober colors, every possible effect. . - t STOMoe New "Dix Make" House Dresses New Spring styles in famous "Dix Make," the smart, neat house dress worn by par ticular women all over the country and sold here exclusively in Portland. Wth pretty touches of hand embroidery, pleated waists and full skirts, every woman who enjoys being neat and dainty in her home should select several. Scotch ginghams, chambrays, lawns, madras and percales in pretty shades of pink, blue, lavender and green some striped, some dotted, and some plain all sizes in a variety of styles! Priced 98c, $1.50, $2.00, $2.50, $3.00 and $4.00. Third Floor, Sixth Street Mrs. T. B. Wheelock's FREE COOKING LESSONS now in progress in our auditoitum, sixth floor. Mrs. Wheelock lectures on domestic science and gives attractive and practical cooking dem onstrations twice daily 10:30 A. M. and 2:30 P. M. No charge. The Pyrex Glass Cooking Dish demonstration will interest you, too. The Best Place to Lunch The Dutch Room for men, where they may smoke and chat over their meals. . Excellent cuisine, congenial at mosphere. PRISCILLA TEA ROOM for men and women. Afternoon tea served. Un eqnaled service. You'll enjoy the quiet, restful surrounding hifh above the noise and confusion of the street! jNimh Floor. Tomorrow and for the Balance of This Weeh-a Big Meier & hrank SALE OF KeM UMBRELLAS Now is the time to prepare for the Spring rainy seasonU Ve have the largest stocks of um- -1 brellas-'fn Portland, and there are marked savings on reliable umbrel las of all kinds, in face of the great advance in steel rods, ribs, runners and all umbrella cloths this is a truly remarkable sale! If you want splendid, real savings choose your umbrella in this sale tomorrow! $3.50 Umbrellas, $2.85 Women's black silk umbrellas, 26 inch size, with best steel rods and ribs. Plain, straight handles of natu ral woods and black crook handles. $4 Umbrellas, $3.19 Women's fine black silk um brellas. Every one fast black and waterproof. Full 26 inch size, steel frames. Many novel handles, including the "Prince-of-Wales" style. Neatly cased and tasseled. $4 Umbrellas, $3.19 Men's and women's tight roll silk umbrellas, English style. Excellent quality. Fast Wack silk covers, thoroughly waterproofed, made over finest frames. Many pretty handles in light and dark woods. Colored Silk Umbrellas, $5 Genuine rainproofed umbrel las in fast colors. All popular colors red, green, purple, na vy, gray, black, black and white. Made with all-wood sticks and popular "Prince-of-Wales" handles. $6.50 Umbrellas, $3.65 Very fine quality black silk umbrellas for women. Every one fast black and watei proofed. Made with detachable handles in a wide assort-"? ment of styles. Some sterling silver trimmed. 26 inch size. Best frames. $2.50 Umbrellas, $1.95 A good, inexpensive umbrella. Fast, black, made on 26 inch frame, with detachable handle In many styles, both plain and fancy. Strong steel rods and ribs a good, durable, everyday umbrella. Special at 1.95. Why throw away that damaged umbrella? t A new cover for 1, 1.50 up to $4.50 makes it new again I Expert workmanship. Main Floor, Fifth St. Four More New and Pretty Wirthmors, $1 Waists Sold Here Only in Portland Yes, they're just as good looking as any of their predecessors, and, in addition, they show all the newest style touches. Note the pretty scalloped effect, the trim tailored model and the two dainty lace trimmed waists illustrated. Smart in style, of good material and ex tremely low as to price. Wirthmor Dollar Waists Tourta Floor, Central Just In Complete Assortment ' New SMART SKIRTS -Lovely satin skirts for wear with the sheer blouses, chic awning stripe. Kaiser silk, golfine in high colors and white. Tailored models are mostly on flaring lines, very wide, with set-in pocket and ornamental laps. These include the jaunty sports skirts of knitted fabric, golfine and worsted materials. Wash skirts, too, are being worn very early this year. Linenes, repps, wash silks and pique, and narrow and wide striped materials, white and high colors. Fourth Floor, Fifth St. Pure Lard Ste No. 5 Pail, 69c A one day sale, Jri spite of market advances. No. 10 pails specially priced tomorrow, l.35. Smoked Shoulders, sugar cured, medium weight, pound, 12c Sauerkraut, solidly filled No. 2 Vj cans, the dozen $1.10. the can, 10c fuse Bacon, sugar cured, 10 to 12 lb. strips, Vz strips, the pound, 20 He Beans, California dried. 5 lb. cloth sacks, 39c .Italian Prunes, 70 to 80 to lb. size, 5 pounds, 25c. White Beans, California; lage, 5 pound cloth sacks, 39c. Karo Syrup, "Blue Label,", No. 5 tans, 30c White Lily Butter, fancy Ore gon make, roll, 70c Whole Wheat Flour, or Gra ham, No. 10 sacks, 35c Tea-Room Coffee, noted for its flavor, pound, 35c Solid Pumpkin, No. llA cans, dozen 95 3 cans' mtn moor. TUM t.t.ret I