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Show H, Farms and Farm Life In California A MAN was in this city a few days ago who made the startling assertion that except for : the Chinese and Japanese in California, the B people in that state would starve to death, that M the modern generation of Californlans would not Bt work In the fields and vineyards. Of course, that H Is an exaggerated statement, but there must have been some foundation far it, and to one who un- M ders'tands the conditions which have led up to H. the present condition, it is not hard to realize H why a great many people are prejudiced against H agricultural life in California. The first Is that B' the rich valleys of California, where not irrl- B'j gated, are almost as bare of vegetation as the B J desert from the first of July until the rains come HT in the autumn. Then the lower valleys, especially especial-ly Bn ly the Sacramento and San Joaquin, and their tributaries, are exceedingly warm. Imagine the discomforts of living In such a country for nearly half the year. Then the crops that will grow and mature in such a region are limited to a few cereals. Then in the past a great portion of those valleys have been covered by land grants, mostly old Spanish grants, with titles often clouded, and with owners who would not sell at any reasonable price, and who would not subdivide sub-divide the tracts, so that men could buy small holdings, and with no power anywhere to impound im-pound the waters flowing through the lands, that their life might be transmitted to the soil. Then there have been many discouragements to toilers. When the raisin Industry was first inaugurated in Fresno valley, the people who engaged en-gaged In It believed there would never be a supply sup-ply to meet the demand. That dream was dispelled dis-pelled within five years after the vines began to bear. Then the rage was for orange groves, but so soon as these became abundant, there were the railroad exactions to meet, and a little later came combines of men to fix the prices at which the fruit raisers must sell, and lastly the produce pro-duce trust, to not only dictate the prices which farmers might charge, but the other prices which merchants must exact from their customers. custom-ers. Most men, reading the foregoing, would say: "If these are the conditions in California, excuse me from trying to carry on either a farm or an orchard in California." Still California is naturally about the very richest and noblest state In the Union. But some things will have to be revolutionized there. The great tracts of land will have to be partitioned. Such a system of irrigation will have to be inaugurated in-augurated as will keep the valleys green. There will have to be reasonable freight rates, and a free market In which to sell the products of the soil. This is so apparent that the wonder is the legislatures of that state have not before this brought all these things about. The land monopoly monop-oly might long ago have been broken up by taxing tax-ing those great tracts just as though they were under cultivation. The state might long ago have had the valleys val-leys under irrigation, by proposing to advance tho money or credit needed, and, by a vote of the property owners, have had the money so advanced a lien upon the lands until the full amount of principal and interest should be refunded. The prosecuting attorneys and courts could eradicate the combines that are preying upon the farmers. The most difficult obstacle, the railroad exactions, ot course, the state could regulate only within its borders, and it would have trouble even to do that, for most of the roads are corporations of other states, and they are hard to fight; but with a variety of crops on each farm, and not depending, depend-ing, as heretofore, upon a single cereal or a little lit-tle orchard, most of that difficulty could be obviated, ob-viated, and then interurban roads are being extended ex-tended rapidly which will have to rely upon local freights and fares. It will take some time to bring all this around, but it can be done, and then in reward the soil will yield two crops per annum and young California will find much joy in the home farm life. |