The San Francisco call., 1899-11-01
PROPOSITIONS ON THE SCHEME
OF NATIONAL IRRIGATION
Green Says the Plan Of Raising Fund by Renting Our Arid
Lands for Ten Cents an Acre Is All Humbug

Editor Call: l have been criticized for
saying that the National Irrigation Con-
gress was a magnificent humbug. and ore
paper says that it was this congress that
brought out the point That if all our
arid lands were rented or leased for a
term of years at 10 cents per acre
this amount would create a fund that
if applied to the purpose of building
reservoirs, would build all that was re-
qufred, etc. This congress- through its
authorized spokesmen, announced an in
come of 900 from these 10-cent lands
Now l said magnificent humbug," and
If l do not prove 1t take my head for
football. Let us first see about this 10
cent business. This congress presumes to
be teaching body, and should be toler-
ably correct in It's statements and calcu-
lations. Who is to rent this land at 10
cents an acre, which supericially looks
cheap?
Land is worth in Europe It's rental value
for from thirty-five to forty years In the
Eastern States the value is placed at its
rents for about thirty years, and in Calf
fornia it Is certainly worth its rental
value for twenty years. Ten cents an acre
for twenty years is 81. Now, money on
long loans can be had at 5 per cent per
annum, but who would take the chances
on any Kind of loan IL he could pur-
chase land at s2 an acre rented out at 10
cents. or for rental that would pay for il
in twenty years, getting his income every
year? 1his is, of course, unimproved
land with no expenses whatever on it.
70 assume, therefore, that we have
five millions of acres that will rent right
away for 10 cents an acre, we must as
sumo that the land is worth as 1t is, with
out any speculative future, 81 an acre.
Is there 10000 acres of land in all Cali
fornia except timber lands, not in private
hands worth 81 an acre? | think not
There is certainly not five millions.
But we will all admit that land is worth
what 1t will rent for In ten years, for
this is 10 per cent interest.
Now. fair sample of the lands tat
on the line Of the Southern Pacific, be-
tween Bakersfield, and say, Saugus
Every little water place is of course in
private hands. Now. If you had money
to burn, would you give 81 an acre for
all the Government land in sight of the
road? You are to take it, De 1t remem-
bered, without any speculative value but
you are TO make your money back in rent
Ing it or using It In its present ,ondition
Do you think there is a single quart er
section for which you would give $3.50
cash under such conditions? II you were
going into the sheep business would YOU
take all the unentered land for ten miles
each side Of the road between Lancaster
and Saugus. for nothing? If you did YOU
could easily be sent to the lunatic asvltlmi
Yet that, and millions of other such acres
would have to come in on the 1s-cent
proposition.
Then to get their $500 900 wear tbAv
must find 100000 acres or 7Si1 square
miles worth 81 an acre without The
privilege of taking off any TIMBER A
great teaching body. that is going to en-
out from pleading the baby act by saying
1t was guess.
Apropos of estimating the value of
grazing land, / know Of some parties who