Imperial Valley Press.
VOL. VIII
NEW KIND OF MEETING HOUSE
SIGN OF SANE CIVILIZATION
Social Needs of Community and Demands of Young People
Considered in Dr, Shepherd's Plans for a Rational
Church, Preacher's Salary Goes Into the. Building
% Fund, Ten Thousand Dollars Needed.
If the religious and- philosophical
lectures given every Sunday in the
Holt Opera House at El Centro were
dollvered in Los Angeles, tho Temple
Auditorium "would be too small to hold
the* congregation of listeners. And
that Is typical of this remarkable com
munity of desert pioneers in imperial
Valley. Among these frontiersmen of
the twentieth century are men who
have been leaders in thought and ac
tion In the older communities and in
the great centers of American clvlU
, zatlon, and here on v the southwest
-border they are establishing a better,
higher, cleaner, saner and truer civil
ization than that from which they
came. They have brought with thwA
all that is beat of the, old, and artr
planting it in a cleaner roil.
It is taken by these desert people
as a matter of course that men of the
highest attainments, and broadest cul
ture should be with and cf them, an»l
-it is not remarkable to ibem that n
man of Dr. R. P. Shepherd's callbie
should be the pastor of one of the. v
churches and talk to them every-Sun
day. Perhaps there Is a little too
much of the matter of course and not
quite enough appreciation of the'great
-er and better opportunity for intellec
tual enjoyment open to this commun
ity than many large cities are able to
•command.
As was said in the opening sentence,
a preacher like Dr. Shepherd would
speak to crowded houses in any large
■oity. ; His discourses would be
printed in full in the newspapers, and
Ills fame would be "national — if he talk
ed as he talks to a little group of hear
■ers in,. El Centro. He Is no'common
place preacher of sermons, no spinner
-of theological webs, no soporific dron
•er of hackneyed -essays on the sinful
ness of sin and the total depravity of
-human nature. , Nor (Is he of the
mounteback ..breed that turns the pul
pit into a vaudeville stage and tickles
the ears of groundlings with ragtime
religiosity.
Dr. Shepherd is a doctor of philoso
phy of Columbia University, and his
■Sunday discourses, are lectures on the
history and philosophy of religion and
life— offhand talks of broad scope and
ADJUSTING RELATIONS OF
IRRIGATION COMPANIES
PROPOSED INCREASE OF STOCK
OF MUTUAL NUMBER ONE.
Agreement in Settlement of Difficulties
Submitted to Stockholders — Number
Nine Ccneidering Water Stock Pro
pooition — Proposed Fixing of Rates
May Change Whole Situation.
Tho directors of Water Company No.
1 are submitting Xo the stockholder
for final decision an agreement for ad\
justircnt of relations with the Califor-
.nia Development Company which the
directors approve. .
Under this agreement, the capital
stock of No. 1 la to be Increased 35,-
■000 Rhar?:; and of tho $25 per share,
the i::lnluHim price of the stock, the
C. D. Co. Is to. receive $15. The C. D.
Co. h to dcllvt r 510,000 acre feet of
water instead of 400,000, and No. 1 is
• to take* over the distributing system
and nmke all new deliveries to water
stock construction to which Is not al
ready approved. The new stock is to
be paid for in annual Installments of
$5. The C. D. Co. is to get half of
Official Paper of Imperial County
EL CENTRO, CALIFORNIA, SATURDAY. MAY 23, 1908.
profound 7 Interest, full of virility, hu
man sympathy, knowledge of the
mind of man and simple Interpretation
of the gospel of Christ. Ho was once
a professor of Greek at Hiram Col
lege, tho "Garfield school," in Ohio,
and later he taught at Berkeley. The
doctor Is not a parson of the conven
tional type. He Is essentially a iniiti
ot afllairs and lie . approaches tiic
questions of dally life with Intimate
knowledge of the layman's way of
looking at and dealing with them.
His religion is of the practicable kind,
applicable to tho day's work and de
void of the formalism and wornout
wrappings of creed and -dogma.,
Dr. Shepherd's purpose is to build
up a church on the basis of simple
Christianity and human fellowship,
discarding the distinctions of sect and
denomination, and he has persuaded
his congregation to cooperate with him
to that end. It is his intention to
erect a 'building, which shall serve as
a social center . for the community,
containing reading and v club rooms,
gymnasium, baths, games etc. and
providing the entertainment and
amusements which > young people
need. "I would be ashamed," he
says, "to say" a word against pool-
rooms and such places of amusement
if I could not provTSe something bet
ter in their place."
If there is any space left after all
the social needs of the community
have been met, the building may con
tain a lecture room in which the pas
tor may talk to the congregation.
Dr. Shepherd wants to raise about
$10,000 for his new kind of church
building and to that end he demands
that his congregation' pay him $100 a
month for preaching/He announces
that he will pay the whole amount in-
to the building fund, taking . nothing
for his own use, but the congregation
must pay $100 every month or he will
stop talking. The salary will be'forth
coming, and citizens who do not go
to church and wear no label of sect
or. creed will .help pay it. The sort
of church. Dr. Shepherd- is going to
build is what men have been waiting
for-T-^waiting outside ; the meeting
houses and the prayer meetings and
church societies lo these many years.
ea.cn ef the first two installments and
all of the third and fourth.
The California Development Com
pany agrees to pay Imperial . Water
Company No. 1 $1.50 per share for"a!l
shares of the so-called Mesquite Lake
Cattle Company's stock yet undeliv
ered to which Imperial Water Com
pany No. 1 may be compelled to^make
deliveries for at its expenses, it be
ing understood that the California De
velopment Company is to stand all ex
penses of litigation arising out of the
refusal of Imperial Water Company
No. 1 to mako delivery to this stock.
In consideration of the' California
Development Company reconstructing
the Ten Foot drop at the intersection
of the main canal on the international
boundary line, Imperial Water.Com
pany. No. 1 agrees to accept deliv
eries to the Alder, Acacia, Beach, Ban
yan, Birch and Boundary canals at
the now construction, the California
Development Company agreeing to re
construct all necessary deliveries oc
casioned by such change in point of
delivery.
The agreement is intended to-con
stitute a blanket adjustment of all
matters pending between the Califor
nia Development Company and the
Mexican Company and the Imperial
Water Company. No. 1.
A similar arrangement relating to
water stock has been proposed to Wa
ter Company No. fl. Stock to bo sold
at $25 a share, and $10 retained by
the district to pay for building a dis
tributing system. Some of the land
owners In No. 9 say they can build
their system at a cost of $5 an acre,
and then compel the C. D, Co. to de
liver water at a rate fixed by the Su
pervisors, and they object to. paying
the C. D. Co. a bonus of $15 an acre.
The whole question of rates and wa
ter stock Is likely to be opened for de
bate, and possibly to litigation, when
the Supervisors take up the petition
of taxpayers demanding that they es
tablish rates.
ARTESIAN PROJECT.
Standard 'Drillers Ask for Chance to
Did for Contract to Bore.
Operators of standard drilling rigs
have written to the projectors of the
El Centro artesian well experiment
that they are prepared to bore to any
required depth and are ready to come
down here, look over the ground and
bid for a contract. It Is proposed to
mako a thorough exploration and sink
deep enough to determine whether or
iiot water can be obtained by boring.
Possibly water might be developed.in
side of 1,500 feet, but if necessary the
drill will be sent down 3,000 or 4,000
feet, and the machinery must be capa
ble of drilling through rock iMt should
be encountered.
BIG WAREHOUSE
IMPORTANT FACTOR IN COMMER
CIAL GROWTH OF EL CENTRO
TO BE SUPPLIED.
PRODUCE AND STORAGE CO.
Farmer^ May Store Crop and Use
Receipts — Cold Storage
.for Perishable Products — Strong Or
ganization Will Soon be Ready for
Business.
The Imperial Valley Produce _ &
Storage Company is the name of a
corporation just organized in. El Cen
ti*o to conduct a business of great im
portance to all industrial interests and
particularly to the farmers "of this sec-
tion. What the producer of staples
needs is warehouse accommodation,
and the company proposes to build
close to the railroad a warehouse for
the storage of grain, feed, flour, root
crops, etc., and' a cold storage plant
for perishable products.
The company's charter will permit
It to engage In all collateral lines of
business, and it will bo a wholesale
dealer in all that the farmer has to
sell and all that he uses, and will act
also as commission broker in the mar
keting of products. The farmer may
store his grain and other imperishable
crops, and take warehouse receipts,
which are negotiable at bank and as
good as cash, the warchouso being li
censed and subject to the laws of the
state and to supervision.
. Tho company will deal In seed, and
will employ an expert to ascertain the
needs of farmers and to aid them In
the selection of seed of all sorts, In
order that only tho best varieties shall
be planted and tho quality of valley
products maintained at the highest
possible standard.
Fifty thousand dollars Is tho capi
talization of the concern, and more
than half of the stock ha 3 been sub
scribed and paid for in cash at par.
No stock Is offered to tho public. The
incorporators n^id directors are W. F.
Holt, C. E. Galloway, Gro. A. Carter,
R. P. Shepherd and
Work- on construction of a larse
warchouso near the railroad depot
wU.I begin immediately, and 'the entire
plant will be ready for business In
time to handle fall crops. Thl3 enter
prise e^tablhhen the commercial
centre of the valley finally and firmly
at the county seat.
FIVE HUNDRED COLLEGE BOYS
COMING TO PICK CANTALOUPES
Growers and Distributors of El Centro District Bringing in
High Class of American Youths to Help Gather the
Melon Crop. Gdod for the Valley and the Boys.
Some May Come Back as Settlers.
From GOO to 750 college boys and
students from the various polytechnic
and hfeh schools of tho larger coast
towns of Southern California will be
In the vicinity of" El Centro as melon
pickers this season.
The first party of these ambitious
boys arrived this week. There are
seven of them, from the Los Angeles
Polytechnic High School — sent down
as "samples" — and they seem to be
about the right sort. These lads have
been sent out to tire Shepherd- ranch,
and they will be followed by others
as the demand for . field labor in
creases, until by June 5 it is estimated
that fully 200 of them will be at work
in the cantaloupe fields from which
shipments are made by. the Cruteh
fleld & Woolfolk Company.
From the first week in June until
the height of the season they are to
come in bunches of from fifty to one
hundred, and it is expected that they
will find steady employment In this
vicinity until July 15.
The employment of college boys as
melon pickers is a* new wrinkle for
Imperial Valley, but managers of the
cantaloupe' moving industry believe
they have struck a satisfactory solu
tion of the labor problem, and that
they will get a better class of helpers
than could be furnished through the
ordinary employment agencies.
Through the activities of H. B. Peai*
son and E. J. Pheleu, the move to se
cure college boys was started, and the
idea was taken up with enthusiasm in
every school where it was presented.
Most' of these boys will come Irom
the University of Southern California,
Occidental College and the Los An
geles Polytechnic High School. They
will bring with them their camp out
nts, and designate certain ones among
their number to act as chiefs of the
MELON PROSPECTS
UNUSUALLY GOOD
DISTRIBUTOR MAKES OPTIMISTIC
ESTIMATE OF ACREAGE IN
BEARING.
Finds Thousands Acres of Good
Melons in El Centro District and Re
' markably High Percentage Through
out the Valley— High Winds Have
Done No Harm.
A careful survey of the fields con
trolled by the El Centro Fancy Melon
Growers' Association, made during the
past three days, shows a higher per
centage of good results than has been
anticipated. In the El Centro district
this association had planted 1200 acres
acres of cantaloupes, and this week's
estl mates show that of "these there are
1004 acres of good melons, and a large
percentage are extra fine.
In the Heber neighborhood ranchers
afllliated with tho Crutehfleld & Wool
folk Corn puny planted 1060 acres of
cantaloupes, and of this planting H.
B. Pearson estimated yesterday that
fully 821 acres would produce a good
crop, while of the 540 acres planted
for thi.s company's handling at Calex
ico, he estimated that thei'o would be
355 acres of good melons^ and some of
those are in extra prime condition.
Of the 134 acre's planted at Melo
land, eighty-four acres nmdo a fine
Shawjnfi i'ti inspection during tho past
week.
Mr. Ptar on takes a most optimistic
commisary department and ' chefs.
They have been fully Informed as to
conditions, that the weather will bo
hot and the work arduous, but all
have evinced their determination to
come down to the valley prepared to
stick to the work through the entire
melon season.
They will be given $2.25 per day,
with a bonus of twenty-five cents per
day, payable at the close of the sea
son, for good service and faithfulness.
Mr. Pearson and the directors of
growers' associations in El Centro
hold the view that handling the crop
is not the only thing to be considered
in securing help. They are not in fav
or of employing Japanese pickers un
less they are literally obliged to do
so in order to save the melons. The
college boys are the right sort of peo
ple to have either as . temporary or
permanent residents, and it is likely
that many of them will recognize the
opportunities open to yonug, enterpris
ing men in Imperial Valley, and will
plan to come Into this region and take
part in the development of the coun
try-when they leave school. Five hun
dred keen, intelligent, active young
Americans will see and learn much
about Imperial Valley 'and its possibil
ities, and what they learn they will
tell in . their homes and schools,
spreading the fame of the reclaimed
desert and making the facts known
to thousands.
It will be good for the boys to take
part in the pioneer work going on
here. The work is hard, and the con
ditions will test the fibre of a young
man and bring out the qualities that
are in him. At the end of the season,
the boys will have funds either to car
ry them through the next school term,
if they are making their own way, or
to spend on outings during the^ re
mainder of the vacation.
view of the cantaloupe situation. He
declares that the high winds of the
past two weeks were really a benefit
to the melon proposition as a whole,
as they killed off the struggling vines
that would only have matured imper
fect melons, and he said yesterday
that out of the more than iO.OOO acres,
planted to cantaloupes at the begin
ning of the season in Imperial Valley,
he believed there would be fully 7500
acres come to producing maturity.
From the acreage to be handled
through the Crutehfleld & Woolfolk
Company, he estimates, there will be
shipments of from 575 to 650 cars.
BRICK WORK COMPLETED.
The brlckmasons complete their
work today on the three-story hotel
block being erected by Helms & Pel
let, and the carpenters will have the
place roofed by Wednesday of next
week. This building has broken the
record for rapid construction and It
also has the record of not a single
workman even having received a
minor hurt during Its progress. Electrl
claps are now wiring the interior, and
each room Is to have electric bells and
telephone service. Next week the in
terior will be in readiness for the
plasterers.
AT THE METHODIOT CHURCH.
No preaching services in tho morn-
Ing on account of tho ::. orial ser
vices at Imperial, but Sim Jay School
at 10 o'clock. In the cv. uirig the Rev.
F. P. Sigler, of Huntin-ton Beach, will
have charge of tho pei'vi;
County Treasurer Pan! 1 lonian is In
Sacramento this week.' a/.' nding the
State convention of coati ivasurorH.
NO. 7