River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1916-05-04
ALAND PROBLEM AHEAD
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(FRoM THE PEORIA SJouRNAL.l

lFRoM THE PEORIA <LouRNAL.1
The Nebraska Stated Journal calls. at
tention to the fact that Uncle Sans
opening of a 4,O0O-acre tract in the
North Platte irrigation district for set
Element practically winds up the free
land distribution" Of the nation. It
adds:
Free or cheap land has been
the american safety valve: A
population straiping for selfbet.5
ter1nent has had its own remedy
to go west and grow up with the
country. With the. government
reduced to advertising anfopening
Of forty-three farms, the safety
valve may be. considered forever
closed. The expansive energy for
merly exerted outward, must here
after work itself out intensively.
Increasing land speculation, with
rapidly rising prices of land and
prOportionately increasing dissat-
isfaction among thelandless would
seem inevitable. The tone Of our
politics and the intensity Of our
social problems cannot but be vi
tally changed under the strain OF
dealing internally with a social
pressure which hitherto has had
the wilderness to vent itself upon. i
Land hunger will soon become
reality in this rapidly growing country
and the constant pressure of popula-
ton, increasingly higher than the ratio
Of production. is bound to bring US
face to face. with economic problems
that we have heretofore considered re-
mote. The far-sighted statesman and.
publicist must devote his thought
earnestly to the consideration of these
questions if We are to escape the 'ex-l
tremes which curse, the older nations
of, the world" 10 .Iu:tup, 10 3
In the above will be found ionel of
the reasons that the Canadian Govern.
ment is offering 1850 acres Of land free
to the actual settler. iThereuis no
dearth of 1nomesteadsl of thisBsize, and
the land isl oftthe highest quality be-
ing such as.produees yields of from 80
to 60 bushels of wheat per acre, while
oats run from fifty to over hundred
bushels per acre, It is, not only a. mat
ter of free grants, but in Western. Gam,
ada are also to be- had other lands at
pFicesnFangipg from $12 .to0$30 per
acre, thefi difference in apricea being
largely d matter Of location and dis
lance from railway. If one takes into
consideration the scarcity OF free
grant lands in the United States it, IS,
not, difficult to, understand why, there
has been most material advances in,
the price of farm lands ~ Il nta:
GAifew years ago, land that now sells,
for two. hundred dollars an, acre i'm
Iowa, could have been, b0nght for sewn
enty-tivei dollaEslan ACRE, OF lesss The
increased price is warranted' by the
increased value of! the product. raised
on these farms. THE lands that today
can be had iii Western Canada at the
low priGes quoted will in a less time
than that taken for, the Iowa, lands to
TftoSSs pfrItT pAgVPSAR4SkAc@SOt
crease.i In, Nebraska the landso that
sold for sixteen to twenty dollarsnper
acres seven years ago. find a market at
one hundred and ''seVentylfive dollars
an acre. Tor The same reason given for
the iherease iii Iowa lands. Values
in these two States, as well as in 9th
ers that might be mentioned, show
that Western Canada lands are going
at a song at their present prices. In
many cases in Western Canada today,
there are American settlers, who real
ise this, and are placing value of
sixty and seventy dollars an acre on
their improved farms, but would sell
only because they can purchase I'M
improved land at suchs a low price that
in another few years they would have
equally as good farms as they left or
such asStheir friends have in the Unit
ed States. asa 3 .$
The worth of the crops grown In
Western Canada is of higher value
than those Of the States named, soSwhy
should the land not be worth fully as
much. Any Canadian Government
Agent will be glad to give you infor-
nation as to homestead lands or where
you can buy.-Adyertisement.
Silent neighborszmake asdesirsble
&S