364 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



been collected by the so-called "irrigation association" 

 in behalf of the National Irrigation Congress.' " 



"Senator Carter, of Montana, stated that the funds 

 of the 'irrigation association' were largely secured by per- 

 sonal solicitation by letters written by George H. Max- 

 well as executive committeeman. Scipio Craig, of Red- 

 lands, Cal., came to the support of Maxwell, but he was 

 not at all effective in lessening any of the bitterness 

 manifested against that gentleman. If he accomplished 

 anything it was to increase it. But Scipio was not to 

 blame. He knows, as every one in this section at least 

 knows, that the 'Maxwell-Boothe' corporation has not for 

 a long, long time enjoyed the confidence of the public. 



"Then followed a heated controversy between Sen- 

 ator Carter and C. B. Boothe, a member of the ''irriga- 

 tion association,' and chairman of its executive commit- 

 tee. He said that no member of congress would dare im- 

 pugn the motives of the association, and that while its 

 books were open to inspection, he denied the right of the 

 congress to criticise or investigate its operations; and 

 then declared, with a voice vibrating with anger, that 

 any assertion that moneys collected by his association 

 had been wrongfully applied was simply a lie. By his 

 display of anger Boothe lost what few friends he might 

 have had, for Senator Carter's report on the subject was 

 adopted by a practically unanimous vote. 



"It will be observed that Mr. Boothe did not offer 

 to submit his books to any body or set of men for in- 

 vestigation, and it is exceedingly doubtful if he would 

 Under any circumstances.. In this turn of affairs Mr. 

 Boothe is left in a sad plight, and we extend him our 

 sympathy. Now that the declaration has gone forth that 

 there is no connection whatever between the National 

 Irrigation Congress and the Maxwell-Boothe corporation 

 'irrigation association' the collections of funds will 

 be small and much more difficult than formerly. And 

 this being true, what will poor Boothe do? It may be 

 said, 'the world owes him a living,' but what has he to 

 give in return? Unquestionably he has been industrious 

 and energetic in the interests of the Max'well-Boothe 

 corporation, but a divorce having been procured by the 

 National Irrigation Congress, it is not unfair to assume 

 that the poor jade, 'the irrigation association,' is left in 

 a somewhat helpless position. 



"But while greatly sympathizing with poor Boothe, 

 we must not forget to be just to the merchants and 

 business men of Los Angeles and southern California. 

 They must be informed that the National Irrigation 

 Congress does not solicit funds from individuals or cor- 

 porations for carrying on the work of reclaiming arid 

 lands. Any subscriptions of cash therefore to Maxwell 

 and Boothe will revert to the Maxwell-Boothe corpora- 

 tion, or, in other words, the 'irrigation association.' 



"The attempt on the part of Boothe and his few 

 followers to use Tom Richardson, ex-secretary of the 

 National Irrigation Congress, and now the popular man- 

 ager of the Portland Commercial Club, proved a dismal 

 failure. Mr. Richardson would have nothing whatever 

 to do with Boothe. He knew him. 



"It is fitting here to remark that to Tom Richard- 

 son's good judgment and untiring energy must a great 

 part of the success of the congress be attributed. All 

 the delegates had nothing but words of praise for him, 

 and he deserved them. 



"With the divorcement of the Maxwell-Boothe ele- 

 ments from the National Irrigation Congress we nat- 

 .urally expect greater success and better results in Hie 

 future than have been achieved in the past." 



QUEEN OF THE YELLOWSTONE BILLINGS, 

 MONTANA. 



Great Openings For Farmers, Manufacturers And Investors. 



"To Montana's hills and their dimpling rills, 

 Our vision is turned today." 



To one who has gone through to the Pacific Coast 

 without seeing Montana, a stop-over and even cursory 

 examination of its resources, climate and possibilities 

 is a revelation. The writer has often passed through 

 this wonderful State en route to the coast, but has only 

 recently gotten into the way of stopping off at the many 

 points of interest within its borders. After one or two 

 stops the habit grows on one until it soon becomes fixed, 

 and later a desire to remain creeps in, so that it is diffi- 

 cult to keep that delightful State and its many attrac- 

 tions out of one's mind. On a recent visit, considerable 

 time was spent in and around the Queen City of tho 

 Yellowstone Valley, Billings. 



One writer has said that Billings admits nay, 

 even asserts its greatness, and a close examination of 

 this thriving city and a study of the surrounding agri- 

 cultural and stock-raising territory, with a knowledge 

 of the vast area to be drawn upon in a commercial sense, 

 leads one to accept all it claims. 



Billings enjoys the distinction of being the home of 

 a number of red-hot boosters, and every one, from the 

 school boy to the promoter, is working overtime in ad- 

 vertising its prosperity and prospects. 



Billings is the county seat of Yellowstone County 

 and is situated on the main line of the Northern Pacific 

 Railroad, nearly midway between St. Paul and Seattle, 

 at the gateway of the Yellowstone Valley, the Egypt 

 of Montana. It is the most important railroad center 

 of eastern Montana, being the western terminus of the 

 Burlington system, with its branches running into the 

 famous Big Horn Basin country of Northern Wyoming, 

 and two branch lines of the Northern Pacific running 

 to the great coal mining districts of Bear Creek, Red 

 Lodge, Bridger and Gebo, with eight passenger trains 

 daily, and more miles of yard and side tracks than any 

 other station on the line of the Northern Pacific between 

 St. Paul and the coast. The heaviest freight traffic 

 (tons per mile) on the Northern Pacific being between 

 Billings and Logan. It has a population of nearly 6,000 

 people. While the excellent open ranges tributary io 

 Billings makes it easily one of the most important live 

 stock shipping and receiving points in the State, it is to 

 the irrigated farms of the Yellowstone Valley that it 

 owes its phenomenal prosperity. 



It is the center of the largest and most favorably 

 located agricultural territory in Montana. To alfalfa 

 "the king forage plant of the agricultural world," is due 

 the credit of subduing the sage-brush plains and paving 

 the way to diversified farming. The soil of the valley 

 is a rich alluvial deposit along the river bottoms, with 

 a sandy loam on the uplands. Water is supplied from 

 the Yellowstone River through four large systems of ir- 

 rigating canals aggregating in length more than one 

 hundred miles, and it is the boast of the fanners that 

 they have on the average three hundred days of sunshine 

 every year. With this combination of soil, sunshine 

 and water, the elements of uncertainty in farming op- 

 erations are minimized or eliminated entirely. 



All farm products common to the middle and West- 



