| Show pea the place for home seekers N by J A MAY M 9 I 1 K the vintah B basin asin Is the tha last big area of farm land left in the ted west that is low in cost g good drainage excellent climate thirty ce seven v en per cent of a all 11 irrigated land will soon be farmed in du chesne and uintah counties rot for more than a generation the uintah basin papers back backed ad by many 1 individuals in written and spoken surveys of the topography soil drainage climate and other import important lilt factors of th the land have continued the story the telling ot of why this is a t good place tor for h home ome seekers an excellent place to live and be independent our own citizens in these two counties have become accustomed to tills 8 old old title tal descriptions statistics facts and figures havo have become too common at the present time our average basin fanner may or may mot inot realize the bigness of this inland empire and it is certain that 75 or of own people have practically no conception of this basin owing to the evolution pt busin business ss and the world war revolution that upset all former standards a new ara has come to all U S A aad the state of utah has been seriously affected our standards of living have improved our wealth increased and our population has grown rapidly with these gigantic corces arces or ces it is right that we pause once each year and take stock as it were ware size up tip the Butt situation lation here in the basin what is the basin now what should its g growth crowth be in the next decade what may we do t help conditions at present how may we obtain additional farmers s that our I 1 land and shall be cultivated cultivate and the great wealth made into taxable property these thes important questions deserve careful consideration by every tax payet payer here now and the answering of them should interest all utah people the basin the utah part more especially is essen essm itally a unit it is walled in by hl hish h mountains isolated from all the wain main continental forces of comi alerce and industry ii is sewed up as it were in one big package note the tha following summary of important facts population about in the two counties taxable property about twelve million dollars per assessment roles land reclaimed per detailed Mat statement ement of projects acres land partly ready projects cheap held beld up lip for capital acres total land ready ard and farmed or that hat is dirt cheap an nearly ready 4 1 G 6 7 C acres this gives us about 20 ceres acres pet pel emmita of cheap land or fifteen acres now ready arcady and largely farmed but without anoush h help outside of the basin utah has hai only about two acres per capita cruelly pru cru ally farmed idaho six acree arl other ether mountain states ironi front four t ti seven acres air sheep business brings us its about one ona rl allion lion dollars alfalfa seed in 1325 1925 was scarly ES much this year the teed seed total stropped stopp ed somewhat our milk cows give div i us ely a half million dollars per annum beef hogs turkeys tui tili keys honey and ot of ir r exportable products exclusive ct cr hydrocarbons hydro carbons make up a total c cash ash return of possibly fie million 1 d I allars per year or 2500 per cip c ip ila our rint rent garden pro produce uce fruit her products consumed but t not included in the total ato above will III pay our taxes and interest at the present time we are just holding on many of us trying to farm more than our man power will handle we are actually farming about acres or trying to and have a large arm aria of reclaimed lands used only for pasture or laying idle then this land partly lea iea dy projects held up but land and water makes the situation the ni niro miro ro important but drainage that vitally necessary element with irrigation of 0 new lands is almost ideal alkali present in alf all new soil oil drains in solution to low lanag anu and h 19 there de posited in most new irrigation di districts but in the barin the drainage is almost ii A very little effort in arranging ditches and lat lall emals and proper dieP of tile the waste water relieves us of axce s alkali our alkali problem Is very unimportant as complied with other ini gated sections of thi tha west cpr por present improvements wo we should improve our dairy stock build barns barn and sh d an fn n hat tal HIP milk cow may be treated right our on farming must be more diversified many cars of corn shipped in for winter sheep feed should bs be produced here the hundreds of m anc tr ure piles must be rightly spread d upon the land cloer and alfalfa soils plowed up and then we have good soil at present and on all new lands the bumas Is very low unless manure has hag been properly spread or clover or alfalfa grown nar fall niall lit in th lower arid and the best agricultural land Is extremely light or only s about 6 inches per annum around rahe tile toot foot hills this la is possibly tit teen inches and up on the water shed likely 25 inches alls each year but for centuries jur best farm land has been without cough nough water tor for good vegetation incept along the water channels and the plant food is very low this best agricultural belt is the land from feet lit in allitt da down to feat on oil groon green river although there here is mighty good ranch property t L feet and on teet feet BUT WE ARE LOCKED IN ISOLATED SEPARATED from the rest of the state the only land which we may reach without passing over a range of mountains Is the basin that continues on into colorado in tact fact utah and colorado share equally in fit the total area araa of this land that is essentially a unit a natural basin and wyoming has a small part of it Ilow however evar this utah part is the choice fat far furrowing farrowing rowing section the richest and the bist best these present problems lead us to the question what may we do to git get more man power more farmers or this may be placed in another form viz what holds Us back why dont we grow faster this cheap land ample timber coal water w ater water awatar power and a climate e alm almost ideal justify a rapid change why dont we get it it seems to nf that the answer is simple in talking with many prospective land buyers this year I 1 have nearly always found one big obstacle against their making this home and that is ISOLATION present standards of living demand advantages of quick communication by auto miles lont count so much as good roads fifty miles is not tar far or one hundred fifty but what are the ro roads ads that Is the question utah Is using for farm crops only acres or less than three acres per capita it if we take his uintah basin land out of the total then our state is only about two acres per capita utah people Ie ciple have for fifty years 10 0 other states and nations for more land and and they are still leaving hiir heir native state for these i ire I fp re sections why wont tiley they ome and take some of this basi it there is only one answer th j vant to be nearer to life to th advantages of a railroad and goo aiuto roads provide provida it is ip lp parent that we must have bette batte oads over the mountains most if the wealth and thi the population n our state is west of 0 the was wasatch at ca I 1 ange our griat great draw back allf biggest hindrance the really great retarding force is the lack of a good road west of duchesne over nto the great grat basin if we could get this mighty factor in working order our biggest problem would be alved because ISOLATION is a stronger strong er force against us than transportation this east west oad clad means much to utah A road eress cross the brockles on our eastern im m through the basin and ovir over he wasatch on the west would be the he most important road for utah ns as a whole while our transformation from a livestock to a ampre diversified tanning farming area has been rapid since since the slump that lift hit us six years agai ago yet wa must knust continue rapidly along this line of diversification it is up to us to show the would be home builder that we can jo big things we wa must continue to farm more intelligently but this cast west road may also be demanded that will bring the additional people for which we now have land ready to farm when we get people we can handle the railroad situation ourselves if necessary we may get these additional dit ional farmers it if we go about it right that road must be rt nde de a reality with the least possible delay if the stati stata and government play nay spend a million or so down in zions park country to show the scenic wonders there I 1 believe thise game forces will spend a million to add or more to this basin because our state sends out of its borders each year nearly that many home homa seekers in III to idaho california oregon arizona wy orning aming montana canada and ale xi 1 CO 0 o utah has the surplus population and our oui basin has the excess ian land read eady v tor for the farmer it is the cheapest farm land lit in the id ed west utah could not her ler present population were it not for or the mines ri and business which salt laka city an and d ogden get because bacasse of their strategic positions farming lit in utah mcday will v all not does not support the halt half million leopla we ship in a large amount of food even corn and possibly 65 of all pork and lard there la Is an excess of eggs possibly likewise Ilkew lse butter buttar honey and wheat but this Is small only about a million bushels of wheat is exported from our state hence it Is far leas lass in cash value than alfalfa 1 seed as a cash crop that is bring ins ing cash into the state at present we have many small communities four towns have somi soma semblance of city c ity life or coffa cou itry town life while all the others ire are int merely arely little groups precincts many having a store or two alsol also a school c hurch church and a lc duchesne county lias has twenty four voting precincts and uintah county nearly as many nearly every one has many idle acres many mally farms once halt half farmed and now idle action lattion has increased but the land farmed is no more than it was tin tan years ago the farmer lias cut down his acreage and much land Is not used every state wants more people every community wants to grow growa but over the state outside this basin and in irist dinst of this nation the growth on farm land has about reached the limit except for very intensified agriculture we know that in a few years our basin will be opened up and that we shall have at least people where we now have but the pioneers who have endured this eisold isola tion have reclaimed this dry land land deserve some ome of the belef benefits t S w while I 1 tile they live it is not tight light to let tha original home builders share all the burden of pioneering and receive little or none of the advance mant that they deserve many of them are down hearted about a railroad ever coming coining although we have all expected it tor for twenty five years there Is not enough optimism we need and we may ave it by intelligently demanding it faith without work does docs not bring results many well to do tarn rs Is have purchased homes in salt lake city provo and other towns having modi mod i 1 ern am conveniences arid and advantages advantage si and they send their fa milLs therel there i for cor the winter period many have to either buy homes outside or rent roomi rooms for their boys and girls of high school age houses cannot cannoa to te rented in roosevelt without floine aiom ane one to six months waiting and guessing 1 we wa have a good high school four year standard course but noi no houses to rent at least fifty families 1 would come to roosevelt for the winter ier tor the school term it if they could rent places place in which to live hence this the largest town in the basin needs fifty new homes and needs therra them badly in fact and needs them badly and fi fifty ty new homes built lit in the next cigut homes built in the next eight months would just be a good starter I 1 this number is very urgently demanded NOW prom from every angle the situation as to the present and the immediately imme immediate diatel future is serious lets get thail that east west road dont you bel believe level that if our legislature were rightly informed as to the facts rela relative facts that the lawmakers law makers would find a way to help us they could send a resolution to our delegation lit in washington asking for federal 1 aid arid and thin then the state of utah could help we are strong elou enough h to get this it if we go after it with determination the di manding of that which is only just and fair has half the battle won with the facts all we need is gura burtlou gurt tiou lou back backi 1 i bone determination we have lave proved that we have these requisites or we could not make this basin grow as is we ire are doing why cant WP we do something to remove the grea great tast handicap isolation lets plant more trees tor for our use for posts future timber and to beautify f y the landscape and bring us more aln lets improve the tha dairy stock more tio ze attention to proper diat di nage is needed better bettar barns and sheds are necessary and the building of good homes has only begun but thesa problems aie individual right with each homemaker home honic maker and they are being slowly handled but this bigger job the one that denial demands wore ir ore union more cooperation raould have equal consideration the wind liine 11 as s it w untied j of the grand and glorious s christinas spirit the most prosperous christmas in many a year had bad struck cedar junction happy snow bedecked bedecker crowds swarmed the downtown district ablaze with aith glimmering lights and decorative displays perhaps old silas who lived on the rural route just outside of town was the only brinan hiim in being to whom christmas meant nothing tie he had become separated from everyone who had ever been dear to him and as the years slipped by 1 I 1 lie he had bad 9 grown rown t strangely morose and indifferent children were afraid of him and lit I 1 i grownups grown ups stayed clear of him now it seems there were several social clubs J ro in cedar junet alon i 0 n and at christmas t tide I 1 m is they all did their lit bit toward making f al everyone happy but st sl had always been forgotten no ku one seemed to ever think of making libin happy this year a new member had entered the mens card club one joseppi jose P 11 Il artlett on an extremely fine fellow al all I 1 jiin d who was always suggesting sol something new and original at their final meeting before christmas christinas when all had been satisfactorily facto rily arranged joseph who smilingly arose filled to the brim wi with alth the christmas spirit and made lie motion say boys how about making mailing od sl on the rural route happy tills this christmas at first there was a dead sl dence avery avery one was too shocked to speak but when the idea finally dawned upon ulon them all seconded the motion in the midst of the other celebrations ceI ebra the nappy happy twelve of tho the card club were busy making preparations for the call on sl SI they trimmed a small table tree delightfully with silas inscribed on a huge star at its peak then alien they prepared a dierly ry punch purchased a super box of excellent cigars and sallied forth headed by joseph the brave who j was though thoughtful trul enough to slip a dock deck of cards into his coat pocket besides about 9 p in and sl SI had bad retired as usual at an early hour I 1 when there came a loud knock upon ills his door jumping out of bed with a thump lie he roared chos there ilen aberry y christmas shouted the tha club well what of it cried alas sl as we ive have come to celebrate with you let us in what do you mean you band of scalawags scala wags get out of here before I 1 call the police the others were ready to flee for |
