Evening star., 1909-08-18
Woodward & LOthrop.

Green River. population 100. TO cost
100000, and Newcastle, the home of Rep
resentative r. W. Mondell, a village OF
1.O0O Inhabitants. will get $4,000 build
ing at the next session Of Congress.
But nobody should object to these ap-
preparations. Every town in the United
States ought to have federal building
of the highest order of architecture, not
only as an example to be followed by in
dividuals in designing business houses
and residences. but as a reminder or the
existance of federal authority. And
they stimulate patriotism. The effect
Of the public buildings that have been
erected in this state is apparent in every
town where they have been located. par
ticularly. upon the architecture, which
is especially true of Cheyenne.
More Settlers Than Ever.
w. Z. Chaplin. register of the United
States land office. tells me that Wyoming
is receiving this year much larger num-
Der of homesteaders and other settlers
than ever before, and in this land district
an average Of 400 homesteaders has been
located every month during the past year.
The newcomers are mostly young men
and women, sons and daughters of far
mers from Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Ne
braska and other states who have out
grown their parental nests and have come
here to make homes of their own. A
good many irrigators are coming from
Colorado because irrigated lands are much
cheaper here than there. and they know
that the property will increase In value
very rapidly as soon as the water is
turned on.
''About 10 per cent OF the homesteaders
are women" said Mr.. Chaplin daughters
OF farmers chiefly. with few country
school teachers, clerks and stenographers
from cities who have heard about the
different methods of getting land. They
live on their homesteads a part of the
time and get employment II they can In
the next town for fourteen months. hiring
men to do the work required by law, and
then they pay the balance and get title.
As rule they remain in the state and
keep the land. Their proofs have been
honest and square In 90 per cent OF the
tried to evade the law have done so be-
cause they have hard luck and got des-
perate
Few Land Frauds.
I'VE have very few land frauds out here
these days. especially among homestead
ers Under the Mondell act, recently
passed. a homesteader can get 800 acres
Of dry land. but It must be land that cam
not be irrigated from any known source OF
water supply; the locator must live upon
It for five years and during the second
year cultivate at least one-eighth and the
third year at least one-fourth of the area
This is the dry farming land of which
you read SO much in the papers nowadays.
We have about 2,OUO.UW acres in Wyom-
ing available for settlers.
"Any one can still gets 16O acres under
the old homestead act after five years
residence. and the cultivation of GER
tain portion of the land After fourteen
months residence he can commute and
secure a title by paying $3.50 an acre It
the land Is within twenty miles of the
Union Pacific railroad, or SIS an acre
elsewhere.
.'I-nder the desert land act it is possible
to obtain :s20 acres of land not. susceptible
of dry farming or of growing crops with
out Irrigation. 4 water right must be Sc
cured within four years and one eighth
of the area must be cultivated.
"The timber and stone act provides Tor
the sale of certain lands, valued chteny
for timber and stone. at an appraisement
of their value not less than $3.50 an acre
THE law also authorizes the sale at
public auction OF tracts OF 16O acres OF
less completely surrounded by lands pre-
yiously disposed of, at minimum rate
Of $50 an acre. within twenty miles
from a railroad track. and s1.75 an acre
outside that limit. Such lands known
as isolated tracts, usually bring from -
to $l2 an acre.
..,The newcomers these days usually
take advantage of the Mondell homestead
act. passed February 10, 1903, and l
think II will be more and more popular
Each homesteader represents an average
family of three people. which is an aver
age increase Of about loo a month of
the population OF Wyoming.
Why Not Moree
''Why don't more people come to wy
oming?"
II can't tell you: but / can tell you
that the people Of Wyoming are making
as much money as any people under the
sun in all the various lines of industry
particularly in cattle and sheep raising.
The only range lands that can be OBJ
tanned now are by lease from the state
government. which has about 4.OO0.0OO
acres rented for pastures for from cents
to 2J cents per acre per year, according
TO location and value. These lands were
donated by Congress to the state for edu-
cational, penal and reformatory institu-
tions. and the proceeds of the leases sus-
tain them.
'.Under the Carey act the state of
Wyoming has obtained 1.g00.OO0 acres Of
arid lands and has disposed Of $50. $50