Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1885-02-22
THE RECLAMATION BILL.

Senator Marker 8 reclamation oil
will come up on special order in
the Senate on Monday.
In our opinion there has never
been a bill before the Legislature
of this State of SO much vital i'm
portasce to its interests as this. Il
might be appropriately entitled:
e A bill to provide for the future
prosperity of Nevada. y
The bill provides for an appro.
priation of 100000 to provide fol
the reclamation of the sage brush
lands of Nevada, and the building
of reservoirs and bitches for irri.
eating purposes. It is a fact which
no one disputes that we have vast
reas of sage-brush land in this
State producing nothing, and each
year millions of gallons of water
come down from the mountains and
run to absolute waste. Marker )
bill will bring the waste water and
the unproductive sagebrush to-
gether and the result will be pro-
ductive fields, each day adding
something to the wealth and prop
erty Of the State.
In the rush and riot of mining
speculation the agricultural indus
try has been overlooked and it has
resulted in stagnation of business
in Nevada, unparalleled in the his
tory of any State.
The bill provides that those who
receive the benefits Of irrigation
shall pay small sum per acre for
the water priv eyes, and this mon
ey shall go into tho State Treasury.
By this means it will take but a
few years to repay the State every
dollar expended, and as soon as the
debt is paid the water tax ceases
and it will be ever after free.
In ten years this bill will cause
an addition to the taxable property
Of this State of millions of dollars
and wealth and prosperity will fol-
low where We now see poverty and
distress.
The richness of the sage brush
land Of Nevada has been demon
strated beyond the most sangu!ne
hopes Of the pioneers of agricul
ture who a few years ago put up
their time and money to prove to a
doubling audience of stock-specu-
lators that there was more weat tn
in the soil of Nevada than in the
rocks. The vast sums of money
which for the past twenty years
haye been dumped into the Com
stock and which have gone from
there to San Francisco, has result
ed in the erection Of political struc-
lures at the Bay, but while San
Francisco has thrived, Nevada has
declined. The reclamation scheme
Of Senator Marker would reverse
this order of affairs
We can raise our own wheat in
stead of paying tribute to Califor-
MIA. We can raise thoroughbred
cattle and blooded horses to ex-
change for San Francisco cash, and
stop paying out hard money for
stale fruit and vegetables, shipped
by rail over the Sierra range.
1t is perfectly apparent to every
man that Nevada is not
likely again to stand before the
world as the great bullion producer
Of days gone by. There may be
dozen more Comstocks within our
boundaries. but they have not yet
been discovered and it is not good !
policy to take the chances of find
ng them. Better take the certain
lies offered us by the advantages
If soil and water, then build up
hopes upon the hidden secrets Of
;he rocks. We know that an acre
IF ground will produce a certain
of grain, corn or hay, and
each man who raises it knows
where he can sell it for cash. Not
,ne acre in hundred fails to yield
is produce and the most deter
mined mining men in the State
will not assert that over one mine
n one hundred pays much more
han the cost of working.