Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1906-03-14
suoossrloM.

The Optic Of MDnday night contain
ed q suggestion from u Clayton COR
narrsting the remarkable
manner In which the country 10 ts"|
east Of us Il being setued NY vy
farmers from all sections of the east.
The writer stated that IN q little over
sixty days 1880 acres Of land had
been homesteaded by these new set
tiers. We noticed q few days ago an
article In an Oklahoma paper dealing
with the remarkable development Of
what has TOR years been known ~
mo Mans Land" lying In the isolated
strip Of that territory Just east OF
Northern New Mexico. 1t has been
demonstrated that this section, only
= few years ago considered utterly
valueless. n admirably adapted to cot
ton culture and the region IL being
rapidly settled up and developed.
Every day reports come from the Pc.
cns. Valley, the Estancia Valley, Quay
county. and In fact from every Sec
tion Of the territory, telling Of the un.
heard-of influx OF farmers from the
east and central states. hungry to 90.
cure . tract OF land.
The mad rush that attends the Oc.
casional opening OF government reser-
vakions need not be dwelt upon. for
this u . matter OF common knowledge.
All these facts combined point to
the unusual demand for land which IL
70 very apparent over The entire coun-
try today. The truth u that there IL
just now q land hunger such ~ has
never been seen In the country before.
Wherever the opportunity ID offered
to obtain farms At a small price. the
people flock thither by the train loads.
Let 10 put two and two together.
Tho country IL land hungry. The Las
Vegas grant contains 100000 acres,
Of which the greater portion IL stand
Ing Idle and bringing In no revenue.
Our suggestion Is self evident. II a
portion. say 100000 acres of this could
be set aside for colonization purposes,
and the fact published abroad, farm
ers would flock hither and take up
the land at q price OF several dollars
m aero. This great domain could
thus be converted In part into IN I'm.
mediate fund which would be Of sub.
stantial benefit to the grant, not to
mention the benefit which such a
community Of farmers would be Ia
this locality.
We appreciate the fact that Oh
jectionA will Immediately be raised
to such Z suggestion and we appreci
ate the force Of some OF these OBJ
jections. For instance, It will be said
that It would be disastrous to bring
In q lot Of farmers to settle on the
unirrigated lands Of the grant until
the dry farming theory has been thor
oughly demonstrated. II Is al indis
putable fact. however. that In this
region several farmers who have had
the courage to make the experiment
have been successful In raising goOt
crops for the last two years. More
over, In seasons OF reasonable molst
ure the native farmers raise theil
~temp0rales" with fair success From
the way the present season Ia start
Ing In, farming In this section will
apparently not need to be conducted
on the dry plan. 1t Is true that
farming without irrigation In this sec
tion II still to be considered In thu
experimental stage. But men wht
come In and obtain the finest land ii
the world for q few dollars an acre
are expecting to take some chances
Let the dry farming INT be thorough
" tested and proven successful, and
the period OF experiment will BIZ
passed, the land will be In the greatest
demand and values will rise proper
tionately. But why wait several year,
for this before offering some Of the
land for settlement? Why not lei
some OF the willing ones from other
states come In now, get the benefit
or the unsettled values. and go on
with the experiment themselves.
At the same time, let the dry farm.
Ing enthusiasts be given all the help
and encouragement possible IN their
effort to demonstrate the feasibility
Of dry farming beyond I'll dispute.
The suggestion that : limited por'
tion Of the grant lands be offered for
settlement In small tracts and ut a
low price. IL certainly worth consider
ing. Residents OF tho grant would d
course have the same opportunity to
take up the land a. those from out.
side. The suggestion IL certainly
worth the consideration Of U clti.
zens and Of the directors Of the grant.
NEW MEXICO An AMERICAN