The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-04-26
AUSTRALIAN
LAND POLICY
BY J. A. BREcKoNs.

the Water Supply Commission OF
Victoria, Australia, In reference to
government reclamation conditions in
the United States
DR.. Mead, as state engineer of wy
oming. originated a system Of state
irrigation laws in Wyoming which
has since been adopted in whole or
in part, by practically all of the arid |
land states Of the West. Later, he |
was chief of the Office of Irrigation |
Investigations of the Department of
Agriculture and a lecturer on irrig1-
ton and irrigation methods in the
University of California and in Har-
ward University For the past three
years DR.. Mead's services have been
utilized by the Australian government
in the Inauguration of a system of
government reclamation for that
country.
During 1910 DR.. Mead returned to
the United States, and while here Wis
tied a number of the government
reclamation projects in the West, and
the letter hereafter quoted was writ
ten in response to request for his
views on the progress made by the
United States government in the rec
lamation of arid lands. The letter is
as follows:
There was no time before leaving
America to reply to your request for
my impressions of the results of re-
cent irrigation development in Amer
lea, especially that carried out under
the National Reclamation Act. This
letter is, therefore, being written on
shipboard and will be mailed back
from Honolulu.
3 81 do not think either the set
\ tiers or the government are doing as
: well as they should under a number
Z of the national projects. The reasons
/ for this seem to be the poverty Of
5 the settlers and the severe conditions
of payment exacted by the govern
ment. When these projects were, in
augurated, settlers with little or no
, capital were allowed to file on the
land, and in some instances encour-
Z aged to do so before there was water
l. for irrigation or any means for pro
x ductive employment Before the set
tier was in a position to grow crops
all his money had been dissipated in
, living expenses and erecting habi
tation, and now when there is water
to use, and an obligation to pay fol
it, the settler lacks seed, teams
tools, and money to live on, all o
which are essential to growing a croI
or utilizing the land and water.
1 This distressing situation is made
worse by the government requirin'
these settlers to repay the cost of tn,
works in ten years. In some CASE
this payment reaches IS an acre, o
$500 for an eighty-acre farm. Their,
are few cases where the first crop I
success. 1t is rare that it repay
the cost of cultivation, hence the sci
tier, if he pays the government
charge, must pay il from money h
brought with him. Those who di
= not have considerable money to star
Z with are not paying. Worse than this
Y they are living under hard condition
IA and are not developing the land Il
way to pay in the future.
1.-THE remedy or remedies woul
N seem to be: Extend the terms of pay
~ ment. Make the period thirty years
charging nothing but interest for tn
a. first five years. Failure to charg
n interest on deferred payments is
fundamental mistake OF the act. 1t /
ID an incentive to men to defer pay
AZ ments. It was one of the causes TO
making the time OF repayment S
10 short. Better results will come t
both settlers and the government b
giving ample time and charging
low rate Of interest on deferred pa!
ments.
r. More than this is needed to ell
D. able many settlers to cultivate thei
farms and make any payments to tn
government in the near future. The
must have money to enable them t
prepare the land, plant, cultivate an
harvest crops.
This might be advanced by tn
government on the plan followed /
Victoria, Australia, where the result
have been most satisfactory. TIL
State of Victoria loans settlers
irrigated areas up to 60 per cent {
ar the value of the improvements mad
WI on the land. II a settler has e,
Cd pended in money or labor $500, tn
vi 49, ,,,iII Innn lin conn 10 90 ON Wit