The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1909-08-13
BaIIinger Makes it Plain
That PinchOt's Anti
Capital Views Are
Not Sustained
ADMINISTRATION WANTS THE
AID OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISE
IN work OF REDEENIING ARID
LANDS-PROGRESS TO DATE.

SPOKANE, Aug. 12.-That no
man owns his farm, but is only an
agent and under obligations to con-
serve his soil. was the doctrine pro-
mulgated at the National lrriga--
tion Congress this morning by L..
Fl. Bailey, director of the N. Y.
College of Agriculture. who spoke
ON the farm community. DR.. A. G..
True, director of the experiment
station, spoke of the work of his de-
partment.
The chief interest of the day cen
tered in the address of Secretary of
the Interior Ballinger, which was
in part an answer to Pinchot. Mr..
Ballinger's remarks were received
with evident favor and are taken
as representing the read attitude of
the Taft administration.
Secretary Ballinger, who spoke on
the attitude of the administration
toward the reclamation of arid land
in the west. said in part:
gssWbiIe the aoyernnyent has, in7
vested over $50,000,000 in irriga-
tion works. many times that amount
has been invested since the passage
of the reclamation act by private en-
terprise and it is safe to say that a
large portion of these private in
vestments have resulted from gov
ernmental example and encourage
ment; and let me say here that it
has not been and is not the policy of
the national government in the ad-
H.. Df 1, ot tN 6nr.
interfere with the investment of
private capital in the construction
of irrigation works, but rather to
lend it encouragement.
"This is particularly true in refer
ence to irrigation under the Carey
act in the various states. l am not
"a believer in the government enter
ing into competition with legitimate
private enterprises. It's functions
under the reclamation act are not of
this character, and l am sure that
when private enterprise has done
what it can there will still be hun
dreds of thousands of acres of public
land reclamable only by government
aid. The western states should
therefore be very jealous of the per-
petuity of the reclamation fund and
of it's constant increase.
: "The purpose of the reclamation
act is to undertake the irrigation of
arid and semi-arid lands where a
considerable portion thereof belongs
to the public domain, and by the in
stallation of reservoirs and diver
sion of available waters to irrigate
the largest possible area within a
given territory at the least cost to
the entrymen and land owners for
taxation, maintenace and operation,
always keeping in view the matter
of the settlement of these lands and
rendering them capable of support
ing the greatest number of families.
The law is beneficient one; it is
another evidence of the broad and
liberal policy which has ever actua-
ed our national government in the
disposition of its public lands. 1t
differs, however, from the simple
homestead law in that it holds out
inducements only to men of sufficient
industry and capacity to carry the
added burdens of construction, main
tenance and operation, which is the
cost of the lands. While it is pos
sible that persons of limited means
may successfully enter and acquire
irrigated lands, it will generally be
Continued on page two.)