Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1903-08-03
Fear That Bulk Of Arid Lands Will
Be GobbIed Up by Greedy
individuals.
MAY TIE UP CONGRESS
President Sees Danger Ahead and Has
Recommended Repeal Of Number
Of Land Laws.

Shall the nations great domain Of
western arid lands and the nations
money be used to enrich a compara-
lively few greedy individuals, or shall
they be used to furnish security and
happiness for millions of men, women
and children
Uncle Sam is still rich enough to give
us all a farm And an irrigated farm.
at that. 1t is not a dream but a fact
that the present population of the
United States can be duplicated on the
public domain in the west.
This can be done without making new
competitors for those already engaged
in agricultural pursuits in the east and
in the south. On the other hand, this
wonderful act of planting a new nation
in what is now all but an unbroken
wilderness will confer enormous bene-
fits on those sections which are already
covered with farms, factories and
towns.
The subjugation and settlement of the
great empire of public lands means
that every factory wheel in the United
States must whirl facter, that every
banking house must handle more flon~
ey, and that every railroad must trans
port more passengers and freight This
in turn, hisans a. larger and buster
population in evary eastern and south
ern town. and that, of course, will
quicken and enlarge the demand for all
the products of the soil in the older
sections of the country.
In the meantime that which is grown
from the soil to be conquered by irriga-
tfon in the west will go almost exclu-
sively to the feeding of new home-mar-
kets to be created within the arid re-
gion itself and to tine satisfaction of
unlimited demands in the Orient and in
the frozen north.
Congress has decreed that the great
policy of national irrigation shall be
entered upon without delay. Already
the engineers and surveyors are doing
their work and FIVE great projects have
been reported favorably to the Interior |
department. Only about $7,OOO,000 are |
required to carry all five to completion |
and the money is in the treasury !
awaiting the, CALL But upon the |
threshold OF the greatest constructive |
policy to which this nation ever set it's |
HAND. new and appalling obstacle is |
encountered.
Almost every acre of these lands
which the nation is about to prepare
for the swarming of a home e-building |
population may, under existing laws. |
be stolen and used as the basis of q. |
profitable speculation. And those who |
desire to secure these lands for specu-
latfve purposes are strong enough to tie |
the hands Of congress until the deed |
shall have been done. This. too. in
spite of the fact that the president Of |
the United States has urged the repeal |
of these iniquitous land laws as some |
thing which is vital to the success Of |
the national irrigation policy.
Shall the nations land then, and the |
nations money be used to enrich a !
comparatively few greedy individuals |
or shall they be used to furnish securi- |
ty and happiness for millions OF men,
women and children?
This Is the question which must be |
answered when congress meets again. |
The answer depends absolutely upon
the will Of the people as it shall be }
made known to their representatives at
Washington. No power on earth. ex-,
cept the power Of an aroused and indig-.
nant public opinion can save the arid
region from falling prey to the specula-
tors who are alive to their opportunity
while the people are asleep.
In his last message the president rec
commended the repeal of the desert
land law, Of the communication clause
of the homestead law, and Of the tim
Der and stone act. These are the pro-
visions Of existing statutes under
which absolutely the most valuable
property now. owned by the American
people is being systematically absorbed
into private ownership by Those who
cannot use it, but who propose to sell
1T at enormous profit to real homeseek-
.ers when the nation shall have multi
piled its value an hundred-fold by
means Of irrigation.
The nation has land for every man
who will make his home upon 1t in good
faith-who will break the sod, plant
crops, build house, and settle down to
support his family from the soil. But
the nation has no land--at least. It
ought to have nore-for the man who
merely seeks to forestAll the actual set-
.tler ana sell out As Ain at profit, or