Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1897-11-20
THE GREAT AMERICAN DESERT.


Not so many years ago that vast area
of the public domain which lies between
the Missouri river and the Rocky noun
tains was marked upon the maps OF the
school Biographies as the "Great Ameri-
can Desert" and something over so years
ago Daniel Webster, who was accredited
with knowing about all there was worth
knowing about the North American con
tinent described the same section OF
country as "unimportant, uninhabitable
and without value" Today the "nnim'
portantn great west is the richest store
house of the United States and promises
incalculabe riches for the future.
Since the close of the war of 1876
lines of railroads have been stretched
across the great plains into and over the
mountains on their western border, and
the American desert of former years has
been made to blossom like the rose; the
fairest and most healthful and most in
wiling part of the land ia located within
its borders. In place of desert there is
an empire filled with cities, covered with
farms, and dotted with schools and
churches. Some idea of what has been
omplished in the far west may be
gathered from some figures given and
statements made by Senator Francis f..
Warren, of Wyoming, in an article which
has appeared in the illustrated American.
In speaking of the arid lands, he points
out that they not only include the most
valuable mining area on the surface OF
the globe, but he presents some interest
ing and instructive figures regarding
the agricultural and commercial value of
this hitherto despised and rejected terri
tory. "At the present time" he says, "a
careful computation discloses total in
that country of M ore that 100000 head
of domestic animals, made up in round
numbers of 100000 horses, $4,000 mules,
100000 cattle and 24,000,000 sheep.
The latter produce more than 60 per cent
of all the mutton grown in the United
States" He asserts, too, that the aggre-
gate annual value of products moved out
of the arid region is now approximately
S25O,000,OO0, while the total commerce
reaches the sum of $550,000,000, an
amount largely exceeding the value OF
our commerce with any foreign country
excepting Great Britain.
The practical side of the development
of the arid region is shown in the fact
that it is the best field for the production
of wool and of the sugar beet. Wool ano
sugar, as Senator Warren forcibly asserts
are the two products which the United
States fails to produce in quantities suffi
cient to meet our demands, and theil
purchase from abroad occasions the
greatest leak in the national treasury
Upon the 7O0,OC0,OO0 unoccupied acreI
of public domain in the arid region
there can be produced all the wool ant
sugar that is necessary for national con
sum ption. The sugar beet thrives bes
under the highest percentage of SUNSHINE
and the lowest amount of moisture, ant
in naturally cloudless country where tn
water can be regulated at will through
irrigatlug canals the best conditions ar
4 reached. There is ample water for irri
CATION, as Senator Warren points out
provided the national government will
inaugurate the necessary system of resel
j voir storage IN the snow covered noun
tain heights. He admits that there is
clash of interests because the states tina
, own the waters and the federal government
J which possesses the lands, but he argue
, that wise legislation can be enacted whic
will remove all friction.
The senator's article is timely and &
: the point There are thousands of per
{ sons in the east who are broken i
health looking for climate aud Ian
where they can live and support them
selves by some out of door employment
They have money enough to engage i
business and the article will attract thei
. attention to the west, and the possibil
: ties Of sheep raising and beet growing
| To those persons the New MExrcA
{ would drop hint that no portion Of tn
west offers more opportunities than Me-
/. Mexico. In this territory they can fin
/ the finest climate in the world, any alt
| tude they may desire or need; nowher
else can sugar beets be grown to suc
perfection, and the wool aud mutto
raised on the grazing lands command th
best prices In the markets Of tie country