Omaha daily bee., 1907-01-19
RUSH FOR WESTERN LAND
Tide Of Human Energy Breasting the
Foothills of the Rockies.
ANOTHER SCRAMBLE FOR CHEAP ACRES
Notable Review of Agricultural
Development West of the Mis-
souri, River-Is It the Final
Land Rushf

America has had land booms," or,
rather land rushes," before, and the
aftermath has not been agreeable to con-
template. Yet there has never before been
movement comparable to that now in
progress, either in the vast extent Of the
territory involved the number of investors
and homeseekers attracted or the variety
OF causes contributing to its rise and prog
ress
With these words John L. Cowan begins
in the New York Evening Post. an ex-
tended review of rush for land in the west
"a rush that takes in the entire arid and
semi-arid region between the ninety eighth
meridian and the Pacific ocean. Evidently
the writer has gone over much OF the terri
tory attracting the landseeker. for he dis
cusses infinitely the causes OF the develop
ment, the transition from old to modern
methods Of farming in arid regions. the
advance in irrigation and other contribu-
tory influences. The principal points in
the review follow:
When land booms" are mentioned, ones
thoughts naturally revert TO the Black
Hills excitement. and the peopling of the
Dakotas, when those lands were taken
from the Sioux and opened for settlement;
or to the days of the Kansas-Ne braska
land boom in the sos: or to the rush Of
the Oklahoma boomers or to the settle
ment of the Cherokee strip These were
all comparatively local in extent, although
possessing spectacular and dramatic
features that the present movement lacks
In a small way, these earlier land booms
have been paralleled within the last few
months at the opening of the Shoshone
and other Indian reservations. and local
land booms are in progress wherever an
extensive irrigation system is being con-
structed About 100000 acres of land to
be reclaimed by the national government
irrigation projects. now fairly under way;
more than 100000 acres being reclaimed
under state supervision, under the opera
ton of the Carey act, and certainly not
less than 100000 acres under private own
ership being reclaimed by private capital,
give a grand total of more than 550O,00o
acres being snatched from the desert and
made available for intensive farming. Were
no more lands than these involved in the
land rush" 1t would still be notable. But
these lands that are being brought under
the ditch" are a comparatively small and
Insignificant fraction of the territory in
volved.
One of the chief factors in starting the
general movement for cheap lands has been
the enormous amount of advertising that
has been given the west through the ma
tional irrigation movement. Uncle Sam has
proven himself the greatest Of all 'land
boomers The progress of the various
government irrigation projects has been
given the widest publicity ever afforded
to any enterprise of any character; and In
connection Herewith the public has been
deluged with whole libraries of facts. fig-
ures and fancies concerning the whole
- Al
have been felt in every corner Of the west.
They have not by any means been confined
to the little patches here and there that
are heinR irri0afad 3d.,