THE CRUDE STRENGTH OF IDAHO 



tion. It is only in recent years that home-building, in 

 the better sense of the term, has been seriously begun 

 in Idaho. All that went before was mere adventure, 

 whether inspired by religious zeal, by lust of gold, or by 

 the passion for national conquest. 



The most notable colony yet made on the irrigated 

 lands of Idaho is that of New Plymouth, in the Payctto 

 Valley, twelve miles from the town of Payette. This 

 colony, organized in the spring of 1895 by William E. 

 Smythe and Benjamin P. Shawhan, was intended to 

 represent a high social and industrial ideal. The initial 

 work of enlisting settlers and public interest for the un- 

 dertaking was done at Boston, with the aid of Dr. Ed- 

 ward Everett Hale and other prominent men, but most 

 of the actual colonists were from Chicago and the mid- 

 dle West. The pioneers of New Plymouth, who repre- 

 sented a rather unusual quality of settlers, were drawn 

 principally from urban business and professional life, 

 yet entered enthusiastically and successfully upon the 

 work of making homes on sage-brush lands twelve miles 

 from a railroad, in a remote and undeveloped part of 

 the West. 



The Plymouth industrial programme aimed at com- 

 plete economic independence of the people by the simple 

 method of producing the variety of things consumed, on 

 small, diversified farms ; of having surplus products, 

 principally fruit, for sale in home and eastern markets ; 

 and by combining the capital of the settlers, by incor- 

 poration of a stock company, to own and develop the 

 town-site, and to erect and operate simple industries re- 

 quired in connection with products of the soil. On the v 

 social side the plan aimed to give these farmers the best 



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