The herald., 1896-12-17

especially from those VINO hire attOr-
neys by the year and pay nothing ex-
cept through a lawsuit fought to the
bitter end. There are places enough
where this system, properly applied and
properly organized, should be very pop
ular. Some unwilling parties might
have to surrender for the good of the
section. But there must not he too
many, either in numbers or in extent of
acreage. They make too much trouble
and there have been cases where they
are justified, for in this respect the act
has been grossly abused in California
There are many who do not like the act
who would not object to a small portion
of their lands being taken in, but when
swept into the lines by the tens of thou
sands OF acres, they rebel and no one can
blame them. To get such large tracts
under cultivation before water comes is
impossible; it is vast undertaking even
afterward. To sell them even after the
water comes, Is in most cases a still
greater task. And he who says you have
only to put the price low enough had bet
ter try 1T awhile. No more stunning sur
prise awaits the hopeful seller than to
find the more he bIaks the price the
more he scares the intending buyer. To
offer irrigated acres for S10 or SIS is like
onering town lots for dollar. You can
not get people to look at them. And it
is quite as useless to offer the land dry
at S. an acre. A few sales would be made
but not enough to help out the district
or the owner of the land, and if there is
anything the experience of California
proves it Is that the man who gets land
for trife is rarely a settler, but a spec
ulator. whether the purchase be large
or small. The people who have made
California what it is are mostly those
who have paid for their land price
large enough to make them appreciate
it. Then they will work it and produce
public wealth. But until they see the
water coming, with certainty, they will
not buy.
In the meanwhile, where is the cash to
pay the taxes on the outlay necessary to
prove the coming of the water a GER
tainty?
This difficulty was seen years ago.
Something must bridge the period of
waiting between the outlay r. ssary
to bring the water and the ii when
the land Is productive enough % meet
the interest. This was done by selling
dry land. bought for sorg. with water
at good price. The value of the land
as enhanced by the water, built the
works. In most cases this was success
full. and the most prosperous settlements
in California were built up in this way,
the stock of the company going with the
land. In other cases the same princi-
pie was applied by the sale of per-
petual guarantee called a water right"
This has been successful in some cases.
All attempts to make the income of the
land pay any interest on the cost of ir-
rigation works of any magnitude with
out in some way calling on the enhanced
value of the land. have been disastrous
financial failures the world over, and, on
new lands. will be to the end of time
The state board of control should in
such cases say. You cannot have a
district here unless this difficulty is in
some way obviated, for you will surely
get into trouble -
This state board should also govern
all the expenditures above a certain
amount, make all the contracts and see
that they are carried out They should
see that the bonds are not discounted
at ruinous rate, by those who take
them for work or property. and should
not allow them to be scattered in many
hands to be hawked on the street at
half their value. The block should be
kept intact if possible. Those that are
paid cut If it must be done, should be
put in escrow for the parties with the
right to sell them at the price at which
the rest are taken. or less, or to be turn
ed over only when the rest are sold.
Other states should study the expert
ence of California with this law. 1t
throws the burden in the worst possib,a
form-that OF high. annual tax rate
beginning long before the land owner
can get any benefit, and offers a most
tempting bait to dishonesty and care
lessness. With these points well guard
ed and some other amendments it would
be a highly beneficial act in sections
we'll adapted to it, But where the con-
ditions are unfavorable nothing can ex
eel it for making a tangle of which no
man can see the end.
Geo. H. Maxwell of California urged
strongly upon the congress to harmonize
upon broad general propositions which
could command the support of the press
and people of the country. He said those
advocating the development by irriga-
ton of the arid lands of the nation want
ed results, and that by the shortest and
surest route. They needed not only en-
ergy, but driving power as well,
sledge- hammer of truth and sound ar
gument which could be driven by the
united power of all advocates of irriga-
ton movements straight through every
misapprehension and false doctrine from
which opposition could come. All We're
agreed that a national irriga tion COM
mission. as recommended by the COM
missioner of the general land office, was
conceded by all to be nece ssary. Then
let all unite in its support.
The resolution coming from a recent
convention of engineers at Denver, and
embodylng the recommeo cation of ELL
wood Mead. state engineer of Wyoming,
furnished other grounds for action.
These were:
First-The ceSsion to the states of
arid land where it can be done upon such
coditions as to assure its settlement by
actual settlers and avoid the certainty
Of monopoly in few hands of the public
domain.
Second-7he preservation of forests
as a source of water supply.
Third-Permanent reservation from
sale of lands suitable only for grazing,
which should be leased only to actual
settlers and resident farmers for NOM
inal rental of l cent per acre, the rev.
enue to go to the states.
Maxwell also advocated the construc-
tion OF storage reservoirs by the Federal
as he believed that cession
to the states could not in all cases be a
practical solution of the problem of ir-
the arid lands of the govern
ment, and afforded no relief in the ter
ritories. as Arizona, for example, where
of thousands of acres could be
reclaimed by Federal aid and in no other
way. He said the bill just introduced in
congress by Senator Allen of Nebrask
providing an appropriation of a million
dollars for survey of the headwaters of
the rivers of the country to locate reser-
voir sites was an entering wedge in the
right direction. He could not concede
the power of the national government to
Internationally give away the land of
the nation even to the states. If ceded to
states IT should he orlv an tho q ooc,,ro,<o