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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 16, 1910)
f 8 ' O? i'i' " ' jti, FAFJttRS BT IJCONAJID POWLEB, (SpecliU Comnilnaluner, The Otn&ha Ree.) THOVO, Utah, Oct 15. (Speulal Cor-rnpondence.)-Tli laat step for the final reclamation of 6O.0U0 acrea of fertile farm lands. lying In t'tah valley, have Juet been taken; the last examination made; the lant rerominmulatlon paused on to I'rpaldunt i O'art. Hundreds of settlpi-a are comlna; by aJmuNt evoi-jr train; fall plowing baa begun, nd fields, vacant until a few months ago, are being barred and crossed by hundreds j of thousands of young fruit trees, being planted now that they may bo rooted and growing when the United States govern ment turns on tho water that Is to run through the oanals and laternls of the Vnlted States government Strawberry val ley Irrigation project SUty thousands of acres of land, until ; Mow semi-arid and only partially produr- ' tlva, are to be made Into orchards of peach vnd plum and pear and apple trees. Bity thousand acres 10 be reclaimed; planted and created Into one vast valley full of pleasant homes, productive farra leads, thriving towna and villages. i To do this obstacles unheard of have bean et aside. A river, a real river full of water, has been turned aside and made to Join an other river. . A hole, sixty feet square, lined with ce ment, walled and buttressed, strong as human Ingenuity and government money can make It, has been bored for four miles I through a mountain, almost of solid rook. . A reservoir with great retaining walls of rock and oanient and steel has been built o deep that a four-story building might De Hidden behind its wings of solid granite euid cement And In the mountains where the annual now fall Is 271 Inches deep this dam of Impregnable strength, constructed by the engineers of tlu United States reclamation ervice, will hold in storage enough water to cover to a depth of two feet the entire .000 acres of farm and orchard lands. The r of this reservoir Is 6,0ij0 acres. It Will contain llD.OW-acre-feet of water and this means thut the reservoir is a lake ,0c0 acres In extent, twenty feet deep with the water of mountain streums and melted now; ready to feed the thirsty trees grow ing In' the orchards; to molHten the roots f the crops springing in the fields of the 10.000 acres In the valley below. A wagon road thirty-two miles long has Ibeen built, scientifically constructed, macad amised through the mountain defiles, dinging to sheer cliffs and blasted from olid rock so thai the lifting of the heavy machinery !Uwl) feet, almoxt two miles, and its transportation to n.edmj points in the mountains might be accomplished with comparative eae. A telephone line, thirty-eight miles long, has been built to facilitate communication With sources of supply. A power transmiKHlon line, thirty-eight mlies long, has been built to furnish elec tricity to drive the drills and rock crushers needed In the building of the dam and the boring of the tunnel. A power plant, one of the numt modern and perfect in America, manned by exerts of the first experience and intelligence, with the finest machinery and most mod ern of tools, has been created; a hydro electric plant that harnesses the energy of a mountain stream; a auples affair so that if one side gets out of business the Other one begins and continues the work. And all of tins under certain restrictions Is to be turned over to these settlers who are coming in here now, taking up these lands, planting their trees and building their homes. Tills is but a part of the sum of human accomplishment, a Utile of the realised dream of a handful of men here la Utah, determined to make "more loom" for the land hungry, more homes for the homeless, farmsteads where the deserts were. This Is the answer sent out by a little company of western men to the nation J. ! ' JiKID ? T 2iCriL,T ACJZOSS 1 T-,r : : J .. ... .. TLB 0,000 JPOWZJT? wide cry for "more room." They gain not one dollar; the entire project was turned over to the United States government ab solutely free of cost. They located the lands, found the sources of the water sup ply, explored for the reservoir site and discovered the power. They Interested the slow-movln;T machinery of the United States government and gave their work, time and money toward the making of "more room." The exact geographical center of Utah Is located In a Provo graveyard. Provo is the third 'city In the state of Utah. It is the county seat of Utah county and the largest town to be benefitted by the Straw berry valley Irrigation project. To find It, run your finger south from Salt l,ake Uity along the serpentine black lines indicating any one of the three transcontinental rail roads. Or begin at Grand Junction, Colo., running the finger along the Uio Grande, a part of the Gould transcontinental line, north and west. Or at Bvanston, Wyo., along the Union Pacific, south and west. There It Is, shaped llge a woman's shoe, French heels and all, with the shimmering sliver surface of Utah lake the elastic that used to be a part of women's shoes when I was a boy. That Is Utah county, the third most important in the state of Utah, just beginning to awaken to a full realisation of her great wealth, untouched natural resources and the thousands of advantages, free for the taking she has to offer to every man or woman who settles within her gates. To the south and east of Utah lake nM the Uintah mountains. Within these mountains 9,000 feet above sea level, over One of the Live Firms of a Live Town of the West The success of the firm of Last & Thomas of Ogden,' Utah, Is an example of what live, active young men can do in the retail business In tne lnter-mountaln coun try. The business was established by these men In WW and from a small beginning has grown until It is one of the most Im portant retail stores In the whole west The firm consists of J. H. -F. Last, who is a native of Amsterdam, Holland, although he came to Ogden when but a small boy, and J. II. Thomas, who Is a native ot Provo, Utah. Not only does this firm own and conduct this splendid, business, but it also controls the Otfden Wholesale Drug company, which does a retail as well as a wnulesale business, and the Ogden Pharmacal com pany. This latter Institution was estab Ushed five years ago and Is an Important factor In the manufacturing Industries of Ogden. J. II. Thomas of the firm of Last & Thomas Is a son of Hubert Thomas, the first man to enter the state of Utah as a permanent clllien. The pioneer Immi grants entered the stale on July -4, 1MT. but two days before this time a vanguard of sixteen men, like the spies who accom panied Joshua and Caleb into Canaan, preceded the main body Into the promised land. However, this group of men were too brave to carry back a discouraging re port and instead gave good tidings to those who followed. "Uncle' Hubert Thomas was not only a pioneer In entering the country, but he w as also a pioneer In Irrigation work. The first Irrigation done by white men In America was that on the present temple luare In tsalt Lake City and within fifty feet of the site of the temple. Then cents mora extenstv work in the line and the first which amounted to a success was that done by Mr. Thomas at Provo in 1M7 when he took the water from the Provo river and used It to Irrigate his fields of L.fc ttAUV CAjrAJJ jJpfegLfl . . v r- S". Wff.? i r 1 IF ' . ... J W ' . 'V . JPLAZFT shadowed by three great peaks of granite, is the reservoir 6,000 acres in extent fed by the eternal waters of tho enowclnd peaks. And between the mountains and the lake lie the 0,000 acres of the Straw bery valley Irrigation project of the United States government. Already it Is dotted over with half a score or more thr'vlng villages, with Provo, the third city of the state, the largest of all. "1 look to see this city reach a population of 25,009 peo ple," said W. II. Kay. the mayor of t'rovo. "Tho completion of this project, now as sured as fast as monry and men and bra!ns can finish it, will mean that Utah vallev from l.ehl to Payson will offer cnp'tul, age, experience, youth, more opportuni ties than any other section ot the entire west. The resources of the county nre practically inexhaustible, barely have they been scratched. Provo Is located In the most advantageous position of any city in the state for a quick growth. The fer tility of the soil Is not surpassed anywhere In this section, and the yield of fruit, hay, grain or garden truck Is so prolific SB to be almost unbelievable. The valley Is al most unknown, but with the work of the government, the enterprise of our own people, and the alertness of capital for new opportunities wherever located, will soon turn all eyes In this direction. Provo in any other western state would have had that population long ago. But we are slower In Utah; we do things not so fast, but more surely." i The ' first steps for the reclamation of the Strawberry valley Irrigation project were taken In 1S9. The last steps were J. H. THOMAS. potatoes and grain. Since that time Irrigation has made won derful utricles, but at all times Utah has led In the work and the first National Irri gation congress was held In Its borders While a great work has been done In this line, the plana for the future are for greater work than has already been done. j X 1 ; ,11 v:"'- ; . - " 4 t THE OMAHA SUNDAY T1EK: OCTOBER in, 1010. V - 1 1 taken yesterday when the final reports wero filed by the government commission, which made a tour of the project three weeks ago. The plans have been approved and the appropriations passed. From now on to the end the problems are those ot construction for contractors to master. The enpjneers are through, the profiles are made, and nothing remains but the physi cal labor of building dltcheo, laterals and acequlas. Already tens of thousands of young peach trees are planted and growing on these new orchard lands, the annual rainfall of eighteen inches being quite suf ficient to nourish the young stock. Thus, when the water Is at Inst turned on, It will take Its course down Its laterals to finished orchards, which have been making their wood and getting ready for the bear ing while the government has been building its flumes and reservoirs and getting ready to furnish the necessary water. At this altitude almost a mile above sea level apples grow to an amazing firm ness for transportation over long distances, and peaches attain an astounding sire. The markets are on every hand. Salt Lake City, with a population of 100,000 people Is but one and one-half hours', distant over the lines of any one of the three transcontinen tal railways. Mining camps are scattered every which way in the hills, and the farmer on tills government project can drive his produce over some of the finest moun tain roads on earth, rilrect to the consumer, the miner who wants the best and pays the highest price. Or, If he seeks a more distant market he has three railways through the heart ot the project and from any part of the 80,000 acres the whistle of the not-distant locomotive can be heard. The men who began this stupendous un dertaking are all farmers and sons - of farmers. No eastern promoter has ever set foot on the land. There Is not a single taint of Wall "Street method on the entire 60,000 acres. The sturdy company, which bore the brunt; who held fast to the Ideals of those first days; the Infancy of the Strawberry Valley Irrigation project, was composed of men who themselves, had made their start nTum the Identical fertile farm lands of this seotlon with nothing more to depend on than eighteen Inches of rain per year. They had raised their half crops; sold them to the nearby markets; had prospered. "With more water, sure of moistxir when we want it and as much of It as we want, we can develop our lands into orchards, work leas and gain more." These were the practical words, the practicsl reason for tiie dream that has now borne such wonder ful fruit. It Vaa a reason of reality; a defi nite need, an open opportunity faced them and tliey "hopped to it" with a vigorous haste that swept every obstacle before it. They estimated the cost, hired the engineers to run. the preliminary lines, secured the pledges of the lands, had old Irrigation rights waived, called meetings, organized clubs among themselves, farmer clubs where every suggertlou would be practicsl, where every man who rose to his feet would have an Idra. That's the kind of men they were. And they won. it was lieber C. Jex, at that time the msor of Spanish Fork, Utah, the most central town on the project, who located the water in the Uintah hills. Stste Sena tor Henry M. Gardiner. James h. McBelh, A T. Money, Theodore Hedilckson. K. 11. K Ferguson and Fred Matley. guided by Knglneer Frank C. Kelsey, were the men who explored the Strawberry valley and organised their efforts and the efforts of their cominunlliba into a concrete plan for the raising of the productivity of the DO.Ouo acres of fertile farm landa. Filled with the determination of the west these men or ganized a company known as the Straw berry Valley Water Users' association and worked on the plan until 1. Then it had gri.wu so vat as to be biyond their finan cial ability to carry It on and an appeal was made to the United States govtro- 1. SO AD THIRTY 7 ' :: A 1 3 -. SCENE. -AT WESr PORTAL CATZP or STRAVrBBILRY ment. Senators Reed Smoot and George Sutherland took up the matter with the reclamation service. A contract was exe cuted and in that year the entire, protect was taken over by the United States gov ernment, which made certain the final de velopment of the entire 60.000 acres of orchard lands under the most favorable auspices and along the lines of the most modern engineering effort Measured in apple trees, It Is calculated that this project will give room to B.400,000 standard varieties. All over this portion of Utah 8-year-old trees bear six boxes of commercial apples to the tree, a grand total of 32,400,000 boxes of commercial apples. The Union Pacific railway easily trans ports 600 boxes of apples to the car, a total of 61,000 carloads of commercial apples. Over the mountain grades forty carloads Is thought to compose a train and thus the CO.OuO acres of land under the Straw berry Valley Irrigation project planted to Utah Boy Who Has More Than Made Good at Home It Is often said that "a prophet is not without honor, save In his own country," but this is not true with W. II. Williams of Ogden, I'tah, tiie president and inun agar of the Shupe-Ylllliuiia Candy com pany. Mr. Williams Is a native of Ogden, his father having been one of Uie pioneers of Utah, coming to the Ogden valley di rect from lUigland. Vhe Shupe-Wllllams company was founded in lHixj with a capi tal of Jl.Olfl. of this $7 was expended for the purchase of a small candy factory which haci been operated tor several yeau with indifferent sucirits, white t- formed the working capital of the company. '1 hey row have an establishment wortn 2i,'aj, all made from tiie business in fourleeu years. Tne iiavellug men from the fac tory cover Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wo mlng, Colorado, I'tah and Nevaua and meet competition from every purl of Hie union, auu l.ave been abie to eulajl.bh toe i lame of the al.upe-U Uliaiim confection. wiierever liiey hsve compiled, on account of the quality of the oodn w uu li lit , e ueeii manutsoiuied under tiie direction of Mr. Wllhaxns. Mr. Williams has shown a remarkable capacity for bus neB in other directions and has been a f;icu,r in tiie commercial Srowth of the city. He ha always been set ve In all movements for the advance ot public Interests and ranks high among the young men of this growing stale, lie Is also socially active and popular. Wealth Zoxnz to FACILITATE. 'r.'X- fit! ..v,v f V 1-& : tt trees twenty-five feet apart, or ninety trees to the acre, will yield 136 tralnloads of apples of the finest selection, the most marketable fruit that goes on the break fast thles of eastern cities. A stupendous project ba-ked by the United Stutes government and second only to the GuntilHon tunnel In Colorado, opened by President Taft a few months ago. Set tlers are now buying lands undrx the canal, trees are being planted and the half score or more of cities are already feeling the impetus of this new element of growth in this the oldest of western states. Favorite Fiction. "Mr. Bullion, I love your daughter." "It's a matter of principle with me; that's why 1 never tip a waiter." "Yes, deur; I think you look splendid In your new hat." "I enjoyed your song recital ever so much. Ml.is Owler." "Tell me what broke It off, Ilettha; I'll never breathe It to a bou!!" e"'- :;'v t 1 ''Vf'i . ( "X ... i ' ' . W. II. W1I.LIA.M3. nztAirspo&TATIolT s Si . v.fr , of SECTION Si Vs- sws S3, "Pear sir: Your esteemed favor Just received." "No. 1 never did like those kisalng allien." "Indeed. your honor. my husband's always pood to me except when he's drinking." ' "We'll b glad to hsve you Join us, Mr, "nrwn " Clili Hiro Tiibune. WR1 AND ASK US Yes, distinctly, plainly, write and ask us for the opportunities wo cau show you to DOUBLE YOUR MONEY IN SOUTHERN IDAHO. The land U filled witb new ways of living well, comfortably, happily and profitably. Send todiiy ror THE FREE BOOKLET which dtbtribi'b Southern Idaho so well that WE BRING IDAHO TO YOU. We can tshow you how to mak ' nioiiey. We need money to loan on approved security at such rates as to net you 7 per cent. Vou can't get such rates in the Middle West. Farm landb are cheap and can he bought on credit. You cannot make a mistake in SOUTHERN IDAHO even If J)U buy with your eyes shut. But WRITE TO US FIRST. We point the way to eabler, happli-r, pleananler living. Any Uauk In Twin Falls is our reference. EMi & Taylor IRRIGATED FARMS Twin Falls, Idaho in you ooma to but lihoi No tanner should mink of I'uynm . iioina befoie seeing a copy of our Juuinal. It I jus lands, city property and slot Ks of It'xid advertised In it frum every Male In liio union, ho Ihul you can find JU-.1 what ou .nImIi In lis coluiiiiis. It readies tu, juu readers each iiNmie. AdveitiHiiK rales l'c pel' w ord. Sen. i oc for " ihoiiUi.V trial eubeci Iptlim. It will la- nioppcl at the eml of J Innntti utile you letiew. Farui aad Keel Estate Journal, Yraer, Iowa. lifer! PLEASE. j &.' i llkyj; ! WRITE. Mj DISTINCTLY !j