Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-04-29

structing, operating and malnlaihi"e
fine government reclamation plant:
Realizing that the most important
rroblen before the nation today is that
of providing homes for the people
Uncle Sam aims to make 1t as easy 90
nossible for his people to OBTAIN such
homes. That the tendency OF poPula-
tinn In crowd into the cities is not
healthy was long ago recognized Dy
statesmen and one result was tne
ennrtment of the reclamation law OF
1902. The sponsors of that Legislation
and the promoters of the work lnat
has heen carried on under 1t for seven
wears have made the not extraVagant
claim that the law, IL carried out W
the fullest extent and thoroughly IN
derstood by the people, Will solVe tne
THAT the people appreciate what Is
being done for them and are anxious
n take advantage of the opportunities
afforded Is shown by the thousands Oh
Inquiries being received at washington
The land hunger Is SO widespread that
II ia almost impossible for the govern
ment to keep the supply of irrigated
lands equal to the demand. NO sooner
is an area irrigated than there Is
great rush of applications for FARMS.
That is what Is expected In the case
of all the openings this year.
The federal government has already
Invested s42oO0,00o In the reclamation
of arid lands, and about $780, O00,OOO
more of private capital has oeen IN
vested for the same purpose. with
these enormous expenditures 11,OOO,O0O
acres of land have been reclaimed. IL
Is estimated that there Is enough water
in the country, IL 1t Is properly used, to
irrigate 100000 coo acres more. At the
a.ah "a Mt n
acres this vast area of arid land VIII
furnish homes for 100000 people,
twice the present population OF the
great state of New York and five times
as many people as lived in the thir'
teen original colonies when they won
their independence.
If all the land to be irrigated pro-
duces crops at the same rate as that
now under irrigation. which Is upward
of $3.50, 900, 900 worth annually, the total
area reclaimed and to be reclaimed
would produce crops valued at round
billion dollars year. So far but a
small beginning has been made by the
government, water being available for
only 1000 900 acres. OF the thirty great
reclamation projects inaugurated I'M
der the Newlands law, only two have
been wholly completed. Others are in
various stages of progress, the lands
D6inB OpeHcu W SeltiSiiSAie as eiO WI n
proceeds.
In no part Of the arid west is more
active development going on at the
present time than in the state of Mon
tana, whose vast areas of public do
main and splendid water supply afford
unusual opportunities for establishing
ideal farming communities. One project
is already completed, six others are
under construction in that state and
it is expected that work will COM
mence on two more projects during the
summer. The ultimate development Of
these works will add a crop produce
ing area to Montana larger than the
entire state of Rhode Island. During
the year 1909 1t is expected that no
less than 900 acres of land, covered
by five reclamation projects, will be
thrown open to settlement.
The farm unit is comparatively small
In each case, being from forty to
eighty acres of irrigable land. At close
intervals the government is laying out
town sites, so that the farmers will be
within easy reach of churches, schools,
stores and railroad stations 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 assisting in the
construction of canals, bitches, dams
and other works. If a would-be set
tier is not lucky enough to secure land
from the government there is always
opportunity for him to buy some sur
plus ground at reasonable prices from