The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1895-08-15
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brings us the latest news OF alb to an old
article in the May number Of the Irriga.
tioa Age which is full OF error and venom.
Why 1t should be dragged up now IL hard
to understand, but 1t sand so must have
some attention in order to arrest the mis-.
chief it may do.
This article goes on to say that Paul
Shulze dictated the Milroy Bill, under
which the State of Washington is taking
advantage OF the Carey Act-a statement
as utterly without warrant as can be
imagined, and one which would never
have been made in the lifetime Of the
man. 1t further said that the maximum
price Of the Washington lands under the
law is fifty-five dollars per acre, when it
ranges from five to fifty: and went on
with false premises to compare it with
the Montana law which it claims fixes
the price OF land and water at eight dol
lars an acre. We have not the Montana
law before US, so cannot say as to that,
but can say that no land and water will
ever be sold together for eight dollars an
acre or twice that sum in Montana nor
anywhere else in the arid region. The
Montana act is one which provides for
state warrants andother conditions which
it would be unfair to discuss here, for the
reason that we do not fully understand
them. 1t may be said, however, that one
OF the best men in Montana, aud one
deeply interested in the reclamation Of
the lands in that state, recently express
ed the wish that they could have had q
law like ours.
The Times article goes on in q carp
ing strain to say that "the thing is worth
being looked into little" OF course it
is. 1t was "looked into" all through the
session OF the legislature, and has been
an open page ever since.
Does anyone think any corporation or
individual can steal anything under the
act?
The land. the water and the opportun-
ity have been lying invitingly open for
years, and are now. Why is not greedy
capital grabbing at it?
Simply because there is nothing in it
until the state can mass the even Sec
tons and offer safe scheme.
Now while Cooking into" this mat ter
to please some doubter who can easily
learn all he wants to know without rush.
ing into print, we will suggest that few
facts will be discovered.
First, it will be discovered that all the
schemes that offer a return for invest
ment in the state of Washington have
been thoroughly exploited and are well
known; and if there were any big money
in them they would be taken.
Second, that there are no lands in the
the state that can be reclaimed for the
minimum figure named in the bill--five
dollars. III there were, we could beat
Montana by three dollars per acre. In
fact there are none that can be watered
for less than three times that figure in
large bodies. II there were they would
have been snapped up long ago.
Third, that the time will come when
certain lands will be available and gladly
taken which will cost more than fifty
dollars an acre to water, and that no law
would have been complete that did not
provide for retaining at that cost some
OF the million acres the state hopes TO
get. Meanwhile the law gives the state,
through its commissioner, control of this
matter, and contemplates the watering
and selling OF arid land at the least pos-
sible figure between five aud fifty dollars,
all contracts to be submitted for approval
to the governor and attorney-general.
These are some of the things that are
already known to all OF us who live in
the arid region, where water upon arid
land makes it many times more valua-
BILE than any other class of agricultural
land. These facts may be easily learned
by anybody else. They were understood
by.both the friends and opponents the
bill in the late legislature.
We learn from the State Commissioner
that there is soon to be meeting OF the
commissioners OF all the interested arid
land states, and that the Washington
law Is regarded by all as the one most
likely to bring early results. It is use
less to put low maximum figure, IL no
money can be found to reclaim the land
for so low figure. II it can be, then
right here in Washington is the grand
opportunity, for the lowest bidder gets
the job.
The cost Of running lines to find Just
how and where the land may be found
for the state is no inconsiderable matter,
and the people Of the state may well con-
graduate themselves that they have q
commissioner who is going carefully
about the business in hand. He will
make no mistakes, and, meanwhile, II
any capitalist, or il any writer in any IT.
rigation monthly or any daily paper, can
find any way to take the land that lies
free and open, let them come on and do
so, rather than throw out such insinua-
tons.
In the short time that the commission
has been in operation much has been
done in the way of getting the project
before the people who must furnish the
money; and much more in securing con-
cessions from the interior department
which will make the appropriation 20 AZ