Evening star., 1901-10-26
Politicians and Cattle Men Control
Nevada.
PROSPECTS RUINED YEARS AGO
Adverse Legislation Has Expired
by Limitation.
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.

seven-year-old state is still owned by the
federal government. With much fertile
soil, less than per cent OF the area is
under fence and only about one-haif of 1
per cent is under cultivation. The climate
is unsurpassed, the soil produces all desired
and profitable crops, there are farming
lands, stock ranches, mines, railroads and
eight large streams with their branches
furnish water. Notwithstanding these ad-
vantageS population and wealth have stead
lily decreased, and during the past twelve
months but nineteen homestead filings were
accredited to Nevada, out of the $4,000 or
more recorded in the general land office at
Washington from the public land states.
1t is not difficult at this time to say Just
what has hindered the development of this
western state, for Nevada has reached a
turning point in her history. There have
been minor difficulties such as competition
OF California on the west and Colorado,
Utah and other states on the east, the
earlier disinclination of the Central Pacific
railroad to develop intermediate territory,
arldity of soil and decrease in the gen.
eral prosperity of the silver mining inter-
ests The cause of Nevada's trouble, how
ever, lies deeper than this and nay be
said to have largely originated il the policy
adopted toward that state by Congress il
the disposal of public lands.
Every public land state, upon being ad-
mitted to the Union, has received from the
federal government title to sections IL and
36 in each township. In every state this
has amounted to a magnificent domain, and
as provided by The enabling acts of each
state, has been leased sold, as he case
might be, and the revenue devoIed to the
public schools. Nevada was given this same
donation when admitted as state in 1854
In the twenty years following admission
little attention was paid to agriculture.
The great Comstock mine of Virginia City
furnished nearly all the material prosper
ity of the state, and agriculture even in
the form of live stock raising was looked
upon as very minor industry.
Source of Her Ills.
In 1880, when In careless or Indifferent
mood, Congress enacted a law at the in
stigation of few far-seeing Nevada cat
tie men by which the school sections 10
and 36 were taken back into the possession
of the United States. In return for this re-
fund Of land Congress authorized the state
Of Nevada to select 100000 acres of fed
eral land in any part of the state desired
and as fast selections have been made
title has been given. 1t Is not too much to
say that from this piece of legislation has
arisen practically all the ills which have
afflicted this western commonwealth
The live stock growers of the Pacific
coast were quick to the advantages to
be obtained under this law, and they Sc
cured the passage of a state law which
made it possible for one man to obtain
control of as much land as he might need
and in such localities he might choose.
The Nevada legislature enacted a and law
which gave each citizen the right to buy
$40 acres of state land. This privilege was
not confined to residents of the state, and
the land was sold only after being selected
by those who were to buy.
A cattle man desiring to secure control
of range filed an application with the
state government for the purchase of $40
acres of land, this land probably being dis
tributed In forty-acre tracts along one or
more of the numerous well-watered and
fertile valleys Of Nevada. 1t was not nee
essary that this cattle man should confine
his application to $40 acres, however, for
the law allowed him to act agent for
others; so all he had to do was to use the
names of his family or friends, as the case
might be, and file applications for as many
64Os as he cared to pay for. The state law
provides that the land shall be sold for
$1.25 an acre. Twenty-Five cents an acre
deposit is required at the time of purchase;
the balance is held upon twenty-five years
time, with per cent interest, with the
privilege of paying up at any time the ap-
plicant may see fit. The state land board
took no interest in these locations, other
than to file application for the land with
the United States government, charging
the acreage to the 1000 OOOO-acre grant
which had been made by Congress.
Reviewing the Workings.
This 100000 acres is now exhausted, and
the people of Nevada have an opportunity
to review the workings of this peculiar act.
They find that through its instrumentality
probably one-third of all the land in the
state now under private ownership has
passed into the hands of few cattle men,
most of them non-residents. Less than
dozen men own over 100000 acres of land
and this in a state where there are less
than 4,OOO,OOO acres which are not still
owned by the United States government.
So long as this state law prevailed and
government land could be secured under
the state grant it is evident that no citizen
would care to avail himself of the federaI
land laws, such as the homestead act or
the desert act, with their more onerous
conditions to be fulfilled before title could
be secured.
That this is so is shown in the records of
the land Office, for in 1899 there were but
three homesteads filed in the entire state
of Nevada, only nine proved upon and not
single desert land claim, timber claim or
stone claim was filed under the federal
laws. The state law made land ownership
to those who had influence and control o.
the water supply too easy for them to re-
sort to federal channels. Hereafter any
citizen obtaining land in the state Of Ne
vada will be compelled to secure it under
the federal law, but the trouble Is that
under the shrewd distribution of the state
holdings all Of the water, all of the fertile
valleys and nearly all of the available
range, dependent as it is upon water and
meadow, has been secured by those who
manipulated the state grant.
The agricultural population Of Nevada
has remained stationary for several years,
owing to this peculiar condition of land
ownership. The population Of the state Is
now Al, 1885, decrease Of S,426 in the past
ten years. There is a large proportion of
voters in this population, there being about
Il, ,66O This is due to the fact that the
mines and ranches employ an unusually
large proportion Of single men. The taxa
BILE property of the state amounts 70 $40
600, GOO and the tax rate is low. Some Of
the leading men in Nevada have spared no
effort to induce immigration and to en-
courage the development of lheir state,
but they feel almost hopeless, for their
work has resulted in practically nothing.
The state itself recently advertised that it
would give free title to all land which was
reclaimed by any one under the provisions
Of the Carey act. by which Congress al
lowed each Of the arid-land states 100. 900
acres II such land was irrigated There has
been no response to this advertisement
and there will be none, for the land which
could have been irrigated under tha Carey
act or under the desert land acl in Nevada
has been gathered in by the great nom
resident live stock companies of California
and other places.
Politics and COrruption