The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-11-01
MANY ACRES, l-BUF FEW FARMS.

y
longing to the United States, contained
in the land commissioners report, that
our venerable uncle is still rich enough
to give US all a farm" There are ire
mendous possibilities in the way Of
free homes in the 1863, 900 acres OF
unpatented land in Alaska, or in the
II, 100000 acres in Montana, the 54,O00,-
900 in Arizona, the 100000 in Nebras-
ka, the 5700OOOO in New Mexico, in
Utah's 100000 acres, or the 34,0O00O0
acres of the Dakotas. Even the $780,
600 acres subject to demonstrating IN
Minnesota appear TO offer free home
steads to thousands of homeseekers.
But the fact remains that the era of
free farms to settlers is well nigh over
in this country. Uncle Sam has given
away his land with prodigal hand, well
bestowed where he has stipulated that
homes should be made of his gifts.
more questionably given when granted
to induce internal improvements, until
now there remains of his great domain,
except acres of arid or seni-arid land
and others of mountain ranges in
whose narrow valleys few farms may
be developed.
The millions Of acres in the sub-arid
belt that covers the western portion
of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas,
Oklahoma and Texas are already ap-
propriated by the cattle and sheep
men and have been surrendered to
them by the settlers who Ventured their
fortunes their in husbandry to have
them swept away by successive
drouths. AS long as the government
pursues its policy of treating these
areas as agricultural land, to be dis
posed of under the homestead act, so
long will it retain the title and the
stockmen the use. The latter cannot
get title to land in the ranges, and the
climatic conditions prevent settlement
under the present land laws. Between
these two conditions the stockmen find
no one to dispute their occupancy, and
their cattle and sheep find free COM
mon Of pasture on the public lands.
Some day congress will accept the con-
ditions in these areas and provide laws
under which the land can be legally oc-
cupted for the only purposes for which
it is adapted, on such terms as will
insure quiet possession and also secure
some return to the treasury for the
valuable privilege.
But when this region is passed there
remains nothing but the arid deserts,
small portion of which is reclaim
able under irrigation, and the mountain
ranges, worthless for agricultural,
whatever may be their mineral value.
While the deserts. become extremely
fertile when water in sufficient guam
titles can be procured, and while the
desert land laws give the land freely,
still the construction of irrigation ca
rals is so costly that only great wealth
can construct them, and, when made,
the settler finds that, to secure a water
right he must pay a price per acre
that makes his homestead a. dear one,
while the annual charge for water,
ranging from one to one and a half
dollars an acre, makes a heavy tax on
his resources. With this exhaustion Of
arabic land and the constantly increas-
ing pressure Of a steadily charging
population, the poorer land that has
been passed by in the years when the
settler could have his choice of the
best, will be gradually taken up, and
the waste places, the swamps, hillsides
and barrens, will be made to help sus-
tain life; but conditions must bear with
harder hand than now before that will
come.