Churchill standard. (Fallon, Nev) 1903-1908, 1905-12-23
LAND
Secretary of the Interiors Re-
port Treats of Govern
ment Projects.
Carson Sink Enterprise Furnishes
Example.


with the reclamation work at great
length. Inasmuch as a majority OF
the actual construction work to date
has been consumed in bringing the
Carson Sink project to its present
state the following remarks are in
debt to this project for their dem
onstrated practicability. The secretary
says:
''The problems which now confront
the reclamation service are not those
relating to the construction of works or
to the disposal of lands, but those con-
cerned with the wise enforcement OF
the letter and spirit of the reclamation
act in respect to small farms and actual
settlement upon them. Many OF the
persons taking these irrigable tracts are
lously endeavoring to hold them for
speculative purposes. and under one
form or another are trying to acquire
as large area as possible. This can be
prevented by tactfully but firmly en-
forcing the letter and spirit of the law.
"Owing to the lavish disposal OF the
public lands during recent years there
remains in the possession of the govern
ment only Il comparatively small
amount of land which ultimately may
be irrigated, most of the reclalmable
land being in the hands of individuals
or corporations. One of the wlsest pro
visions of the reclamation act is that
which states that no right to the use OF
water for land in private ownership
shall be sold for tract exceeding l6o
acres to any one land owner, and no
such sale shall be made to any land
owner unless he be an actual bona tde
resident on such land or an occupant
thereof residing in the neighborhood.
1t is believed that the judicious en-
forcement of this provision Will bring
about the cultivation Of the reclaimed
land in small holdings, thus indirectly
many of the errors of the past in respect
to prohigate disposal of irrigable land
may be partly remedied. 1t is obvious
ly not the intent of the reclamation act
to irrigate at public expense large pri-
vate holdings and increase the wealth OF
Il small number of men unless the pub
lie receives an equivalent gain. The
strongest argument for the law is, not
that it adds to the wealth of the state,
but that it builds the greatest number
of homes aud creates a community OF
owners of the soil who live upon the
land and derive their sustenance from
it.
Gone of the most difficult matters is
that which arises from the statutory
requirement that the land shall be
settled by actual homeseekers. The
law directs that the area of land en-
tered by an individual shall be that
which, in the opinion of the secretary,
may be reasonably required for the
support OF a family, and that, as above
stated, in the case OF land in private
ownership no right shall be sold for a
tract exceeding 100 acres to any one
land owner. In short, there runs
through the reclamation act the idea OF
restricted ownership and the limitation
of irrigated land to the needs of a
family.
''In the case Of lands in private own
ship. the attempt to limit the farm to
100 acres, as required by law, is meet
ing with success, although opposition Is
encountered. The area of land which
can be ultimately reclaimed is relatively
small, and the men who happen to own
or control this land know that they
have practically a monopoly of it. Tn
der the terms of the reclamation act
nothing can be done by the government
toward the reclamation of this land ex-
cept with their consent. They assume
that the government must spend the
reclamation fund-must irrigate their
land and increase its value, and to do so
must make any concession they demand.
They assume the position that the
government has no right directly or in
directly to force them to relinquish in
the future any considerable part OF
their holdings for the benefit of home
seekers or of the community. They ar
que that, no matter how they obtained
possession of these large tracts of land,
they are legally in possession and they
will not permit the land to be reclaimed,
even though the profit to themselves
would be great, unless the government
reclaim it in the way which is accept
able to them. In spite of this opposi-
tion, however, rapid progress has been
made in carrying the rules and regula-
ions into effect.