Other Texas cotton-growersstudying conditions here are J.C. Lacy, J. C. Lacy Jr. and J.W. Allen. Tliey are convincedof the adaptability of soil andclimate to cotton-growing, andare examining land with a viewto establishing themselves inImperial Valley. One of theparty has 900 acres in cotton inTexas this year, and can do nomore than make experimentalplantings here until that crop istaken care of. These men andtheir associates probably willunite in securing a sufficientarea of land for cotton-growingon a large scale and in puttingup a gin.

A quantity of seed has beensent from Texas to Ira Aten,and extensive experiments inplanting will,be^ conducted onhis ranch to determine the. bestvarieties for this region.

MILLAT LOS ANGELESThe Los Angeles cotton mill

project appears to have takendefinite form. According ftoDenis Howarth, a manufacturerof experience, quoted by the LosAngeles Times, the plant is tocost $400,000, will occupy a

Questions concerning variousdetails of cotton growing wereasked by the . farmers andanswered by Mr. Johnson.

Imperial Valley land wouldproduce at least two or threebales to the acre, possibly a greatdeal more. In Texas, cottonland was worth from $35 to $60an acre, and the cost of produc-ing a crop was from 33 to 50 percent of the value. A bale ofcotton was worth $50, and theseed was worth about half asmuch. About 1000 acres wouldbe required to keep a gin inoperation, and a gin could be putup for $6,000.

At the special public meetingcalled by the Chamber of Com-merce at ElCentro last Saturday,W. C. Johnson, a cotton growerof Texas, who has been study-ing the cotton possibilities of thisregion, talked on that subject tothe assembled farmers. Mr.Johnson said he had alwaysmaintained that Texas was thebiggest thing on earth, and hewas free to admit that ImperialValley is the next biggest.

-He

never had seen the equal of IraAten's cotton plants. In Texasthey produce from one thirdof abale to.one bale to the acre andhave many drawbacks to contendwith. In Imperial Valley thereare no boll1weevils and the grow-ers 'won't be compelled to jointhe Farmers' Union. Thequality of cotton raised here is,first class. For eight or tenyears the price of cotten inTex-as has ranged from 10 to 13 centsa pound. A year ago 'it was soldfor 4 1-2 cents, but that was notthe price of' cotton, said Mr'Johnson; itwas speculation. •

Supervisor McHarg has beengranted a leave of absence from

-the State for six months.

Live stock Inspector Hubbellhas examined and admitted 98head of horses and mules thisweek.

The new company will, inaddition to the experiments al-ready made, conduct extensiveand exhaustive experiments inits ?own behalf, covering a periodof a year. Twenty acres ofrepresentative Valley soil hasbeen secured on the Wilsie ranchand work willbe begun there assoon as the necessary machinerycan be brought from LosAngeles. These experimentswillbe conducted under the per-sonal supervision of a beet sugaragriculturist, and their nature issuch that the exact result to besecured in the raising of sugarbeets here can be determined.Further details of the projectwillbe worked out withina fewdays and announcements willbemade from time to time forguidance of ,the farmers whopropose to raise and sell beets tothe factory.

EXPERIMENTAL PLANTING

Experiments made severalyears ago in the raising of sugarbeets by the Brawley Farmingand Experiment Co. have beentaken into consideration by thepromoters of the company.These experiments were care-fullymade and .proved success-ful. They demonstrated thatmore beets can be grown to theacre in Imperial Valley thanelsewhere and also showed thatthe beets here have about twoper cent more sugar than theaverage 3in other localities.

The board of directorswill include some of theleading farmers and businessmen in the Valley, and itis pro-posed to carry the projectthrough to consummation withas littledelay as possible. Act-ual work on the factory

)will not

be begun for about- a year anditmay,be nearly twoyears beforeitwillbe in full operation, buta substantial begining has beenmade toward the establishing ofone of the biggest industriesthe Valley has yet had.

The committee appointed byPresident Brown held Severalconferences with Mr. Hayhurstduring the week, and say theyare entirely satisfied that hisplans for the establishment ofa factory here are feasible.These plans present so much ofcertainty and so little that isproblematical that the membersof the committee became con-vinced that they should act aionce. Articles of incorporationhave been drawn up, therefore,and the preliminary steps takentoward the formation of a sugarbeet company.

COMPANY FORMED

...... ... . • . \u25a0

Clark, F. G. Havens, John M.Eshleman and W. E. Wilsie.

s Sugar beets and the possibleestablishment of a factory inImperial Valley were discussedat the meeting called by theEl Centro Chamber of Com-merce and held in the schoolhouse last Saturday night. J.Stanley Brown, president of thechamber, was chairman of themeeting.'W.\ T. Hayhurst, formerly

president of the Chino beet-sugar company, related brieflythe history of the beet-sugarindustry in the West and .hisexperience as a grower of beets.arid manufacturer of;sugar, and

"then presented to the meetingan outline of his plan'fortheestablishment of a sugar factoryin the valley. Mr , Hayhurst

•proposed that the enterprise beundertaken by the farmers as amutual project; that a corpora-

tion be organized and a numberof farmers and others' subscribefor a portion of the stock as aguaranty of local interest in theenterprise. There were capital-ists outside of the valley desir-ous of becoming interested insuch a project, and ifa satisfac-tory showing were made) and thefarmers would agrfce to growbeets in sufficient quantity,their assistance could be securedreadily. ~

CROPS CERTAINMr, Hayhurst- said he was con-

vinced that sugar vbeets can begrown successfully in Imperial

|Valley, and that s the yield peracre would be at l§ast one-thirdgreater than inother districts.Whether ',or not more than onecrop a year could be grownwould have to be

*determined

by experiment. There was noquestion that beets planted inDecember would grow, through'the winter and mature in June.Ifthey could be grown throughthe spmer to mature in Decem-ber, continuous operation of thefactory would be possible.". Headvised that systematic experi-ments be conducted for a year,under expert superintendence,to determine the proper seasonsfor planting, adaptability ofsoils and varieties, best methodsof irrigation etc., and that fundssufficient to1 carry on the cx-

i periments be called for as firstpayment on stock subscribed/,Ifthe farmers were disposed tointerest themselves in the enter-prise, he would lay his plan indetail before a committee andgive

'assurance of his ability to

secure the. necessary cooperation

ofcapital.On motion of Ira Aten, the

cliair appointed a committee toconsult with Mr. Hayhurst andformulate plans for preliminaryorganization if it should befound advisable to take up theproject. The committee wascomposed of Ira Aten, R. H.

Feasibility of Factory Project Demonstrated toImperial Valley Farmers and Business Men, Sys-tematic Experiments in^Beet Growing to be Carriedon by the Corporation.

BEET SUGAR COMPANYFORMED IN EL CENTRO

Imperial Valley Press.Official Paper of Imperial County

INCORPORATIONOF EL CENTRO

EL CENTRO, CALIFORNIA, SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 1908.

COTTON GROWERS COMINGTO IMPERIAL VALLEY

NO. 42

Census Shows Sufficient Pop-ulation for City,

VOL. VII

Proposed Extension of Limits BeyondPresent Town Site to Take InResidence Sections—Petition ForIncorporation Circulated.

-r- r\• , r- . • iii .\u25a0 ii. iiTexans Preparing to Establish the Industry Here

Bscause the Soil Will Produce More and BetterCotton. Will Plant This Year to Test Varietiesand Conditions,

El Centro needs some .streetimprovements/ extended waterservice, sanitary regulations,tree planting and distribution ofwater for gardens etc. to keeppace with the growth of thetown, ' and only by united,organized effort can anything inthat Mine ;be done effectively/The -only practicable organiz-

ation appears to be an incorpor-ated city. .)

A petition for an election onthe question of incorporationhas prepared for presentation tothe Board of Supervisors.

Itis proposed to include in theincorporated town enough of theadjoining residence districts tomake a tov^nsite two miles longby a mile and a half wide, anarea equal to' three sections,provided the. residents in theterritory generally approve theplan.

A census of the halfconstituting the town-site of ElCentro has been taken prelimi-nary to the circulation of apetition for town incorporation,the result showing §91 residentson the strip a mile long and halfa mile wide. Outside of thetownsite but within.a mile radi-us from the.center are as manymore residents. More than1000 persons get their mail atthe El Centro postoffice.

FIVETO ONE

The Los Angeles cotton millwillbe the first to be establishedwest of the Rocky Mountains,arid Mr.Howarth and his associ-ates believe itwillbe the fore-runner of a new and profitableindustry that will spread overthe entire coast. WML

Mr. Howarth has been> in LbsAngeles about three months, in-quiring into the prospects andmaking plans for this enterprise.In.addition , to his interests in*Pennsylvania, he also is at. thehead of the Woodstock cotton-mills"at Anniston, Ala.\ For several years, he says, itis likelythat the fTexas cottonfields willsupply all the raw ma-terial for the projected localmill.The shipping distance isnot greatand the quality of the cotton is jsaid, tobe superior inmany ways

to that grown in the Southernstates. Imperial Valley; itis be-lieved, willsupply the cotton '_ofthe future, successful trial cropsof.excellent cotton fiber

~already

having been produced. ,

Mr.Howarth said to The Times:''There is to be nothing experi-

mental inthis enterprise. Ihavespent more than twenty years inthe manufacture ofsimilar gradesof cotton weaves inChester, Pa. ;' \u25a0

and other eastern cities, and ;I{know the business thoroughly. Ishall take personal charge of the >

mills and operations and willbring experienced heads of de-,partments with me from theEast."

ground area ofnearly three acresand probably willbe located on asite near the river? where goodtransportation facilities may beobtained. Plans contemplate thecompletion of the mill by thefirst of next year. Albert H.Beach, a local real estate andmining man, is associated withMr.Howarth' in the enterprise.Other Los Angeles business menalso are interested.

Of late there have been sev-eral cases of smallpox among theMexicans just below the line,and a few cases of a mild typehave appeared in the valley.Dr. Hamilton refuses to admitthat these are genuine cases andhas been very free inhis criti-cisms of quarantine precautions.

With Dr. Hamilton on Smallpox

Dr. E. E. Patten, HealthOfficer and County Physician,presented to the Board of Super-visors in special session this weeka letter explaining his action inquarantining a case of smallpox.Dr Patten said that th£' patienthad been attended by Dr. F. L.A. Hamilton, who denied thatthe disease was smallpox. Dr.Patten visited the patient andfound ita plain case of small-dox, but in view ofan unpleasantcontroversey withDr. Hamiltonover another case he deemed itexpedient to call a consultation.On the morning of Jan2l, thepatient was examined by Drs.Patten, Baumgarner, Way, Blake,Peterson and Hamilton, and allbut Hamilton, pronounced thedisease small-pox beyond adoubt,whereupon quarintine was estab-lished.

Physicians of the County Disagree

Itis easy to understand any-thing which appears inan Im-perial Valley paper. Not longago an editorial appeared whichstated that there were no grave-yards inthat part of the countrybecause nobody ever died, and nodoctors who did not carry a sideline in order to eke out a pre-carious livelihood.

Killed four ducks with onewallop of a shovel eh?

Who was Baron Munchausen,anyway? nobody but a pikerafter all. Ananias was thoughtto have

'some class as a plain,

nickel-plated prevaricator, butin the Imperial Valley his pricewould be 10,000 to 1 every timeout. —One of Hearst's Falters.

The Imperial Valley Press tellsthe story of one of the ranchersdown there who is killing wildducks with a shovel. Soundsfishy, but the Press isnoted forplain, unvaried truth, so webelieve it.

—Redlands Citrograph.

TWO POINTS OF VIEW

The Board of Supervisors haslevied and authorized the collect-ion of a road poll tax of $3 and ahospital poll tax of $1, makingthe total poll tax of ImperialCounty $4 a year.