The Lewiston teller. (Lewiston, Idaho) 1900-1905, 1905-02-03
SQUARE MILE
HOMESTEAD
Proposed Measure for Settlement
Of Grazing Lands Under Dis.
cussion in Committee

64U acres as homestead Shall ldhe TIC
place Of 100 acres is a question which
is being discussed before the public
lands committees of the senate and
house. Statements have been made
showing that square mile is not too
much to allow a man in certain states
Of the west and that 100 acres is too
little. An interesting argument was
made last Friday before the house
committee, by Representative Mondell,
of Wyoming chairman of the house ir-
rigation committee in which he took
decided ground against any hasty leg
islation on this subject.
Congress passed a law on this ques-
ton last session including the land of
western Nebaska," he said, with the
understanding that ii would be in the
nature of an experiment After a fair
trial there, and a careful investigation
of it's results, it may be wise-may be
wise 1 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
dangerous thing. The Nebraska law
has been in no sense a demonstration
as YETI
Mr.. Mondeil stated that he had made
four or five long railroad trips through
out this part of Nebraska and he had
observed no indication of settlement
under this law. He saw no new houses
nor no evidence of increased popula-
10 1,,tt tInf 10 CT
areas of the west which can eventually
be classified as grazing lands solely,
irredeemable beyond any process of ir
rigation, better farming methods or
through the introduction of new arid
land crops, but" he said, 1--WE are in
be for many years, to intelligently
classify all those lands. There is a
great advance being made on the desert
today, by which newly discovered crops
and methods of culture are constantly
making productive and will reclaim
millions of acres which a few years
ago were supposed to be absolutely
unfit for crop growing. 1t would be
serious mistake to condemn any of
these lands which will, as agricultural
science progresses more and more, be-
come suitable homes, to indefinite
stock grazing
AS an illustration, he stated that in
his own county of Weston, lying i'm
mediately west of the South Dakota
line, some twelve years ago a start
was made by himself and friends to
grow grain without irrigation. These
"agriculturap' operations 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 that it would succeed.
Now quarter of a million bushels of
grain and $4,000 bushels of vegetables
are produced annually-wheat yielding
from IS to 25 bushels per acre-and in
Of the South Dakota line the crop pro-
duction without irrigation is much
more. In the northern half of Weston
county, twelve years ago an almost
| unbroken range. there is now an aver
age 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 rea
son to believe that we will not make as
great an additional advance in the
coming twelve years and bring lands
under cultivation which are now looked
| upon as worthless for farming?
1T is not" he said that there is
a change in climate, but change in
| the class of farmers; not a change in
the soil. but in the class of the crops
grown. A considerable portion of this
land included in these $40 acre home
stead bills will be found during the
coming decade or SO to be suitable for
So called dry farming considerable
will be irrigated in small individual
patches by daming couless, ETC., and a
considerable portion by private irriga-
| ton systems.
I'VE are but upon the fringe OF the
agricultural development Of the great
| west. We will, IL we proceed carefully
in our land policy. ultimately cultivate
as much land by these dry farm meth
DDS as through irrigation. For every
million or ten million acres we reclaim
through Irrigation in the west we will
have million or ten million acres pro-
ducing profitably without irrigation"