Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1909-12-09
BORAH ON THE BOND QUESTION


perate zone. they produce abundant
ly and as yet show no signs of speedy
impoverishment. 1t is estimated by
those who have studied the subject
and are qualified to speak that when
the Reclamation Service shall have
completed it's work. twenty-five mill
lion acres of these arid lands will
have been reduced to cultivation, di-
vided into forty acre units we have
$4,000 new homes. Estimating
five members to each family we have
3,125,OOO people prospecting where
the desert shortly reigned supreme.
We should add to this also the thous-
ands who constitute the inhabitants
of the new towns springing up in
connection with and depending upon
the success of these reclamation pro-
jects. When you take into consider
alton the richness of the soil, the
healthfulness of the climate, the
boundless empire of wealth thus ere
ated and realize all this is, in the end
to be accomplished without one dol
lar of cost to the government, you
begin to grasp the incalculable worth
Of the work which the governments
is now doing through tie Reclama-
ton Service 1t is the wisest, most
beneficent and most permanent work
in which state craft can engage. 1t
would seem to require some temerity
to stand in the way of its speedy com
pletion.
The reclamation law provided for
the reclamation of arid lands by
making use for that purpose of the
funds realized from the sale of the
public lands in the arid states. The
cost of such retaining was to be
charged to the lands reclaimed and
those settling upon the arid lands
must pay in full such charges before
acquiring title to their lands. The
public land fund, in other words, be-
came revolving fund, depleted with
the expenditures as made, augment
ed as the title passed to the settlers.
A great many projects have been
begun and are now in course of con-
struction. Settlers have gone upon
the lands and are waiting the appli-
cation of water to their lands to be-
gin raising crops and repaying the
government charges. Under the
homestead law they can not leave
their lands without FORGETTING their
entry and under the laws of nature
they can not stay very long where
they are without water, without for
feiting their existence. The income
from the sale of public lands for this
work is only about nine million dol
lars per annum, a sum wholly insig-
nificent to complete this work within
a reasonable time. Unless 1t is COM
pleted within a reasonable time many
settlers must forfeit their entry,
their time and money already ex-
pended and lose their opportunity of
securing a home The government
remains out of the money expended
that much longer. The simple ques-
tion presented is, shall the govern.
ment. without expense to itself pro-
coed to complete these works with
all reasonable dispatch?
The president. after passing
through the great arid region and
understan, ~lg we'll - situation, de-
clared in favor of a bond issue with
which to raise funds for the compile
ton of the work now in the course
of construction. This seems wise
p and just The bonds are to be paiC
out of the public land fund which, il
the end, must be met wholly by the
settlers. The lands bear the burden
The settlers are willing and anxious
to have this done, the government
is out nothing. but on the othe
hand must be greatly benefited b.
p speedy action. 1t is merely loaninl
p the credit of the government for tn
speedy completion of this work with
! out any expense whatever when tn
matter shall have been closed mp 4
the government.
The question of sending more mel
to the farm, of attracting more citi
S zens to the soil. of finding room 70
more homes, is not only question
3 of immediate import touching tn
S welfare of those homesteaders VIII
o have gone upon these lands in goo
e faith. but it is a question natio
wide and entering profoundly int
e the economic situation now confront
x ing us. The hegira of the last thirt
years from the farm to the city
l. beginning to have its effects upo
the whole economic life of this n,
ton. Things will only be better whe