The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-08-06
PUBLIC LANDS FOR GIRLS.


There are several million young
women working their way into the
business world, and whose future is
a mere chance. It may end Success
fully but more often disastrouslv. 4
young woman may be ever SO cQnpc-
tent, but her salary is not increased
to such an extent she can provide for
the future. It is either marriage or
retirement from actual duties at the
expense of others after she has
burned out the candle of her useful
ness.
To provide competence for such
young working girls a plan is sug-
gested by w. II. Draper, Of Kansas
City, Mo-. by which the government
can be of great help and assurance
to the working girls. There are at
present seven hundred million acres
OF public land in the United States
OF which approximately two hundred
million acres is lrrigable. This land
is now. and will be for number OF
years. open to public entry at fifty
cents to slips an acre. Water can
be delivered to the land at a net cost
OF six to twenty dollars an acre and
Is being sold at such prices.
Under the present reclamation laws
II is necessary TO reside fourteen
months on the land. build a house
and improve the land and pay the
government s1.25 an acre for II. Then
water right costs additional but
is handled in ten or more annual
payments which almost any farmer
can meet.
However the residence clause ef-
fects the laboring class. Before wa
ter is brought to their land the soil
will produce next TO nothing and a
man or woman without capital can
not make the land pay them any
returns whatever. In fact, not until
six months to year after water is
brought to the land will It COM
mences TO bring in returns to the
worker. For this reason II is next
TO impossible for working person
to file on government irrigable land.
The residence clause was placed
there to prevent speculation in gov
ernment land, but II seems to work
just opposite. The poor farmer, or
the laboring woman. cannot take up
this land because they cannot "sticlk
II out" The man OF wealth employs a
number Of young men TO flle on the
land and later when they have prov
ed up he buys 1t, or has already
bought It In advance. giving them a
grub stake. as II worC. Tro result
is now apparent In many western ir-
rigated land districts and land is be-
ing brought under individual control
In an astounding manner
The plan proposed--that of donat-
ing forty acres to each working girl
over twenty years OF age who has
earned her living for the past elgh-
teen months-is as follows:
To donate the land free OF all cost,
TO make the water right at exact cost
an acre per annum until fully paid,
and to allow them to file on the land
without living on It.
Restrictions would be: The wo-
men thus benefited could not be per-
mitted to sell or mortgage the land
for five years. and then for not less
than thirty dollars an acre.
She must not permit the title to
pass from her possession for less
than five years unless meantime she
should die, then the claim reverts
to her nearest female relative.
This permits young women work
ing in cities and elsewhere to take
up government land and rent II out
or hold II and thus acquire a COM
petence for their future, but It does
not permit them to take II up and
hold II short time and sell 1t. The
plan is one that can be abused. but
not easily.
While working girls, especially
those In cities. do not have much en-
thusiasm over irrigated public lands
II they will look into the subject
their enthusiasm will rapidly in
crease.
For instance: Irrigated lands en-
tered few years ago at Yuma, Ariz.,
are now worth $500 an acre, cost with
water right about $25 an acre; irri-
gated lands In the Yakima Valley in
Washington are selling at $1,000 an
acre, entered few years ago at the
usual price OF $1.25 an acre with wa
ter rights at $50 an acre, payable In
ten years. In fact. there are numer-
GUS public land districts where these
irrigated public lands have jumped
from almost nothing to three, fye
and even ten hundred dollars an
acre In the last fiva wars