The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1905-04-11
WELL WORTH
THE SAVING
HALF BILLION PUBLIC ACRES
STILL REMAIN.
MUST THINK OF FUTURE
Time Coming When Western Agricul-
turaI Population May Prove I'M
portant to Nation.

Washington, April Tit has been
estimated from off1clal reports and
complications that at least half bill
lion acres of the national domain have
passed from the hands of the govern
vate and corporate holdings for pur-
poses other than home building.
In the early HISTORY of the govern
ment, when our population was small
and the lands we're looked upon as
source of revenue for running the ma
tionl machinery, there may have
them in large tracts, but rapidly
growing sentiment soon indicated the
advisability of securing & permanent
population on all lands disposed Of,
finally eliminating in the passage OF
the homestead act.
| While the operation OF this general
policy has been to satisfactorily settle
up much of the United States, along
with it has fourished a practice OF
fraur and evasion of laws which has
| consolidated enormous tracts into
single ownerships. Could the govern
I be repossessed of this great area ac-
quired largely for speculative pur-
! poses, what safety valve it would
form today against the dangers or
| Capitalization in the east with which
we are coming face to face There
| is little use however, in theOriZing
upon what might have been. 1t is
worth while, though, to pay some at
tention to the remaining half billion
acres of the public domain and to put
stop to the present practice or
squandering this national resource,
and holding it until it is wanted for
actual settlement, if not now, 10 or
20 or 80 years, may be.
The strong sentiment which is i'm
patient of delay in the government s
disposal of it's lands and desires to
see it put into private hands as rap
idly as possible, comes mostly from
an interested class whlcn is pecuniar
lily benefting by this policy.
If the plans which the government
lis now vigorously pushing, including
the irrigation of the seventy odd mil
lion acres of land susceptible of thai
development and the regeneration o1
even a greater amount of arid ant
semi arid lands whicn cannot be 1r
rigated, through the introduction o.
desert plants from the old world anG
"dry land" methods of agriculture
are allowed to proceed, and the lands
meanwhile held against speculation
opportunities for home-making by mil
lions of people will be created in thu
west where there is now only wast'
desert or but scant forage growth sup
\ porting wandering herds of cattle ant
sheep.
The time will come, possibly soone
than the country inlagines in it's pres
emit headlong race after money, whel
such an agricultural population, firm
ly rooted to the fertile western acres
will be welcome sheet anchor to TIN
nation.
Railroads to Stimulate Farming.
That the western railroads are rec
ognizing the advisability of stimulaf
ing settlement and agricultural pre-
duction along their lines in order t
increase their traffic is evidenced b
several significant moves which hav
been made during the year, RADICAL
different from the methods heretofor
| practiced by all transcontinental road
of disposing of their large land holt
2 ings in the most rapid manner po
: sible without regard to the size of th
y tracts sold or whether settlement
! to follow or not
1 One of the big lines is considerin
the advisability of providing HON
stead for all its employees, limitir
disposal to small tracts and requirir
actual settlement and improvement
The Burlington system has been co
ducting a series of farm experimen
and establishing model farms und
the so-called Campbell soil cultu
system, in the semi-arid region, whi'
have already demonstrated that Ian
\ heretofore supposed to be fit only I