, 1905-01-27
F. v. MONDELL ON
FUTURE Of WEST
DISCUSSES FEATURES OF SQUARE
MILE HOMESTEAD BILL
IN THE HOUSE.
Interesting Argument Made BY Chair
man of Committee on Irrigation
Successful Efforts in Way of Asri-
culture in His own County of Wes-
ton and N%eighboring County.


Washington, d. c., Jan. 27.-Wheth-
err $40 acres as a homestead shall 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
much TO allow a man in certain states
of the west n that 100 acres is too
little. An interesting argument was
made last Friday before the house cum
mittee by Representative Mondell OF
wyoming, chairman of the house irriga-
ton committee, in which he took de.
cided ground against any hasty legisla-
ton on this subject.
Congress passed a law oil this ques
ton last SESSION including the land
of western Nebraska" he said, with
the understanding that it would be in
the nature OF an experiment. After
a fair trial there, and a careful inves-
tigation of its results, it may be wise
may be wise, | say-to enact SINH
lar legislation for other limited local.
tiles; but to forthwith apply the plan
to great areas of the west at this time
would lie a dangerous thing. The Ne
braska law has been in no sense a
demonstration as yet
Mr.. Mondell stated that he had made
four or nre long railroad trips through
out this part of Nebraska n he had
Observed no indication of settlement
under this law. He saw no new houses
nor no evidence of increased popula
ton. He admitted that there are vast
areas of the west which IA 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
no condition al this time and will not
be for many years, to intelligently
classify all those lands. There is a
great advance being made on the des-
ert today. by which newly discovered
crops and methods Of culture are con
stantly making productive and will re-
claim millions of acres which a few
years ago were supposed to be abso-
lutely unfit for crop growing. 1t would
be a serious mistake to condemn n
of these lands which will. as agricul-
|tural science progresses more n
more. become suitable for 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 e. a start was
made by himself and friends to grow
grain without irrigation. These "agri
cultural operations were looked upon
by the cowboys as a great joke. The
section was a ~"cow-country," and dry
land farming! well there was not ev-
en- a question that 1t would succeed.
Now a quarter Of a million bushels of
gain and $4,000 bushels of vegetables
arc produced annually-wheat yielding
from eighteen to twenty-five bushels
per acre-and in Crook county TO the
north, and also west of the South Da-
kota line, the crop production without
Irrigation is much more. In the north
ern half of Weston county twelve years
ago an almost unbroken range, there
is nov 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 reasons to believe that we
will not makea as great an additional ad-
vance in the coming twelve years and
bring lands under cultivation which
are now looked upon as worthless for
f%arming?"
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
considerable portion of this land in
cluded in these $40 acre homestead
hills will be found during the coming
decade or so to be suitable for social
ed dry farming considerable will be
Irrigated in small individual patches
by damming coulees, etc, and a on
siderable portion by private irrigation
systems.
we are but upon the fringe Of the
agricultural development of the great
west. We will, If We proceed careful
ly in our land policy, ultimately cul-
tivate as much land by these dry farm
methods as through irrigation. For e
cry million or ten million acres we re-
claim through irrigation in the west
we will nave a million or ten million
acres producing probably without ir-
%rigation.'
imperfect Digestion
ear less nutrition and in conse-