The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-04-11
IRRIGATION PROJECTS

By Frederic J. Haskia.

9WuDsnID<
 During the current year 1t is esti- mated that nearly 350.o00 acres of ir- rigated land will be thrown open to settlement by the government. This will afYord homes for i75.ooo people. as irrigated land is supposed to be capable of supporting one person to every two acres. The irrigated lands available to the settler this year are scattered all the way from the Cana dian boundary to the Mexican border. embracing all kinds of climate and farms suitable for growing everything from hardy alfalfa and northern ce- reals to semi-tropical fruits
 All that is necessary for man to do to obtain possession of his share or this land is to reside on 1t and other wise to comply with the provisions or the homestead law. The land will cost him practically nothing. except small fee for entry. He will have to pay, however for the water right to irri-- gate his farm. which ranges In cost from s3o to $50 per acre. This can pc paid in ten annual instalments If ne chooses. The price depends upon the cost of constructing. operating ana maintaining the government reelama. ton plant.
 Realizing that the most important problem before the nation today is that of providing homes for the peo- pie. Uncle Sam aims to make IL as easy as possible for his people 10 oo- tain such homes. That the ,ehasnos st,es of population to crowd Into the cities is not healthy was long ago recogniz- ed by statesmen and one result was the enactment of the reclamation law in 1902. The sponsors of that iegis- lation and the promoters of the work that has been carried on under II TOT seven years have made the not ex- travagant claim that the law. IT car, ried out to the fullest extent anu thoroughly understood by the people. will solve the home problem for some years to coma.
 That the people appreciate what Is being done for them and are anxlous to take advantage of the opportuni- ties afforded is shown by the tnous- ands of Inquiries being received at Washington. The land hunger IS so widespread that it is almost impossi- ble for the government to keep the supply of irrigated lands equal to the demand No sooner is an area irrisa- ted than there is a great rush of ap- plications for farms. That Is what IS expected in the case of all the open ings this year.
 ; The federal government has alreaoy invested s42.000,000 in the recleiila- ton of arid lands and about $SU,0oo,- GOO more of private capital has been invested for the same purpose. Witn these enormous expenditures 11,0O0.oo0 acres ot land have been reclaimed. It is estimated, that there is enough water in the countpy,, if 1t is property used, to irrigate 30.000.o0O acres more, At the rate of one inhabitant to every two acres, this vast area of arid land A~Hr 1h.0OO.O0O n2O- pie, twice the present population or the great state of New York and five times us many people as lived in the thirteen original colonies when they won their independence.
 If all of the land to be irrigated produces crops at the same rate as that now under irrigation, whicn IS upwards of $25O.o00.oeo worth annually' the total area reclaimed and to be re- claimed would produce crops valued at a round billion dollars a year. So far but a small beginning has been made hy the government. water being avail able for only 100000 acres. Of the thirty great reclamation. projects inau- gurated under the Newlands law, onlX two have been wholly completed. oth- CTS are in. various stages of progress, the lands being opened to settlement as the work proceeds.
 In no part of the arid West Is more active development going on at the presenst time than in the state of Mou- tanaI whose +vast areas Of public do- main and spfendiag water supply afford unusual opportunities for establishing ideal farnling Communities. one pro- feet Is afready cofnpleted, six others are under construction In that state, and 1t Is expected that work will oom- mence on two more. projects during the summer. The ultimate develop ment of these works will add a crop producing area to Montana larger than the entire state of Rhode Island. Du- ring the year 1909 1t Is expected that no less than 147.ooo acres of land. cov- cred by five reclamation projects, will be thrown open to settlement
 The farm unit Is comparatively small in each case. being from forty 10 eighty acres of irrigable land. At close intervals the government is lay ing out town sites. So that the farm CTS will be within easy reach of chnr- ches. schools. stores and railroad sta ttons from which their crops can be shipped ! The government will permit men without much ready money to work out the. cost of the water rights for the farms they enter upon by as- Ststing in the construction of canals. ditches. dams and other works. If a would-be settler is not lucky enough to secure land from the government there is always opportunity for him to huv some surplus ground at reasen- able prices from farmers who sent in saTly applications
 There will be 17.000 acres ready for settlement this year under the Hunt ley project. near Billings. Montana situated 5000 feet above the sea and watered by the Yellowstone River, this land Is remarkably fertile. pro- a,,oino, aIFoIfa grains corn fruit and