Eastern Colorado times., 1913-03-21


ance of economic and social relation
ships. The public lands available for
settlement have decreased in area, so
that the homemaker turns to other
countries, or to wild lands requiring
special treatment to bring them into
subsection.
This is the reason used to Justify the
use of public moneys inincreasing the
opportunities for homemaking by rem.
dering available the arid lands of the
west as small farms through the stor-
ing of 1ocdwaters and distribution to
these fields.
By the use of money already avail
able upward of 5000, 900 acres of land
will be reclaimed at a cost of from $40
to $50 per acre, Construction has
been completed or we'll advanced upon
twenty-five projects and water has
been brought to 200, 200 acres.
The efforts of the government in re-
claiming arid lands are, however, on-
ly a part of a general movement which
has taken place, the National City
bank points out in discussion of the:
proposed new appropriation, Private
and corporate capital has been attrac-
ted because of the alluring hopes of
large gain.
In the aggregate, as shown by the
recent census, about 100000 acres
have been irrigated, but of this
amount not all has been utilized.
There are literally millions of acres
now lying dormant to which water has
been brought at an expense Of from
$40 or $50 an acre or more. Relative
ly few persons are now taking up or
purchasing these reclaimed lanes, and
there is more or less temporary con-
.dition of stagnation under which the
government enterprises, as we'll as
those initiated by corporate capital,
are languishing.
There is always considerable. risk in
pioneering, and even though lands
may be irrigated and successfully
cropped for time, there has resulted
from excessive use. of water destruc-
tion by swamping of alkali of from Is
to 30 per cent of the lands which at
first were highly productive. In short
there are certain dangers connected
with farming under irrigation, as in
any new business, which are not al
ways taken to account by investors |
who are not thoroughly familiar with !;
tho ri cLs iuvo1vad
Under these conditions, it is being |
recognized that further agricultural /
in the far west must he
done, if at all, largely through con-
struction by the government, because
of the fact that the government with
its present system can, and is, build
ing these works more economically |
than private capital, as it is not re-
quired to pay the high rate of interest,
nor does it consider the profits of the
works. The cost of the works built by |
the government has ranged from $22 |
per acre up to 1913 per acre, and has
averaged something under s45 per
acre.
Taking fifty or more of the works
begun by private capital during this
time, the estimated cost has ranged
from $35 per acre up to $3.50, or an
average of little under $65 per acre.
This represents fairly we'll the differ
ence in cost, although the government
works are as rule built more per-
manently and with provision for q
more complete water supply.
The returns on the investment al
ready made may be measured in thou
sands OF prosperous homes upon the
land and in thousands of citizen voters
of the most desirable type. The finan-
cial returns are not wholly discour-
aging in that the investment which has
been made is coming back, although
not as rapidly as had been anticipa-
ted, because OF the fact that much
of the land which has been re-
claimed has advanced in price to q de-
gree that the owners have been tempt
ed to hold it for speculative purposes;
that is to say, the man who obtains o
forty aero homestead with the intent
of cultivating it, has discovered that
he can make more money by selling o
REIMBURSEMENT than be can by culti-