The herald., 1897-06-27
mistaken after four yeazp Of careful
study and experience.
MUST PROVIDE ron THE
OVERFLOW


comments upon the plan Of Debs te
found a cooperative commonwealth
and in the main these comments have
been condemnatory or derisive. The
scheme in the present etate of human
advancement may be, as alleged. i'm.
practicable and Utopian. 1t IL move.
ment, however. that suggests refec.
ton.
There are other manifestations also
which should be noticed so far at least
as to inquire into their causes. These
are conditions to which the people OF
the United States have but recently be-
come accustomed. and consequently
they have had little experience in deal
ing with them.
Idleness. poverty and want are alarm
ingly prevalent, and how to obtain re-
lief from them is a subject which re-
quires the profoundest consideration.
Congestion Of population in many local.
tiles has come upon the nation sooner
than even the last generation thought
possible, and has precipitated a social
problem which the founders Of the gov
ernment supposed would not be pre-
sented for many centuries.
Robert c. Winthrop as late as 1912
said that Oregon would not be needed
for occupation by our people in a thou
sand years; but in little more than a
half century the population of the Ter
ritory which Oregon then embraced has
become half million. When the In
dian Territory was set apart for the
Creek and other aboriginal tribes. no one
conceived that in less than three-Quar-
ters Of century it would be surrounded
by large civilized population.
AT the time the thirteen colonies were
recognized as free and independent, the
but four million people, and in less than
120 years they have increased to fifty
millions. The Louisiana territory nine
ty-four years ago contained few thou
sand civilized inha bitants, but in that
period, brief in the life of a nation, thir-
teen states have been carved out of it.
which probably contain a population of
nearly 20,OOO,00O. Texas in fifty-two
years has increased in population fifteen
fold. and in fifty years the population
of the territory acquired under the
treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo has in
creased from less. than hundred thou
sand to two millions or more. This phe-
nomenal growth in population has been
through both natural accretion and i'm
our laws and the hearty welcome of our
people
Idleness. poverty ard want are eepec-
tally prevalent where population has be-
come congested. European nations,
through experience, have long been cog
infant of this, and they have been in
dustrious in seeking countries to
which they could sendtheir surplus pop
ulation. The United States has present.
ed the beet opening, and consequently
this country has been the recipient of
more European emigrants than any
other, or perhaps all others. This is es-
pecially true of the outflow from Great
Britain and the German and Scandina-
Wan nations.
Until recently there has been an abun-
dance of room and an absence of danger
from congestion. There is now very
little public land available for occupa-
ton, outside of the arid region. The
states of the south and some of the west
ern states can sustain more population
without danger from congestion, but
the great field for absorbing the surplus
in the eastern and middle states is that
immense region where, on account of
aridity, cultivation without artificial ir-
rigation must be circumscribed. In the
arid region there are 1900, ZOO, 900 acres,
five-twelfths of which are in govern
ment ownership. The remaining por-
ton has been granted to corporations,
or the states for school purposes, small
part of it being owned by individuals.
Irrigation through private enterprise
can never be extensive. But irrigation
must be conducted under comprehensive
and economical system in order to en-
able the great arid region to sustain
the largest possible population. When
irrigation is left to private enterprise,
conflict of interests frequently arises
from the fact that laws must offer in
ducement by granting title to water
which confers monopolistic powers upon
the few. Besides, individual methods
will be dissimilar, unscientific and
wasteful. The needful thing to do is for
the general government to withdraw
public lands from location under the
homestead law and from sale; retain
possession of the sources of water sup
ply for the present, and until some plan
is devised and executed that will con-
serve water to the utmost practica BILE
extent, and which provides for it's dis
tribution fairly and at minimum ex-
pense. Title to land and water should
remain inseparable When this is done,
the states will readily enact laws con-
formable to it, and then the whole mat
ter can be turned over to the states
While some of the sources of supply are
wholly within single state, there are
others which are interstate, and the
proper distribution of their waters can
= l.x, Iox