The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-12-04
PRAISES MESSAGE
RAILROAD CHIEF ON RECLAMA-
TON OF WESTERN LAND.
PRESIDENT R00SEvELT'S PLAN
6. G. Brown of lake Shore & Michigan
Southern Discusses Irrigation of
Arid Territory-Tells of Bene-
fits to Pc Obtained.
(By Associated Press,)


. Chicago, Dec. 4.-W. c. Brown presi-
dent and general manager of the Lake
Shore & Michigan Southern railway, with
headquarters at Cleveland, when asked
for an expression of opinion on the pres
fdent's message in regard to the develop
ment of the West. said:
Il cannot express too strongly my APP
probation OF the recommendation of the
president, looking to the reclamation of
the now arid regions in our Western
states and territories by the construction
OF great reservoirs for the storage of
water.
The fact that the president favors the
undertaking of this work by the general
government is logically the result Of his
familiarity with conditions in the West
and his practical knowledge of the SUBJ
ject under consideration. The work Of
the reclamation Of arid lands, under
taken in the comprehensive and thorough
manner which its Importance not only
3ustifies, but demands, will require a
larger expenditure of money than the
sparsely settled states Of the West can
command.
Government Money Needed.
Money for this purpose expended by
the state must be raised by taxation.
This is an obvious impossibility. and
therefore the only alternative left to the
state or territory. unaided by the gen.
eral government, would be to farm out
to great syndicates composed of Eastern
capitalists the right to construct the
reservoirs, to own their own water and
control the land reclaimed.
Under this plan the settler seeking a
home upon government land must pay
tribute to the syndicate thus formed in
such amount as the syndicate might
elect.
Each year new generation of young
men is being graduated from farms and
villages and cities of the East and Middle
West. Men who must find some location
for home and some vocation by which
they may become self-supporting.
Available Land at Premium.
For years the fertile praries of Iowa.
Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota
and the Dakotas have attracted thou
sands of these homeseekers and home
makers. These states are rapidly filling
up. Soon they will overflow from the
annual exodus of young men who look
for attractive, opportunities for securing
farms and homes in this territory. When
this time comes some territory must be
found for this rising westward tide of
civilization.
THE one overshadowing cloud, more
portentious than any other today, is the
rapidly growing political representation
and influence of the great centers of pop
ulation as against the country. The hope
of the country is in the 49, 80 and 160- |
acre farms-thousands of them-owned |
and titled by happy, prosperous Amer |
dean citizens and in no way can this con-
dition be brought about so speedily as
by the government undertaking at once
the work of retaining and making fruit
full and fertile the millions Of acres of
land now it's property. but absolutely
worthless without water.
Advantages of Irrigation.
'It is we'll within the units Of extreme
conservatism to say that 40 acres Of ir
rigated land will produce on an average
more than the best 80 acres in the fertile
valleys of the Mississippi and Missouri.
Personally 1 believe that acre for acre.
the irrigated land may be depended upon
to produce three times as much.
Taking the former estimate, however.
as basis and attempt to compute the
addition to the material wealth of this
country which would result from the ex-
penditure in this great work of one-half
the money which is appropriated annu
ally in the river and harbor bill. much
of which, to put it mildly, is spent with
out hope or expectation of return. and
the result will beggar comprehension.
; Benefits to Be Derived.
but above and beyond the materials
features, consider the moral effect upon
the character of the nation of filling the
foothills and the valleys of the trans
Missouri states with the multitude of
hardy pioneers and homebuilders that
Nill be attracted by the field thus opened
20 them.
':No recommendation or suggestion has
ever been made by a president more i'm
portant than this or more worthy Of care