The Republican journal., 1903-12-31
LITTLE FARMS IN THE DESERT.

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great Desert of the Colorado, in south
eastern California, marvellous work
of reclamation is in progress. Ulti
mately, half million acres of fertile
but utterly arid soil will be converted
into the most productive agricultural
land in the world
The present tendency in this district
is toward large farm unit,-320 or 64(
acres, since this portion of the public
domain is passing into private owner
ship chiefly by means of the Desert
Land Law. Under this law, single
individual may take 32o acres, or mar
and his wife twice as much, which is q
full square mile.
Is so much land reasonably necessary
for prosperous home on rich irrigated
land, where crops never fail because
insured by the flow of a great river
and in a climate where things grow
every month in the year and where
that wonderful forage crop, alfalfa
may be harvested eight times in twelve
months?
There are some good business men il
the United States who answer this
question in the negative, and who even
go so far as to say it is unfortunate fol
settler of small means to try to sub
due that amount of desert soil. One
of these men is Chicago manufac
turer who is deeply interested in the
colonization problem. He declares that
twenty acres are quite sufficient for a
good home in that locality. He insists
that alfalfa and cows are the surest
money-makers for the settler of small
means. Each acre of alfalfa will sup
port one COW. One good man will take
care of twenty cows. Hence, the
tweniy-acre farm is the thing.
The Chicago man has faith enough
in his idea to advance money to num9-
rous settlers so that they may get a
start. They will repay him in labor
applied to other lands which he will
later subdivde and sell to other small
settlers. Creameries will be necessary
to take the product of these small
farms. The Chicago man will build
the creameries as fast as required.
1t is most interesting experiment
both in its economic and its sociologi
cal aspects. 1t will be interesting to
compare the prosperity of these small
farmers with that of their neighbors
who are trying to till from fifteen to
thirty times as much land and it will
be interesting again to see how these
settlers are able to succeed with bor
rowed capital to be paid by devoting
part of their time to the cultivation
of other land. Perhaps the experiment
will furnish good deal of light for the
problem of making homes for poor
men in the desert.
The Chicago capitalist makes no pre-
tence to philanthropy. 1t is purely a
business proposition with him. He
kinks the enterprise offers good secur-
ity and promises to return reasonable
profit.
But in the meantime, the nation is
squandering its land by permitting it
to be taken up in big blocks by those
who will later sell out to actual home
makers. or to syndicates which are
making great stock ranches. And so
it will be until the present laws are re-
pealed in favor of a true homestead
provision. 1t is claimed that the Des-
ert Land Act can be enforced. Expert
ence in every western state has shown
that it generally cannot; but even in
those cases where it can be, or where its
reclamation provisions are complied
with in good faith, an abnormal
amount of land is allowed the country
man. If there has ever been a law
which operated for years, with no legi-
innate excuse for existance, it is the
Desert Land Law. But it's repeal,
even at this late date, would be boon
to Americpn home seekers.
WILLIAM E. SMYTHE.