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Show j I yoroj by iypjrj?Mvo0 " fi-wawoop fg MM ft ACK to the soil! Idaho or bust! fnB Well, nnyway, Chicugo woke up M -ifji "le ot'ler morning to stare at a L EHCA scene a bit out of the ordinary r f! f L on the grounds of the Chicago ft lrt? SIotor club nt Sixtieth street and 13 Cottage Grove avenue, within a stone's throw of the Midway of L f(A World's fair fame. First ta-presslons ta-presslons recorded several big irmy trucks, 25 automobiles of varied vintages and makes, a score or more of "bungalow trailers," men and women in khaki, children of all ages, family washing flapping on lines, fires going, the smell of bacon and coffee, family breakfast groups, and a big sign that set forth that the Chicago Motor club was entertaining "Gen." W. D. Scott's modern caravan, en route from Brooklyn, N. Y., to Buhl, Idaho. "Times change and we with them," sagely remarked re-marked an ancient philosopher. They do, indeed, though probably we change less than do the times, 'or Chicago, young as It Is It was not Incorporated Incor-porated as a city until 1837 has seen many a caravan headed west in the old days. But they were caravans of "prairie schooners," drawn by oxen or mules. And the men and women were going go-ing forth to face the unknown, fight Indians, turn Up the prairlo sod, contend with grasshoppers and drought and put up a fifty-fifty battle with fate for a home and a living. Not so this caravan. It was traveling in comfort com-fort and at speed. It knew lust where It was going. go-ing. It was scheduled for kindly attentions along the way and a warm welcome. Its land was secured. se-cured. There was water for irrigation. Houses and warehouses were ready. Everything down to the last detail had been arranged. Failure was unthinkable. Success seemed assured. Shades of Kit Carson, Marcus Whitman and Brlgham Young! What a contrast the Lincoln highway of 1021 to the Santa Fe trail of the Thirties, the Oregon-trail of the Forties, the Mormon Mor-mon trail of the Fifties, the "Flke's Peak or Bust" of the Sixties! The figures of the census of 1020 show that the trend of the population from the country to tho city has become greatly accentuated since 1910. Now, for the first time In the country's history, more than half the entire population is living In "urban territory." That is to say that of the population popu-lation of 105,083,108 persons 51.9 per cent are living liv-ing in cities and 48.1 per cent in rural communities. Iu the census of 1010 tho corresponding percentages percent-ages were 4G.3 and 53.7. This Is a condition that Is regarded as neither desirable nor entirely safe. Therefore many are the projects to get city dwellers back to the soil. Back to the soil 1 An American slogan for Amer-lcansT Amer-lcansT Yet the country does not extend a general invitation to all comers. It Is not ready to support an indefinite number of miscellaneous applicants. Mother Nature is very far from being the benevolent benevo-lent old soul she is pictured by the fictionlsts who write farm prospectuses. She does not give her bounties for nothing. She demands full payment. And she exacts full penalty for mistakes. It is the surest kind of a sure thing that the country home that pays Its own way means hard work for somebody. There will be blisters, backaches back-aches and sore muscles that will have to be worked from soreness into strength. Ere the billowing grnlu delights his eye, the clt-j man will understand under-stand why providence or natufe or evolution provided pro-vided him with eyebrows. Moreover, there Is a slowness and a deliberation Iu norure's ways and methods that to the city man, used to doing things upon the Instant, will be little less thun maddening. It Is useless to rage against tho ordered processes ; they cannot be hurried. Tho city man must learn to wait for seed time and harvest and to possess his soul in patience. So it is evident that there Is a balance to be struck. The city Is one tliir.g; the country Is another. an-other. The city cannot be transplanted In the country. And no on can strike tills balance for the would-be back-to-the-Iander ; be must do It for himself. In striking this balance, however, there is more to be taken into account than the dollars. There ore tho beauties of nature. There is pure air. undented by smoke and soot; a place in the sun. with no skyscrapers overhead to shut out the blue (l.y and the stars and the moon; honest thrrst that makes nectar of the gods out of water from the well and buttermilk from the spring-house; an appetite that would put a soul under the ribs of Death ; sleep the like of which no city man ever knows. From many viewpoints fanning Is the highest and best of callings. Farming is an honest business. busi-ness. The farmer Is no useless consumer, no parasite. para-site. He is a producer; he contributes directly to the wealth of the nation. He Is independent and is beholden to so man for place or favor. He does not climb np by dragging others down. Land Is the fundamental natural resource from which the nation draws Its life. And the farmer is the bulwark of the country. Yes; hack-to-the-land Is the right thing for the right man. He will find Independence mental. moral and financial. He will find a real home. And old Mother Nature will likely throw in health, strength and happiness for good measure. One of the photographs reproduced herewith shows Koyai N. Allen of the Chicago Motor club welcoming William D. Scott, leader of the caravan. cara-van. Mr. Scott used to live in Minneapolis. Then he went to Boston. Later lie became a successful sales manager In Brooklyn, with a home at 23G Decatur street. He is a middle-aged man, with a wife and two children. During the war he made a reputation as a "four-minute man." He had made up his mind to drive to the West this summer, sum-mer, buy a ranch, hang up his hat and grow up with the country. Several of his neighbors grew Interested and asked to go along. And that's how the colony Idea started. Then Mr. Scott wrote to commercial clubs and state and county officials In different parts of the West. Gov. David W. Davis of Idaho responded promptly with a definite offer. Mr. Scott went to Idaho and made a study of land in Twin Falls county, along the Snake river. Here's the way Mr. Scott tells It: "That settled It. When I saw that land I knew It was Just the place I was looking for, and I Immediately Im-mediately took an option on 5,120 acres. The land ' was offered to me at the uniform price of 5125 an acre, with water rights, $25 an acre to be paid down at purchase and the balance within ten years at 6 per cent Interest. "This whole land project Is supervised by the state. It la financed by the Idaho Farm Development Develop-ment company, the president of which Is E. T. Meredith, who was President Wilson's secretary of agriculture and who Is n practical farmer and the proprietor of an agricultural newspaper In Des Moines, la. Mr. Meredith and his associates, Incorporating under the Cnry act, spent $025,000 developing these tracts. The waters of three tributaries trib-utaries of the Snake river, draining the watershed of the Jnrbidge mountains, 47 miles southwest-ward southwest-ward from our colony, were dammed and Impounded Im-pounded in the Cedar Creek reservoir. Thence a steel flume lends the water down through the canyon of the Little Salmon river, Irrigating the lands which we -have taken up for our future homes and ranches. We have, In oil, an area of about three miles by six. "This Irrigation enterprise immediately made marvelously fertile many thousands of ocres which theretofore had been merely a sagebrush prairie. The area had been used only as cattle range and was one of tho most sparsely settled districts in the state. With irrigation, there isn't a better country for growing alfalfa, onions and the famous Idaho potatoes. On farms III the same neighborhood and enjoying like advantages to ours there have been grown world record crops of alfalfa, wheat to the tune of 02 bushel to the acre, and potatoes ratlug us high as 042 bushels to the acre. "liuhl, our nearest railroad town, Is about 12 miles from the most dlstan ranches of our colony. It Is n lively town only nine years old. but with about 7,000 population. A fine road, which Is more than 50 miles long ond which runs directly through our tract, connects Buhl with the new mining town of Jarbldge. Out of the Jarbldge mountains the Guggenheim Interests have taken more gold than all the yellow metal yielded by Alaska. The town of Jarbldge Is the natural center of that rich country, coun-try, and our colony will be its nearest source of supply, with a good road running straight Into It." Mr. Scott returned to Brooklyn bubbling over with enthusiasm. Ills enthusiasm was infectious. Ho was besieged with applications for membership. member-ship. But the 5,120 acres will make only 128 trncts of 40 acres each. So a weeding-out process was begun. Every prospective member was put through the third degr- The rule was laid down that every' occepted member must be "IVl per cent American": must have nt least ?3.W) n cash; must be able to take care of himself and family until the first crops are marketed. Even then tb- 12S members of the colony were quickly secured. In the meantime, the Idaho people, who had evidently evi-dently taken a shine to the Brooklyn people, were doing their part. Governor Davis visited Brooklyn Brook-lyn and addressed a meeting of the colonists. The Buhl chamber of comtni-ree sent Ben II. Bushman, one of Its leaders and secretory of the Rotary club with offers of s-rvleef.-oni the chamber and the cluh. So tho deal went through without a hitch ik 'cs 4lth sf-..lly AllD- for f Pr.-fe Pr.-fe tva MA P- the and with courdoca-thosistlng courdoca-thosistlng why jther Is in: and 5,120 ed. Pro byeek. next Scott "i cent now Court nbo- Utah. Eng com-fror. com-fror. vs Sou 5 "d De- but any Easlt0 RP-..jjr RP-..jjr the of eu. 11 shorwhict wldcwithlt fronlefenc supein th We ' Judg expert yo tce S com can th tat proe As comi"111" bung"ldinl availUtnh beinf such of tliLE to fr n,Ir,tlIillur( 'f Delta ,lln Jame fectsUefpn Rome pc1 mobile Jou der the "li do the Job dsts have I "In the : are awfull this way. an Idaho l stone? V we're trav not permit puce nf ah caravan to its bivouac ger cars three thr car. a tra' car and a be to run to keep it equipment. "And mi mentally, and were through Y( The cam Bnffulo am It started way. 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