Evening star., 1914-04-19
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT IS DOING

more than the figures indicate. 1t means.
they point out, besides the saving of so
many lives. the prevention of the large
economic loss which would have been
caused by the killing of the working
members Of a family, one of such dea tbs
usually causing two of five persons to
become more or less dependent and a
charge upon the community.
The governments active interest in
the safety-first movement began in 1908,
when DR.. Joseph A. Holmes, then chief
of the technoIogic branch of the United
States geological survey, and now di-
rector of the bureau of mines, started
the governments work to increase .afety
in the mines. Soon after this beginning
private coal companies became interested
in the movement and the officers of the
H. c. Frick Coal Company of Pennsyl-
vania held safety meeting and organ
lied their forces. At that meeting ii
ahead of production-safety ahead of
dividends
Some one at the meeting thought of
the slogan Safety the first consider
alton" and this even today is used by
the Frick company on it's letterheads.
At the first national mine safety dem
onstration. in the fall of 1911, held under
the auspices of the United States bureau
of mines and the Pittsburgh coal oper-
ators. the bureau of mines took the
sderation.'' and shortened it to Safety
first"
Originally the idea was intended to
apply only to the work to promote
safety in the mines. but the movement
began to gain momentum Immediately
and safety first came to be the slogan
in all industries throughout the country.
The mines took up the work first. fol-
lowed by the steam railways, the street
railways and other organizations The
hNrva 49, T I'D
Cross Society have both done much to
further the progress of the movement
and to give actual instruction in methods
of accident prevention and practical as
sistance in the work to be carried on in
various industries to save human lives.
To provide homes for million families
or hve million people on farms reclaimed
from thirty million acres
Homes for of western land which is
M;u;.., now worthless and unin-
habited is the object of a
far-sighted plan of Secretary Franklin
X. Lane Of the Department of the In
terror. The irrigation of thirty million
acres of land included in what Is otter
called the great American desert will cost
than Sl,sOO000O00 While this amount
seems large, government engineers and
agricultural experts calculate that the
arid land reclaimed and made productive
will add more than $50, 900, 900 annually
to the nations agricultural wealth an6
VIII be one of the most effective means
known of checking the emigration of fin.
ished American farmers to Canada. Ir
recent years more than $780, 600 900 has
been invested in Canada by farmers who
have moved from the United States int
Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Secretary Lane and his associates ir
the Department of the Interior believe
that most of this huge investment ir
Canada would have remained within the
United States II opportunities offered fol
home-seekers had been sufficiently at.
tractive. Practically all Of the !, 1,29O OO(
acres OF land which have been irrigated
by the government up to this time have
been grabbed by home-seekers as soon as
they have been opened and according t.
reports received from engineers on the
twenty-six western projects there are
only $50 out of the total Of 26.674 farms
which have not been settled upon. Thi.
small amount of land is naturally the
most undesirable on some of the projects
and has been the last to be applied for.
The irrigation Of western lands is not ir
the opinion of Secretary Lane a matter
entirely of local interest but is really OF
paramount Importance to the whole ma
ton. The men who have been lost to the
United States because of Canadian emf.
grafton are the kind of farmers the coun.
try can least AFFORD to lose If new agri-
cultural opportunities are opened in this
country. emigration of American farm
ers to Canada will be checked, and the
establishment of homes on the public do.
main will mean the development of lane
and the growing of agricultural products
to increase the nations food supply.
Interior Department officials. in study.
ing Secretary Lanes plan to develop the
west by reclaiming &c, ,0O0. 600 acres of ari6
land. have run across some interesting
figures. The last census showed that the
average farm in the United States had z
value of $1,000. If 100000 new farmers
are established on the land which can be
reclaimed. therefore. 1t will mean an ad
dition Of $1,000. 100000 to farm values II
this country. The average return on gov
ernment irrigated lands at this time is
s25 a year. On the 3O.OOO.00O acres the
income would be $750.OO0.o00 year. ant
this amount of agricultural wealth would
increase steadily as the land became more
productive.
For the 5000, 600 people who would be
put on the irrigated land 1t is estimated
that an additional 100000 would be
given employment in the villages arfc
towns which grow up as the western
country becomes settled. The develop
men Of the west is Of great interest te
the eastern section of the United States
because of thes new markets created fol
many articles. The west has no manu-
factories to speak of at the present time
and every acre Of land developed mean:
a demand for manufactures of all kinds
The appropriation or the making OF .
bond issue of s1OO. 100000 and more tt
irrigate tracts OF the land which Secre
tary Lane hopes to see made productive
will all come back to the government
after water has been put on the land
The money is not lost from the Unitet
states Treasury. On land which has
been irrigated up to the present time the
government for their farms in ten years
Soon after coming into office Secretary
Lane decided that ten years was too
short time and Immediately recon
mended a bill modifying the terms o.
repayment. This bill has already passed
1t will give the settler twenty years tt
repay the charges for the land and hi:
water rights, and after his first year:
payment he will not have to make
any succeeding payment Of an,
kind for four years. This VIII give hin
his investment in farm equipment before
the government calls upon him fol
further payments for his land. The frs
years payment of s per cent will insure
the settlers good faith and protect the
government from loss should any pro
settler will have to show continuous anc
progressive cultivation Of his farm, ant
this clause will increase the government
security and also insure the chances o.
the settler to meet his future obligations
Likewise. 1t will prevent any chance Of