, 1900-02-27
As TO ARID LANDS
INTERESTING REPORT ON BILL
DONATING LAND TO WYO-
DINING SOLDIERS HOME.
Senator Warren's Report, Printed in
the Congressional Record at Re
quest of Senator Cockrell, Con-
tains Valuable Information Con-


The senate during the past week
passed Senator Warren's bill donating
0 1000 acres of land to the Wyoming
Soldiers and Sailors home.
The committee report on this bill,
prepared by Senator Warren, was, at
the request of Senator Cockrell, print
ed in full in the Congressional Record
because it contained much desired in
formation concerning grants of lands
to the states. The report, which is
as follows, shows that Wyoming has
yet to receive a large quantity of lane
before being on an equal footing with
many of the older states.
The report is as follows:
The committee on public lands, to
whom was referred the bill IS. 2OO)
granting to the state of Wyoming So
600 acres of land to aid in continual
ton, enlargement, and maintenance of
the Wyoming State Soldiers and Sail
ors' Home, having considered the same,
beg to report it back with the recon-
mendation that it do pass.
That such an institution deserves
support must be admitted. No national
soldiers home is situated anywhere
near the Wyoming state home. Near
ly 1000 miles of expensive, fatiguing
Tavel must be taken by a Wyoming
.n+Dr, - L.. ,arnl ~ Anro- ,nn,,Ia,
government home. The altitude of
| Wyoming at the points most thickly
settled is from 5000 to $500 feet, and
to change the old and feeble from the
high, dry climate to a lower and more
humid one is usually injurious.
The men who are becoming inmates
of the Wyoming home are those who
spent their best years in other parts
of the United States. They not only
offered their lives in defense of the
country, but for many years after the
war they were busy with the upbuild-
ing of other commonwealth. Wyo-
ming being a new state, n that To-
cality containing no white mans set
Element for many years after the war.
she necessarily received these veterans
in the declining years of their lives.
Nevertheless that state, with commend
able ~benevolence, has established q
home and a%ppropriates every year for
its maintenance. 1t is true the govern
ment pays the regulation sum ($100 per
capita e annum), but in that sparse
ly settled country, higher cost of liv-
ing, and a not large number of regular
inmates the expense bears too heavily
on that young state, where the United
States government owns in public
lands, Indian and military reservations
over 81, 800, 900 acres out of a total g.
500, 900 acres of the states surface, and,
therefore, on over S71s per cent OF all
its land no tax can be collected be-
cause of government ownership.
Wyoming has received no donations
of swamp lands. as have many of the
older states, and her total acreage I'M
der the act of admission was much less
than one-half of what congress grant
ed to the state next admitted into the
Union at a later date, though this state,
later admitted, had but about four
ffths of Wyoming's area.
The whole of Wyoming is within the
arid belt. and the lands can not be pro-
ductive without irrigation. The nom
mineral and nonforest lands are worth
less without irrigation excepting for
grazing, and the sparse, thin grass re-
quires a great many acres to support
each single head of live stock. There
fore the land is worth but a few cents
an acre until its reclamation. The val
ue to the United States of this grant
of land is almost nil, and would be So
to the state except as it is improved
and utilized. The state, in selecting
these proposed lands for grazing, will
take them up near to the ranches Of
homesteaders. and in selecting pieces
worthless in themselves, but which in
connecting up with the other lands set
tied upon and to be settled upon will
render irrigation and reclamation pos
sible and therefore be of ultimate val
lie to the state and bring a considerable
income to the soldiers home.
On the other hand, the government
secures through the selection of these
lands, not exceeding a section in a
place, and their occupancy by lessons,
the improvement of the governments
remaining lands, not only through the
general development and settlement OF
the country, but by bringing them
near to %irrigating bitches which have
been or may be constructed, and from
which water can be procuded for at
least a portion of the lands.
In this way the proposed grant,
while slightly lessening the S7h per
cent of the United States ownership in
Wyoming and increasing slightly the
12R per cent owned by the state and
the settlers, will really add to the val.
ne of the governments holdings. Thu