The Holt County sentinel., 1913-03-21
Still Farms for WOuld.Be
Farmers.

Walter L. Fisher, who has just re.
tired from the head of what had be.
come known In Washington as 1.-The
trouble department." expressed the
hope and belief. at the dinner given
by the Chicago Commercial club, re.
Gently, to him and former Secretary
Of the Treasurer franklin Mac Vcagh.
that he had done something In his
two years to remove from the Interior
portfolio some Of its evil reputation.
Mr.. Fisher doubtless surprised some
OF his hearers-we know he did some
readers-by his statements Of the ex.
tent Of the public domain still open
to homestead settlement and of the
continuing activity Of acquisition Of
public lands by citizens who want
them for homes for themselves and
their families. During the year end.
ed June 30 last, IA .5O0.OOO acres Of pub
lie lands we're entered and 10000 600
acres patented, and half Of these were
taken under the homestead laws In
tracts Of 100 acres or less. Mr.. Fisher
thus succinctly put the public land
situation:
While the typical homestead
lands suitable for ordinary meth.
DDS Of cultivation have nearly all
been taken up, 100000 acres Of
agricultural lands In forest re-.
serves were opened to settlement
and entered. The new fields
opened to the homesteader under
irrigation projects have far ex-
ceeded In fertility and value the
richest farms Of the Middle West.
TIE reclamation service has J..
200, 900 acres for which water is
available, and $4,000 acres have
been settled on and cultivated.
The national forests have 49,
100000 acres, with one.ifth the
country's total supply Of timber.
From these forests the lands suit
able for agricultural settlement
are being segregated, and nearly
1000, 5000 acres have been restored
to entry.
The old song which ran "tncle
sam j. rich enough to give us all a
farm" has to be understood In ac-
cordance with the facts. Uncle Sans
nephews aud nieces have become too
numerous nearly lOO,OO0,OOO now
against about 10000. 900 thcn--for him
To give each Of them precisely the
farm he or she may fancy. But there
are still lot Of farms for those who
really wish TO he farmers.
As Mr. Fisher rightly said. 1.-THE
whole field Of government presents no
greater problem than that whicl. con-
fronts the Department Of the Inter.
ior-the problem Of the right adjust
ment Of public aud private interest In
the development Of the nations nat.
ural resources" II Is a great prob.
lem because We As u people have been
slow To realize Its magnitude and i'm.
portance. Our natural resources were
SO enormous that Il seemed as II We
could never come To the end Of them.
Like all things mundane they had
their limits. We are being forced to
consider that hard fact. Hence the
problem Of conservation" the
prevention Of waste and the increase
Of eiliciency-daily bears harder upon
us for practical and common sense so.
luton.
We believe IL will be admitted on
all sides that Walter l.. Fisher, In his
short service as Secretary Of the In
terror, has done much toward the So
luton of that problem In so far as 1t
relates to the public domain. We
think that the Hon. Franklin X.
Lane owes much to his immediate
predecessor for making the portfolio
which Mr.. Lane now holds far less
that Of "the trouble department
than II was before. --lnter.Ocean.