Los Angeles herald., 1909-09-29


trv without being overwhelmingly con-
vinced of the urgent necessity for the
proper treatment of arid and semi
arid lands by the extension of systems
| of irrigation. The results in the pro-
ductivity of the soil when irrigated are
1 marvellous.
Learning from Experience
"The mere fact that the reclamation
service has gone ahead too fast ought
not to prevent congress lending its aid
to overcome the difficulty. V shall
! know better in the future treatment or
| the subject, and in the further use or
| available funds how to avoid putting
| ourselves in a similar position again.
| Meantime, irrigation works under
private auspices are being projected in
every direction and the prospect OF
reclaiming millions of acres from the
deserts is most encouraging. The eX-
amples OF government engineering and
of ingenuity in placing the structures
in these various government projects
for irrigation are of immense utility as
models for private enterprise.
"One subject that is now being agl-
tated in some quarters calls for notice.
Payment for irrigated lands is required
in ten annual installments. Sugges-
tions are now being made that these
should be heightened into a longer
term. / sincerely hope that congress
will not listen to such appeals. 1t may
be we'll to make the first three or four
installments nominal, but after that
time the installments should be large
enough to pay the total amount due,
upon which no interest is calculated, In
ten years. ANY other course Will en-
courage lack of thrift and industry and
greatly embarrass the extension and
continuance of the work of irrigation.
Water Power Sites
disposition of water power sites:
When the government became pos
sessed of it's. public domain and took
measures to secure its settlement by
the passage of the homestead act and
other acts, offering, after certain steps
prescribed, to vest title to a specific
part of the public land in individuals,
the chief object of congress seemed
to be to secure development by in
ducing people to settle on public lands
and acquire 1t for themselves. Scarce
ly any thought of conserving the re-
sources which were thus opened to
private acquisition occurred to con-
gress. It's generosity to the Pacific
railroads in offering the pubic lauds
in such extensive grants to them Is
an instance of the spirit which ac-
tuated congress thirty, forty and fifty
years ago.
'I am not criticising congress In
the slightest for this policy. 1t GER
tainly was necessary to make extern
sive grants TO secure the construction
of railroad which should unite the
Pacific coast with the Atlantic coast
and bring closer to the eastern sea-
board the far distant regions of this
country I merely refer to 1t in
historical way to explain the char
acter of the statutes now upon the
statute books with reference to the
sale and disposition of public lands.
Real Classification Needed
"Never until now has adequate pro-
vision been made for a classification
of lands so as to show distinctly what
are mineral lands and what are asri-
cultural lands. The truth is that the
needs of the country have developed
so and the demand for land has so
much Increased that in order to Sc
cure a sensible, businesslike disposi-
tion of the lands remaining in the
public domain there must be an au-
thoritative classification of lands by
the proper bureau.
"As to lands which are purely agri-
cultural. there would seem to be no
reason for departing from the or
dinarv method of disposition under the
homestead and other laws, including
the reclamation acts, by which cit
izens acquire title in them.
with respect to forest lands owned
by the public, they should be surveyed
and held by the government under the
regulation of the forestry bureau, per-
hitting a sale of such timber as shall
be necessary in the proper forestry
preservation.
LAS to water power sites, there has
been such a change in conditions that
special provision should be made in
the interest of the public for their
transfer to private control. I know
it has been the course in the past to
give these water sites away under ex-
listing inadequate acts; but we have
reached a time now when the impor-
tance of these water power sites has
greatly increased, and there would
seem to be no reason why 1t would
interfere with a speedy development
of the country to impose restrictions
upon the use of such sites, equitable
as between the public and the investor.
Aid of Congress Needed
"This is a matter which congress
must take up. The water power sites
are now generally disposed of by the
same kind of a procedure as that by
which agricultural lands are taken
up ana there is no power on the part
of the secretary of the interior in the
QlSDOSlLlOn OF SUCH SlAto " llillO9N LIZ
conditions suggested.
"The matter has become so impor-
tant that under the last administration
large tracts of lands amounting to up
ward Of 900 900 acres We're temporarily
withdrawn from settlement, in order to
prevent the acquisition of water power
sites under the general land laws. This
amount has been reduced under the
present administration to 450000 acres,
which include even more ascertained
water sites than the original with
drawals.
TT should be understood that these
Withdrawals are temporary and can
be justified only as having been made
in order to permit congress to legislate
on the subject of water power sites.
Should congress conclude not to do so,
1t would be difficult for the executive
, to find the authority indefinitely to
under the general laws on the ground
that they contain water sites.
viii Insist on Terms
81 shall therefore urge upon the
| congress at it's next session the pas
sage of a law authorizing the DISPOSE
tion of such water sites upon terms
! to be agreed upon by the secretary of
the interior with the proposed pur-
| chaser 1t may turn ont that restric-
! tions of this sort are so burdensome as
TO discourage the investment of cap-
| tai, and it may be necessary to modi-
fly the requirements on this account.
| But my own impression is that the de-
mand for water power Is going to be
! oraat that tbasp rastripfioOS will not