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<br />., <br /> <br />Virtually all land that could be feasibly served <br />from private irrigation canals was in production by 1908. <br />Further irrigation development was dependent on the storage <br />and regulation of surplus vlater. The North Platte Project <br />provided this needed regulation for the erratic runoff of <br />the river and permitted the development of lands which are <br />of limited value without irrigation. In the half century <br />that followed, the value of crops produced increased <br />thirtyfold. The stable and comparatively lush farming pros- <br />pects brought 3,000 new farm families from other parts of <br />the country. Tovms grew in response to the settlers needs <br />for markets, goods, and services until the urban population <br />had increased ten times. Bank deposits rose 4,600 percent. <br />Behind it all, as evidence of real and permanent wealth, lay <br />the land itself. This land, once raw and barren prairie, <br />grew in value to $62,500,000 (figure 4). This was new wealth <br />from water. <br /> <br />THE NATION'S BUSINESS PRC6PERS <br /> <br />Rail freight shipments an indicator-- <br />A measure of the scope of the nationwide business <br />carried on between the North Platte Valley and other locali- <br />ties can be illustrated by rail shipments into and out of the <br />area although but about 25 percent of the total freight is <br />shipped by rail. Since the first railroad reached the valley <br />in 1900, it is estimated 513,200 carloads have been shipped <br />out while another 532,100 carloads have been received. <br /> <br />22 <br />