Valentine Democrat., 1906-12-06

ties that When all the millions that
it is proposed to expend, both in
national and private capital, in the
reclamation of the arid and semi
arid lands by irrigation, shall have
been disbursed, that not to exceed
ten per cent of said lands will have
been brought under subsection.
That is, that irrigation cannot pos
sibly cover more than ten per
cent of that vast area; consequent
ly the 80 per cent remaining can
not be depended upon to furnish
homes in such quantities as has
heretofore met the requirements
of the homesteader. True, what
is known as surface cultivation"
or the Campbell system" }" is be-
ing vigorously advertised just
now, and is the agency through
which many hundreds of settlers
are being induced to locate on
lands, that four or five years ago
it would have been thought insane
for man to undertake to farm,
and so far with comparative sue
cess. However, while the rain
falls of the past two or three seas
ons have not been very much in
excess of those of the years i'm
mediately preceding, they have
been seasonable, falling at a time
when a given amount of moisture
could do the most good. 1t is to
be hoped that this condition will
continue to become more humid,
but nearly thirty years continuous
residence, during most of which
time dry winds have blighted the
hopes and ambitions of the from
tier farmer, inclines me to fear
the contrary. Even though a
large area should become subject
to the Campbell SYSTEM" to an
extent that a homestead would
grow enough farm products to
prevent it's occupant deserting it
in the hope of better results with
each succeeding season, there
would then remain a very much
larger area that could by no pos
sible means become agricultural
lands. The sand hills of western
Nebraska; the bad lands Of Dakota
and Wyoming; the rocky, craggy
canons of almost every state con-
tanning arid lands, and those mil
lions of acres are used and will
continue to be used for grazing
only. Those are the lands that
are in question at his time. Those
are the lands that have been
fenced by the mile. single pas
ture embracing hundreds of acres.
Those are the lands for which
sheep have been driven over preci-
pices and killed by the thousands,
the intimation being that the own
ers of cattle did so for the preser-
vation of what they termed their
ranges, although it was at the time,
and is yet, government land.
Strange to say, there is no au-
thority in law for preventing tres
pess.upon strictly public or gov
ernment lands. Reservations,
under special enactments, confer
authority upon some governmental
department to exercise jurisdlc-
ton, as, for instance, the Interior
Department over Indian, war over
military, and the agricultural of
the recently enacted forest reser-
vation. But the decisions are that
people have trespassed upon the
public lands since the foundation
of the government, and although
the public lands are under the con-
troll of the Interior Department,
that department is not in position
10y reason of United States su-
preme court decisions to say to a
cattleman nor sheepman that he
cannot Craze his herds upon nor
drive them over said lands at his
pleasure. 1t can say to him, due
to the Van Wyck law of February
25. 1885. that he cannot fence the