The Arizona sentinel., 1898-04-09
Ea.sGt-LCE 0E CJFEs2G lll.l 7
 LAMBS.

lands. This question is beginning
 b at.rao. much attention through out the country. The idea has teen i4Gorsyd blythe heEa.ionaICongre aad is favored bg a great many psomi ant men. who have iI-
 ve. gated tas subject,
 Tie area cf available government ! land iu the United States, which i5
 oiyalue wi,hoc. irrigation, has been
 growing "smaIIar by degrees and
 beautifully less," untiItAare is to-
 day comparatively little of such
 land left. At tue same time, the
 army Of land-hunsry citizens is constantly Increasing. How strong the demand is for Uncle Sam's farms is may ba seen from the tremendous rush which takes place whenever a tract is thrown open to settlement.
 l. estimated that there are still ] in this country 10Q0OQ0c0 acres of land which would be productive If brought under irrigation. Allow ! ing forty acres to each family, which would be au ample amount of irrigated land, this would provide homes for 2 500,000 families, and
 would do much to relieve the present conge ted condition of the large cities.
 There would be no speculative
 risk OH the part of the government
 in undertaking this great work. ] The report Of the eleventh census
 on irrigation shows that for the
 wholo United States, the average . f-st cost of bringing water to the
 land .g esT..ar rights. Was as l-
 .-l -..e t-.s being obtained D..
 a-D..-.g the value ot..nrr.r .... . formers .a constructing .a. ...--
 ..a.u. ing .aess figures ia c.ur.c-
 . ".-1 other statements. The
 e..n. .. .... water r.ga' fit eaa
 os considered as =sn.ru..4 r... l..e land ras as-.n ..aar#-a ua..
 .u treble .ae first ess.. ra. average value o5 the irrigated lands
 was to-ad to be little ove. &S3 ] per acre.
 Adding the price now charged bv . ths government to lhe settler, name fy, #I.25, 10 the cost Of bringing
 water oa the land, this wouiafnaba &9L) per ac-e. At 4I0 per acre such lands would ba exceedingly cheap, as c9apared with anything of the kind that can bg purchased
 today IL .Ais country, i, is alto @a,har probable, however, tbat. should tie Goyernmeu. undertake such an enterprise as this on a large scale, thg cost of bringing
 water oa the land would not exceed ] :. } Ter acre, 90 taat it could Ja sold ta tie settle at less than @I2 per acre. "-,a payments extending over several years, without interest. giving settlers the opportunity t. make the 9arcLase frce out Of tae. land, 50 thas they would only have ] to @%pand cash for imoroycments.
 Here we have three fsa.ures- millions Of acres of land comoar- .a.iro'y worthless, which might be made productive by the expeua:.u@e . o. money; an army of land. unarv American citizens who are auz.ous to obtain homes, and a govogamsal possessing J-Limi,ed credit, which caa.i readily borrow the necessary caa,t4. to undertake this great Improvement at very low rate of interest. The argument tbat in undertaking such work the govern mant would be going out of it5 1 proper sphere, and entering into p2tegna.ism, will not bear invc5.iea, . ton. Surely tho United states government has IS much right to make available for settlement the land which it now owns as t has to undertake the improvements Of rivers and har5ors.
 From now OH this question of irrigation of government lands is likely to come into increasing prominence. As a question in- vo.vine the wsIf5r3 of over ten million Americans, it is one that certainly deserves most serious and thorough iavesti-atiou on the part
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