Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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SYNOPSIS. CHAPTER I?K. C. Rlckard, an en&i neer of the Overland Pacific, Is called to the office of President Marshall in Tuc?on, Ariz. "Casey" Is an enigma to the office force; he wears "dude" clothes, but he had resigned a chair of engineering1 in the East to go on the road as a fireman and his promotion had been spectacular. While waiting for Marshall Rlckard reads a report on the ravages of the Colorado, despite the efforts of Thomas Hardin of the Desert Reclamation company. This Hardin had been a student under Rickard and had married Gerty Holmes, with whom Rickard had fancied be was in love. CHAPTER II?Marshall tells Rickard the Overland Pacific has ?)t to step In to save the Imperial Valley and sends him to the break. Rickard declines because he does not want to supplant Hardin, but Is won over. "Stop the rivetf damn the expense," saya Marshall. CHAPTER m?Rickard Journeys to Calexlco, sees the Irrigated desert an& learns much about Hardin and his work. ? ? - CHAPTER- III. (Continued From Last Friday Rlckard followed to the back of the <tast-swept stifling car. The glare on &e platform was intense. He stood ^Etching the newly made checkerboard of a country slip past him. Receding were the two lines of gleaming steel rails which connected and separated him from the world outside. He was "going in." Not in Mexico even'had h? such a feeling of ultimate remoteness. The mountains, converging per* eyectively toward the throat of the valley, looked elusive and unreal in their gauze draperies of rose and violet The tender hour of day was clothing them with mystery, softening their sharp outlines. They curtained the world beyond. Rickard felt the suspense of the next act. It was a torpid imagination, he thought which would not quicken over this conquest of the desert. East of the tract men and teams were preparing the newly furrowed ground for the seed. The curved land knives were breaking up the rich mold into ridges of soft soil as uncohesive and feathery as pulverized chocolate. It was the dark color of the chocolate of comr merce, this silt which had been pil fered from the states through which the vagrant river wandered. The smell of the upturned earth, sweetly damp, struck against his nostrils. Rickard Indulged a minute of whimsical fancy; this was California tefrltory over i which his train was passing, but the . eoil, that dark earth those blades were crumbling, was it not the tribute of other states, of despoiling Wyoming, of ravishing Colorado and Arizona? To the west new squares were being leveled and outlined. Shrubby rectangles were being cleared of their creosote bush and tough mesquite. Compared with other countries, the preparation for planting was the simplest. Horses were dragging over the ground a railroad rail bent into a V angle, w$ich pulled the bushes by the roots and dragged them out of the way. Beyond, farther west, could be seen the untouched desert. The surface for < many miles was cracked by water lines, broken and baked into Irregular slnd cakes; the mark of sand which bas been imprisoned by water and branded by swift heat Close by men were putting in with care the seed that was to quicken the liver silt. They were passing a square where the green tips of the grain were piercing the ground. Now they were abreast of a field of matured alfalfa over which the wind raced gratefully. Desert and grain field; deatb and life 1 The panorama embraced the whole cycle. They went back to their seats. After a few minutes the other leaned over his shoulder, Ills hand waving toward the passing mountains. "Those are the Superstition mountains you can see over yonder. An unusually apt name." "Yes?" "Why is it good, you mean? That pile of dark rock stands as a monument to an effete superstition. It la ine gravestone tor a gigantic mistaKe. Why, it was only the grossest ignorance that gave to the desert the label of 'bad lands.' The desert Is a condition, not a fact. Here you see the passing of the condition, the burial of the superstition. Are you interested in irrigation?" Rickard was not glten to explain the degree of interest his profession involved, for the stranger drew a painful breath, and went on. "Of course you are, if you are a western man. You are, I think?" The engineer said he was, by choice. _ "Irrigation is the, creed of the West. Gold brought people to this country; water, scientifically applied, will keep them here. Look at Riverside. And we are at the primer stage only. We r' are way behind the ancients in information on that subject. I learned at school, so did you, that some of the most glorious civilizations flourished In spite of the desert which surrounded them. Thai'.was only half a truth. V WER r 0^5? \ EDNAH # AIKEN <S> m?0O33C-/1?WU. caww They were greafTTecause of it I Wh; did the Incas choose the desert whei their strength gave them the choice o the continent of South America? Wh: did the Aztecs settle in the deser when they might easily have pre empted the watered regions? Thei there are the Carthaginians, the Tol tecs, the Moors. And one never for gets Egypt!" "For protection," Rickard gave th< slighted question an interested recog nfHnn "Woo thflt nnt whnfr wpri taught at school? The forest hel< foes, animal and human. Those na tlons grew to their strength am power the desert by virtue of It Utclatlon." Superstition I" retorted the m?> with the tie. "We are babes at thi breast measured by the wisdom of th( men who settled Damascus, or com pared with the Toltecs, or those an clent tribes who settled in northeri TnHIn Thar rof>ntml7od tho vnlnp n aridity. They knew its threefoli worth." "An inherent value?" demanded thi college-bred man, turning from th ' window. "An inherent value," declared th exponent of aridity. "Will you tell me just what yoi mean?" "Not in one session! Look yondei That's Bra^wley. When I came throug] here ten years ago I could have hai my pick of this land at 25 cents ai acre. They were working at thi scheme then?on paper. I was no alive to the possibilities then; I hai not yet lived in Utah!" The train was slowing up by a bran' new yellow-painted station. Ther were several dusty autoniobiles wail ing by the track, a few faded surrey and the inevitable country hotel bus TKa nloffarm txtqo otttq r?rr? Incr tt'lf xau piaixi/iui "ao onaiuuiug *? * alert, vigorous faces, distinctly of th American type. The man In the seat beside hit asked Rickard If he observed the gen eral average of intelligence in th faces of the crowd below. Rickard ac knowledged that he had been strucl by that, not only here but at Imperia Junction, where he had waited for th train. "There is a clpb in the valley, latel; started, a university club which admit as members those who have had a least two years of college training The list numbers three hundred al ready. The first meeting was held las week In an empty new store in Impe rial. If it had not been for the set ting we might have been at Ann Arbo or Palo Alto. The costumes were i little motley, but the talk sounded lik home. The dust blowing In through the ca doors brought on another fit of stran gling. Rickard turned again to th window, to the active scene which de nied the presence of desert beyond. "The doctors say it will have to h the desert always for me." The stran ger tapped his chest signlficantlj "But it is exile no longer?not in ai irrigated country. For the reason o irrigation I It is the progressive mac the man with ideas, or the man who 1 willing to take them, who comes infc this desert country. If he has not hai education it is forced upon him. I sa\ it worked out in Utah. I was ther several years. Irrigation means cc operation. That Is, to me, the chle value of aridity." The wind, though still blowini through the car and ruffling the trail dust, was carrying less of grit am sand. To the nostrils of RIckard am his new acquaintance it brought th pleasing suggestion of grassy mead ows, of willow-lined streams and fra grant fields. "It is the accepted idea that thl vaney is attracting a superior cms of men because of its temperanc stand. It Is the other way round. Th valley stood for temperance becaus of the sort of men who had settlei here, the men of the Irrigation type.' The engineer's ear criticized "irriga tion type." He began to suspect tha he had picked up a crank. "The desert offers a man special ad vantages, social, industrial and agricul tural. It is no accident that you fini a certain sort or man nere." "I suppose yoa mean that th< struggle necessary to develop such i country, under such stern condition? develops of necessity strong men? evolved Ilickard. "Oh, yes, I believ that, too." "Oh, more than that. It is not s< much the struggle as the necessity fo co-operation. The mutual dependence is one of the blessings of aridity." "One of the blessings of aridity!' echoed his listener. "You are a philos opher." lie had not yet touched tin other's thought at the spring. "You might as well call me a social ' fst because I praise irrigation in tha | It stands for the small farm unit,' | retorted, the valley man. "That is on of Its flats; the small unit. It is th< small farm that pays. That fact bring! many advantages. What Is the charn of Riverside? It comes to me always like the unreal dream of the soclalls come true. It is a city of farms, o small farms, where a man may maki his living off his ten acres of orange: or lemons; and with all the comfort! j and conveniences of a city withli reach, his neighbors not ten miles off A farmer in Riverside or ip any irri gated community does not have t< postpone living for himself or his fam ily until he can sell the farm! Hi can go to church, can walk there; th trolley car which passes his doo takes him to a public library or th opera house. His children ride t< school. His wife does not need to b< a drudge. The bread wagon and th steam laundry wagon stop at he door." Rickard observed that perhaps h . did not know anything about irrigatioi \ after all! He had not thought of 1 ( before In its sociological relation bu f merely as it touched his profession, j "Not going into soil values, for tha ? is a long story," began the older mar 3 ''irrigation is the answer which scl . ence gives to the agriculturist who i .. Impatient of haphazard method* Irrl gation is not a compromise, as so man c believe who know notlilng aDout it. J y Is a distinct advantage over the olc s fashioned methods. I "I am one of those who ahvuj . thought it a compromise," admitte j the engineer. g 'better call rain a compromise," r< tortert '.'lie irrigationist. "The mu r who irrigates gives water to the trc ? which needs it; rain nourishes on I tree and drowns out another. Irrig . tion is an insurance policy again . drought, a guarantee against flooc j The farmer who has once operated i f irrigated farm would be as impatie j were ne again suojeuieu iu uic tapn of rnin as a housewife would be we e she compelled to wait for rain to f e her washtub. There is no irregulari or caprice about Irrigation." e "Wonder how the old fellow plck< it all up?" mused Rickard with di a respect. Aloud he said, "You we speaking of the value of the soil?" "Look at the earth those plows a [j turnisg over. See how rich and friab 3 it is, how it crumbles? You can d Q for hundreds of feet and still find th s sort of soil, eight hundred feet dowi t It is disintegrated rock and leaf mo a . brought in here In the making of ; delta. Heavy rainfalls are rare hei g though we have had them, in spite < popular opinion. Were we to ha1 frequent rains the chemical properti which rain farmers must buy to enri< their worn-out soils would be leachi u out, drained from the soil. I car make this comprehensive, but I've monograph on desert soil. If you ai interested Til send it to you." D "I should like it?immensely,** a sented the engineer, still amused. ? "It explains the clujlce of the Aztec of the Incas, of Carthaginians, tt j Moors," observed the stranger. "Th( cnose me aesen, not in spue 01 n e soil but because1 of it I doubt If th< were awake to the social advantag< y of the system, but It was their e e "Brandon's My Name." o 0 operative brotherhood that helpe< j them to their glory. We are centurlei e behind them. I'm getting out hereImperial. If you come up to Imperla look me up. Brandon's my name. I'v< no card these days!" s "There are several things I want t< Q hear from you," answered Rlckard g following brown necktie and polntec e beard to the platform. "I'll be sur< e to look you up. Mine's Rlckard." j The breeze which was now enterinj >. the car windows had blown over the rlover-lecfed fields. Its message was j sweet and fresh. Rlckard could set the canals leading off like sllvei j, threads to the homes and farms of the future; "the socialists' dream com( j true!" Willows of two or three years ?ro\vth outlined the banks. Here and g there a tent or a ramada set up a a brave defiance against the linrd con. jitlons of the land it was invading. Rlckard leaned out of the window and looked back up the valley which was dominated by the range now wrapping ? irouud itself gauzy, iridescent drap?ries. g "The monument to an effete super stitinti!" ne repeated. "Xiinr. ranu i bad id';a." , CHAPTER IV. E ? The Desert Hotc?. He loft the dusty car with relief I tvhon the twin towns wore rolled. He " bad expected to see a Mexican town, E 3r at len.<*t a Mexican influence, as . me towns nuggea tne Dorder, but It i ! was as vividly American as was Im; perial or Brawley. There was the yel; low-painted station of the Overland j Pacific lines, the water tank, the eager I American crowd. Railroad sheds an, aounced the terminal of the road, j Backcd toward the station was the in[ evitable hotel bus of the country town, ; i painted sign hanging over its side ^ advertising the Desert hotel. Before ' he reached the step the vehicle was . crowded. "Walt, gen'lemen, I'm coming back E for a second load," called the darky ? tvho was holding the reins. r "If you wait for the second trip you E (von't get a room," suggested a friendr ty voice from the seat above. ^ Rickard threw his bag to the grin^ aing negro and swung onto the crowd ed steps. Leaving the railroad sheds he observed a building which he assumed c was the hotel. It looked promising, 1 attractive with Its yrtde encircling ve1 randa and the patch of green which 1 distance gave the dignity of a lawn. But the darky whipped up his stolid * horses. RIckard's eyes followed the 1 patch of green. The friendly voice from above told f s him that that was the office of the Desert Reclamation company. His y next survey was more personal. He 1 saw liimself entering the play as the representative of a company that was distrusted if not indeed actively hated f by the valley folk. It amused him that ? his entrance was so quiet as to be surreptitious. It would have been quieter f had Marshall had his way. But he ? himself had stipulated that Hardin ' should be told of his coming. He had I seen the telegram before it left thi * Ti/cson office. He might be assuminj ' an unfamiliar role in this complicates drama of river and desert, but it wai 1 not to be as an eavesdropper. The heavy bus was plowing slowlj IU1UU&11 LliC UUOl Ul IUC OLlCtl# xuva | ard was given ample time to note th< limitations of the new town. Thej * passed two brick stores of genera merchandise, lemons and woolei 2 goods, stockings and crackers disport li ing fraternally in their windows. A r board sign swinging from the over hanging porch of the most pretentiou.' ^ building announced the post office From a small adobe hung a brass I plate advising the stranger of th< II Bank of Calexico. The 'dobe pressec ^ close to another two-storied structun of the desert type. The upper floor 1 supported by posts, extended over th< f sidewalk. Netted wire screened awaj 0 the desert mosquito and gave the overhanging gallery the grotesque appear ance of a huge fencing mask. Froir the street could be seen rows of beds ;,( as in hospital wards. Calexico, it was ' seen, slept out of doors. "Desert hotel," bawled the darky reining in his placid team. "Yes, sah, I'll look out for your bag 8 Got your room? The hotel's mightj ' sure to be full. Not many women yil down this a-way. . . . All the mec " mostly lives right heah at the hotel." J* Rickard made a dive from a swirl ol , dust into the hotel. The long line he anticipated at the desk was not there. ^ He stopped to take in a valley innovation. One end of the long counter hao been converted into a soda-water bar The high swivel stools in front of the white marbled stand, with its towering silver fixtures, were crowded with dustparched occupants df the bus. A white coated youth was pouring colored sirups into tall glasses; there was a clinking of Ice; a sizzling of siphons. "That's a new one on me," grinned Rickard, turning toward the desk where a complacent proprietor stood waiting to announce that there was but I one room left. i"With bath?" "Bath right across the hall. Only room left in the house." The proprietor awarded him the valley stare. "Going to be here long?" He passed the last key on the rack to the darky staggeri Ing under a motley of bags and suitcases. Rlckard recognized his, and followed. / "I may get you another room tomorf row," called the proprietor after him as he climbed the dusty stairs. The signals of a new town were , waying in the dining room. The ma1 Jority of the citizens displayed their shirt sleeves and unblushing suspenders. One large table was surrounded j by men in khaki; the desert soldiers, s engineers. The full blown waitresses, elaborately pompadoured, were pushj Ing through the swing-doors, carrying , heavy trays. Coquetry appeared to be their occupation, rather than mealj serving, the diners accepting both varieties of attention with appreciation. The j' supremacy of those superior maidens ; was menaced only by two other women who sat at a table near the door. r Rickard did not see them at first. The I room was as masculine as a restaurant j in a new mining^ town. ? (To be Continued Friday.) ! ERZBERGER ASKS AMERICA'S AID IN REMEMBRANCE 1862-65 [ Says It Would Be Good Business Stroke to Furnish Food and Raw Material in Lieu of German Loan. Paris, Feb. 18.?Among the declarations of Mathias Erxberger at Trev*?, acording to a Berlin dispatch pub-j lished in the Temps, was one to the j American representative on the armistice commission that Germany went 1 to the aid of the United States from ; IS.12 to ICC"-, during the great cco-.( nomic crisis, furnishing money, the clothes, shoes and machinery. If the for United States came to the aid of C Germany today, more than fifty acc years afterward, Erzberger said, teei should could give Germany food and alsc raw materials against a German loan he i and at the same time would be doing rigl a good stroke of business. froi Erzberger said Germany was suf- sue fering from hunger. He said doctors nial had made known the number of vie- 1 tims of the blockade. More than a Foe half million men, women and child- ren ren had died from exhaustion or the up results of lessened capacity to resist the disease, he said. He declared that har Bismarck immediately gave succor to wh: Paris in 1871, after the Franco- tail Prussian war. Erzberger gave warn- the ing that Bolshevism would result the from hunger ih Germany. cot He protested against what he pie termed the oppression against everything German in Alsace-Lorraine and ] against the encouragement given by St? FARM Make Mor NEVER before, in the history of will reap the benefit in bigger .dudts brought such high price: the Crop, the greater will your profi you make each acre of land produce cotton, corn, truck?use Planters I corn?1 to 2 bales of cotton per through use of this reputable Fertil PLANTERS F1 DOUBLES YO Ror many years Planters Fertilizer ] South's most successful fanners, b< to produce bigger, better crops. 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Article II, said, did not give to the Allies the it to forbid the German people m defending themselves against h encroachments as the Poles were sing. ?wo notes were handed to Marshal :h by Mathias Erzberger when the ewal of the armistice was taken at Treves. One note concerned employment of the German merit marine for various purposes, ile the other was longer and conned several requests, including release of German prisoners and : maintenance of economic interirse between Germany and occu d German territory. Money invested in War Savings imps never stops working for you. IERS e Money the country, have farm, pro' profits! Naturally the larger s. And the successful farmer t be; hence it is essential that its utmost. For prize crops of fertilizer. 90 to 95 bushels of acre are records established, izer on Southern farms. ! UTILIZERS UR YIELD bas been the preference of the acause it has made it possible ;e every acre count this year? A.SE YOU. 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