The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-02-06
To Accept a Million
Desert Acres.
PLAN FOR THE LEGISLATURE
OFFERED BY THE WATER AND
FOREST SOCIETY.
Propose That the State Accepts Uncle
Sans Offer of Arid Lands,
Then Water and Popu-
late Them.

bill providing for the States accept
| ance of 100000 acres of arid land from
the Government and for commission
supposed to hustle this amount of desert
into bloom and verdure will be presented
and urged before the Legislature within a
few days. The scheme presents dimly
great possibilities for the Colorado and
Mohave deserts, in whose awful solitudeS
whitening bones are yearly more thickly
strewn, but of which water would make
vast tropical gardens.
This is one of the important new mat
tiers just taken up by the executive com
mittee of the California Water and Forest
society. This new name, by the way, was
adopted on motion of Senator Elliott Nc
Allister at a recent meeting of the execu-
tive committee of the new State associa-
ton organized as the California Society
for the Conservation of Water and For
ests.
Most Californians have forgotten that a
million acres of Government desert land
may be had by the State for the taking.
In 1894 Congress granted a million acres
OF arid land to each of the Western States
where such land existed, with the stipu-
lation that the grants must be accepted
within ten years. But acceptance involves
enabling acts by State Legislatures, and
legislation providing for the great amount
of labor and engineering skill involved In
the inspection, selection and surveying of
the lands, provision for their irrigation
but California has accepted the grant,
Wyoming doing SO in 1895. Californa's
acceptance must be made within five
lature that to wait two years more will
give too little time for the vast amount
of preliminary work and consideration
necessary. 1t is, therefore, urgent that
action be taken now. California has with
in its borders 10, 900 900 acres of lands now
worthless for cultivation, of which $780,
lNd fV1lx halo TO
the Government.
A long bill has been drafted and is in
the hands of Curtis H. Lindley chair
man of the committee on legislation. At
the request of President j. NJ. Gleeves,
the United States Surveyor General, it
was drafted by Miss Pratt, the accom-
office. The bill as 1t stands is patterned
after similar acts passed by Colorado,
Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and
1t accepts the grant and then puts
about everything into the hands Of
commission of three, one to be the State
pointed by the Governor for four years.
They shall serve without compensation,
but shall employ secretary and an en-
The commission shall examine the arid
lands capable of profitable irrigation and
compile data concerning. location, soil,
cultivation, rainfall in the mountains of
the same watersheds, sources of water,
possibilities of irrigation and production
and so on: When, its gets ready the COM
mission shall apply to and act with the
regation of the lands.
The, commissions biggest job, will be to
lands, and the proposed plan is interest
ing. 1t is not proposed that the State
shall spend a dollar on irrigation works
beyond the cost of the commissions en-
cheering work. The commission is en-
powered to invite proposals for and to
contract for water supplies to be in
stalled at the expense of the bidder The
shall sell water rights, which shall attach
ito the land and be perpetual, and the wa
ter bills shall be a preferred lien on the
land.
This may look odd and useless so far,
for irrigation companies can build canals
and sell water anywhere without con-
tracts with State commissions if they
want to, but the reason of this plan is in
the section providing for the disposal of
the lands. Any citizen can take up arid
Government land under the desert land
law, but little is taken up because of the
difficulties. 1t takes five years and more
trouble and expense to get a parcel OF
desert under this law than parcel of
good rich prairie. or timber land. So
desert land goes begging.
The proposed bill fills the trough and
then leads the horse up to it and makes
him drink. 1t plans to get people onto
the land by making it easy. Any citizen
may enter 100 acres or less. He can get
patent in two. years by showing con-
tract for a perfect water right with the
party authorized to furnish water for the
reclamation of said land and by proof of
twenty acres. In other. words, the land
is given to the settler if he lives on it and
cultivates twenty acres within two years.
The idea is that people will take desert
land for nothing but little time and
labor If there is plenty of water on it,
and that capital will irrigate uninhabited
ton coming. The Irrigation of the Colo
RADIO desert by turning the Colorado
River into it has been an inchoate and
m Iia about project for a genera
ton, accompanied by visions of vast
orange. date and pomegranate groves
miles of palms, spice trees, tea fields and
tropical glory, but it has remained too
big big risky and costly a job for capital. If
the State accepted few hundred or a
thousand square miles of it and offered
to give redhot farms away for the water
ing ana planting of twenty acres a big
irrigation project rooted in the floods Of
the colorado might make capital more
eager; At least that is the philosophy
posed law. The Mohave River and its
bordering wastes are a similar problem
A number of small areas would be found
miles.
Another important matter receiving
consideration is Abbott Kinney's scheme
of the Sierra Madre Range in Southern
California, which have suffered so severe
~, and amid which are the fountains.
LIZ uiNlut the mountain region into
five districts, with a signal peak in each
district and each district into five sec
tons. with patrol camps in each Peak
signals by day or night and telephone
lines could promptly muster the fire fight
e e over provided, trails. Details from
the army would be preferable for the
service, which needs discipline, skill and
endurance. No one should be allowed in
the protected region without pass
Secretary Benjamin and others of the
executive committee see q poor outlook
for, the School of Forestry and Forest Pa
troll, which the committee on legislation
recently urged in the Legislature on be-
half of the State University. It Isl re-
ported that Governor Gage opposes the
appropriation.
President Gleaves has appointed the
following committees:
Finance-Julian Sonntag. e. A. Denicke, w.
c. Ralston.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES F. Adams, J. M. WALL
ing, John 2. Davis, G.. N. FELTON,, p NJ
Daniel, e. w. Britt, Hugh Craig.
Forestry-John p Irish, Abbot Kinney Grail
gle Sharp Marsden Manson, N. p Chapman
Flood waters and observation-disclosures David
SON. Mark B. Kerr. Lyman Bridges, Frank
Soule, e. H. Barton.
Distribution of waters-E. w. Hilgard NJ
Theo. Kearney. e. F. Adams Curtis H. Lind
ley. A. p. Maginnis.
Observation-Disclosures H. Lindley Elliott MEAL
lister, A. Sbarbaro. W. D. Lawton, Horace