The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-12-25
SPEECH OF MR.. MoNDELL
ENTERTAINS HIS ASSOCIATES
AT DINNER PARTY.
Discusses a Great Subject and Re
fers to Necessity of Proper Legis-
lation to Reclaim Millions of
Acres of Land-What Courses
Should Be Pursued.
Especial Correspondence,

y
into a very pleasant dinner party at Mr..
Mondell's residence Incident to the dis
cussion OF the dinner there was much talk
looking to outlining the course TO be
taken by western members TO secure &C
ton by the house on various irrigation
bills. This is the first of a number of
meetings which viii be held.
All of the house members from the arid
land states appreciate the serious difficult
ties under which they labor in that body
where the entire arid land region has few
more members than it has senators at the
other end of the capitol. Their total men,
bership is about one-twentieth of the
house Of representatives, as compared
with nearly one-third of the senate.
AT the first dinner and conference there
were present Messrs. Shafroth and Bell
OF Colorado Newlands of Nevada, Burke
and Gamble of South Dakota, Tongue and
Moody of Oregon, Cushman and Jones of
washington; Neville OF Neoraska, Bar
dell
Representative Mondell addressed the
guests at the conclusion of the dinner in
a careful speech. quitting various possible
methods Of procedure. He said:
MI Mondell's Speech.
AZ feel highly honored and gratified in
having for my guests toright the repre-
sentatives of ten great commonwealths of
the Union, members whose combined dis
tricts cover an area of 10000 square miles
or over one-quarter of the United States,
in which are contained over 1000 900
acres of public lands. or more than four
sevenths of the public domain, ex-
elusive of Alaska.
''tor our constituencies there is no ques-
ton, not excepting the great national pub
lie questions of the day of such vital and
paramount Importance as those questions
which relate to the control, management,
reclamation and disposition of the public
lands. Fortunately, the legislation relat-
ing to the public lands in the past has
been, in my opinion. almost uniformly
wise and just. rejecting credit upon those
who have participated in its enactment,
ana resulting in the unprecedented ra-
pidity with which homes have been es-
tablished and the wilderness transformed
into. prosperous commonwealths safe in
the sure and firm foundation of a land
owning yeOmanry.
THE conditions surrounding the public
land questions have. however, radically
changed in the past few years. There no
longer remain vast tracts of fertile soil
requiring only the turning of the sod to
produce bountiful crops. or levea stretches
OF low-lying river bottoms in the arid re-
glon. where the fructifying waters follow
the burrows of the ditching plow; but in
stead, vast areas of more or less valuable
grazing land and a more or less limited
area OF lands that may be irrigated only
by a very considerable OUTLAY per acre
most of the forest area being Included
within the boundary of forest reserves.
Must Have Water.
when the homestead law was passed
there were hundreds of millions of acres
of public land which would Weld a bonn
tiful crop upon the turning of the sod;
today there. is not within all of Uncle
Sans broad public domain single 100
acres of land which VIII produce an aver
age crop OF wheat in an average season
without artificial irrigation.
- From 80 10 % per cent of the entire
area Of the districts represented here con-
slsts of public lands and at the rate
,t,l these lands are now passing into
the hands of private owners they will not
be disposed of in a hundred years if the
same rate is retained; while, as a fact
under the present laws, the amount dis
posed of must grow smaller each year. as
the cnoicer lands are taken.
ms condltion of d vast percentage of
the area of commemorative in public
ownership from which no revenue is de-
rived should not, and in the very nature
OF Things cannot, continue indefinitely
Inc growth and development of our own
states depend upon the development and
reclamation of such of our lands as can
he reclaimed and upon the inauguration !
or some policy which will encourage the !
building of homes and protect home |
builders. and under which all portions of |
the domain shall contribute to the MAIN |
tenance of our institutions.
Three Lines of Policy.
From a survey of present conditions |
and looking TO the future, it seems to me |
thSt there are three general lines of pol /
icy which may be pursued. and ] feel that |
IL is important that We of the west SHALL |
as soon as may be. decide which of these !
three policies We shall have in mind in |
framing and advocating future land legis- |
lauon, The first of these policies might |
be called the conservative policy and /
would nave its expression in legislation
touching the public lands. following in a
general way along lines of present land |
laws and policies, and only amending.
curtailing or extending the tenor and /
scope of present land laws as changing
conditions might point the necessity,
leaving the questions of irrigation to be
settled by individual enterprise with such
limited aid and encouragement as the
states may give under the present con-
ditions, and leaving the unappropriated
public domain open TO unlimited and I'M
restricted grazing. as now
Another policy which might be adopt
ed or looked forward to as the ultimate
goal might be called the national policy
and would have for its central idea a
national system of reclamation by irriga-
ton under the management and control
Of the federal government. and paid for
out of the national treasury. This policy
would contemplate the building of vast
storage reservoirs and the diversion of
the waters of the mighty streams at
national expense for irrigation purposes.
Around this central idea of reclamation
would necessarily develop sys-
lem of disposition of the lands reclaimed
and necessarily some form of control by
-ne federal government OF the grazing
ands.
Policy of the State.
Inc lnlru pollcy might De called the
state policy, its ultimate object being TO
transfer ali the lands to the states in
Which they lie for their management
exclamation, disposition and control, with
)r without Limitation or condition i'm
losed ~ the federal government in its
donation
Each of these three general policies
las its advocates. and on behalf of each
II them strong arguments may be made
Z is Not necessary that We be agreed as
o the policy ultimately to be pursued or
IS TO the goal TO be sought for in order
hat we shall agree on specific measures. ,
simply outlined what occurs TO my mind
IS being the three general directions in !
which mems minds trend in discussing
and legislation. though there are many
POINTS of similarity in the details of these ,
'arious lines of thought which will occur
o you who are familiar with the ques-
ions involved.
Whatever may be our views. however,
IS to the ideal general policy 10 be pur-
ued we are all. / take ii. confronted
With some questions which are vital. ,
and of first Importance.
How can we best reclaim the waste
iaces encourage settlement and devel-
pment2 In what way can we put an end
o or modify the ceaseless wrangling over
main? We all want population. but we
Want il under the conditions that will
make our population prosperous. and We
re keeuly alive to the fact that cOmmC-
tiles cannot permanently thrive and 4
maintain the institutions OF civilized peo- ]
le where from 50 10 80 per cent of the ]
and produces no direct revenue towards ]
he maintenance Of government, and \
here the same proportion of the terri ]
ory produces only the natural product of
n arid region. minus reduction in pro- q
uction caused by generation OF reck-
.ss overgraZing. :
100 South Main is the number of the
ig shoe sale.