The daily silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1903-1907, 1905-01-28
T
SQUARE MILE HOMESTEAD BILLS

take the place of 100 acres is a question
which is being discussed before the Pub
lie Lands Committees of the Senate and
House. Statements have been made
showing that a square mile is not too
much to allow a mar ia certain States
An interesting argument was made last
Friday before the House committee by
Representative Mondell of wyoming,
chairman of the House Irrigation Com
mittee, in which he took decided ground
against any hasty legislation on his sub
ject.
Congress passed a law on this question
last session including the and of west
ern Nebraska he said, with the un-
Outstanding that it would be in the ma
ture of an experiment. After a fair trial
there and a careful investigation of its
results it may be wise-may be wise, /
say-to enact similar legislation for Other
limited localities; but to forthwith apply
the plan to great areas of the west AT
this time would be a dangerous thing.
a demonstration as yet"
Alr. Mondell stated that he had made
tour or five long railroad trips through
out this part of Nebraska and he had
observed no indication of settlement I'M
der this law. He saw no new houses non
no evidence of increased population. He
admitted that there are vast areas of the
west which can eventually be classified
as grazing lands solely. irredeemable be-
yond any process of irrigation, better
farming method or through the intro
duction of new arid land crops. but,
he said, I'VE are in no condition at this
time anu will not be for many years, tC
i~ntelligently classify all those lands
There is a great advance being made on
the desert today, by which newly discov-
cred crops and methods of culture are
constantly making productive and will re-
claim millions of acres which a few years
ago were imposed to be absolutely unit
for crop growing. 1t would be a serious
mistake to condemn any of these lands
which will, as agricultural science pro-
crosses more anu more, become suitable
for homes, to indefinite stock grazing"
AS an Illustration he stated that in his
own county of Weston, lying immediate
ly west of the South Dakota line, some
twelve years ago a start was made by
himself and friends to grow grain with
out irrigation. These agricultural OPP
erations Were looked upon by the cow
boys as a great joke. The section was
a Cow country and dry-land farming
well. there was not even a question tina
million bushels of grain and Is, 900 ushels
of vegetables are produced annually
wheat yielding from Is to rs bushels per
acre--and in Crook county. to the north
and also west of the South Dakota line,
the crop production without irrigation is
much more. In the northern half OF
NcStoH county, Twelve years ago an al
most unbroken range. there is now an
average of between two and three farms
on every square mile. This he said
shows the advance we have made in
twelve years. Why have we any reason
to believe that we will not MAKE as great
an additional advance in the coming
twelve years and bring lands under Gull
tivation which are now looked upon as
worthless for farming?
1T is not" he said, that there is a
change in climate. but a change in the
class of farmers; not a change in the soil,
but in the class of crops grown. A con-
siderable portion of land included in these
GAO acre homestead bills viii be found
during the coming decade or so to be
suitable for s~o-called dry farming con-
siderable will be irrigated in small indi-
vidual patches by damming coulees, etc,
and a considerable portion by private ir-
rigation systems.
we are but upon the fringe of the ag-
ricultural development of the great west.
We will, il we proceed carefully in our