VIII 



TEN THOUSAND A YEAR 



'T'HERE may be inhabitants of the Fruit Valley 

 -'• who are "passing rich at twenty pounds a 

 year'*; the common demand is for more. Indeed 

 many aspire to be catalogued among the half 

 million Americans whose yearly income is at least 

 ten thousand dollars. Comparisons grow in the 

 Valley even more vigorously than fruit. Time was 

 when money was a curiosity in the Valley — even no 

 longer ago than when Captain Dobbins and his 

 house-carpenters were building that immortal 

 fleet which bore Perry to victory and made the 

 Northwest American soil. It is no longer a curios- 

 ity, but is looked upon as a sign or specimen of 

 what the Valley might produce if it was thoroughly 

 worked. So oftentimes the Valley is spoken of as a 

 gold-mine. The millions that flow into the Valley 

 to-day shrink in the eye of expectancy. To- 

 morrow, — ^more. Like the grave, — ^more, more! 

 Fifty years ago the farmer was passing rich at 

 twelve dollars an acre from his land; to-day, his 

 successor thinks one hundred dollars from an acre 



a small dividend. There are many rumors. One 



240 



I 



