Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 242, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 October 1912 — J. CECIL ALTER IS DOING GOOD WORK [ARTICLE]

J. CECIL ALTER IS DOING GOOD WORK

. . a Jasper County Boy Receives Recognition by Government for His Able Labors in Weather Bureau. J. Cecil Alter, who has been an observer in the weather bureau at Salt Lake City, Utah, for some time, has recently'“received signal recognition of his work by being appointed the representative of the United States weather bureau at the seventh national dry farmers’ congress, to be held at Lethbridge, Canada, Oct 19-26. One hundred prominent agricultural ~ experimenters, railway officials and government investigators have accepted invitations to be present and speak. Thirty countries are to be represented and the exhibition of dry farming products is expected to be the moat extensive ever seen. The list of speakers includes Secretary Wilson, of the U. S. Department of Agriculture; Also Minister Bonrell, of Canadian agriculture; James J. Hill, Dr. L. H. Bailey, of Cornell, and many others. Mr. Alter will thus find himself in quite distinguished company. He is regarded an authority on dry farming as well as in snow measurements and stands high with the agricultural department. The September number of The Utah Parmer contains a long article from him in which he shows the precipitation for the year by months all over the state. The article argues that ceratin parts of the state are not worthy of an attempt at dry farming and are so situated that irrigation is impossible. It also shows that where there is an average annual precipitation of 15 Inches dry farming pays even though the farmer does not get a crop every year. He says: “Scientific dry farming pays, and pays well, as scores of hard-working farmers can testify with a dollar sign in front of the testimony. It is to thee© men we are looking to develop the hundreds of thousands of acres of non-ir-rigable land that is, as yet, untouched, except by a sufficient amount of rain, which ihas fallen upon the unjust quite long enough.” Mr. Alter’s article shows his Care'Ll! reasoning and his thorough familiarity with all parte of Utah. He has been away from Rensselaer for several years and has steadily climbed to prominence by the hardest kind of work,- coupled with the application of his excellent mental attainments. He is the son of John E. Alter, of Union township. \