The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-09-02

aaS tpeeN tue party Oh uoIueSleduS loi
h people. 1t has enacted and enforced
the laws permitting each adult male cit
1zen of the United States to establish
his home and rooftree, at u merely
nominal cost.
When good homestcads began to grow
scarce, and corporations. by double
dealing, had largely usurped the birth
right of the individual. the party of
freedom and justice began to look into
the question of irrigation. 1t proposed
to flank the subtle movements of land
monopolists, and to practically create a
G heaven and a new earth" for the
builder of bones, upon which rests the
corner stone of the republic.
Uncle Sam owned the whole arid re-
gion, and he owned the water supply.
o o He decided to bring the water to
the land, and by this union to make pos
Gble a mensureless bounty for the pres
ent, and future generations. He profits
By experience. So he decided to fix
Up this new land business in such a way
thai ~monopolists could never again stul-
tfy good citizenship by robbinc it of
4s own.
Origin of National Act.
In keeping with the wishes of a Re
publican President, a Republican Con-
PRESS passed a law, June IL, 1902, au-
Shorizing the Government to enter upon
his work of retaining arid America.
lHhia law restricts the amount of such
land to be owned by any one individual
10 160 acres, and requires a continuous
residence Of five years on the same, to
acquire title. Such occupants will re-
ZnnA IN thu En~arrp mt Il, n rvr,hor IF
equal annual installments, the actual
cost of bringing water to the land. Such
entries cannot be committed.
Under the act approved June II. 1902,
which is properly the beginning of the
present Government Reclamation Serv-
Ice, an endless chain" of funds was
provided by a%ppropriating the receipts
from the sale and disposal of the public
lands in the thirteen States and three
Territories of the arid region. These
states are: California, Colorado. Idaho,
@ansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada,
North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota,
Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Ter
xitories: Arizona, New Mexico and
Oklahoma. This fund at present hovers
somewhere near the $25,o00.O00 mark.
The arid regions of the United States,
~ generally designated, include about
Awo-ifths Of its entire area, extending
4fom about the middle Of the continent
westerly nearly to the Pacific Coast and
4eaching from Mexico to Canada. There
: - sharply marked lines or divisions
&stween the arid and the humid areas,
1pt there is, especially neal the center
OF the United States, a broad inter
mediate belt, neither distinctly arid nor
Mistinctly humid, which is called the
0sb-humid or semi-arid region. This belt
&xtends over North Dakota, South Da-
eota, western Nebraska, and western
kansas into Oklahoma and the Pan
handle of Texas.
What Ii Being Done.
Since the passage Of the Reclamation
Act the Government has had a large
corps of engineers and assistants ex-
Amining the arid region and studying
III streams and water supply carefully.
important Investigations have been made
at the following places, and at some
Of them mammoth irrigation projects
now under way: Milk River project
In Montana including the investigation
E1f the proposed dam sites at st. Mary
lakes. In Wyoming examinations have
been made Of the possibilities OF storing
waters In the Bighorn Mountains for
use along their eastern slopes, and at
the proposed dam site for the Sweet
water reservoir on the river Of that
name, a tributary Of the North Platte.
In Colorado, in the vicinity Of Sterl-
ing, work has been done in connection
With the plan to utilize the Pawnee
4 reservoir site for irrigatipg lands
On the north bank of South Platte Riv-
q. Surveys have also been made for
4tverting the waters of the Gunnison
River through a tunnel into the I'm
eompahgre valley for irrigation. The
Grand River project, involving the use
ct the. waters of the Grand River on
the plains west of Grand Junction in
Colorado and Utah, has also been the
0ubject of surveys and examinations. In
Nevada the Truckee-Carson basin has
been examined with a view to utilizing
the waters of these rivers and exam
lining the storage possibilities of Lake
Tahoe and other lakes in the Sierra Ne
vada. Investigations have also been
made in the valley Of the Walker Riv-
er, Nevada. In Arizona and Colorado
an examination of the Colorado River
from the Needles to Yuma has been in
stigated for the study Of plans for the
reclamation of the low lands along both
aides of the river. The practicability
storing the food waters of the Salt
River has also been investigated. There
nra many other instances.
Measure1ess Possibilities.
The records show that at least one
third of the area of the United States,
nxpI,,siva of Alaska md orr orflvip0
possessions, consists of vacant public
Land. One of the great economic ques-
nnw before the people Of this u
try, is the utilization of this vast area,
much of which has a rich soil, and I'm.
der good management would be capable
III sustaining a large population. The
are %stupendous. Govern
lncnt engineers estimate that the total
rOssihlc water supply of the arid re-
gioai is Sufficient, if properly conserved,
6 irriigate lOO,OOO,OOO acres; which, re-
Dorts show, could be made available.
~ unNatcred empire. brought fron,