Omaha daily bee., 1917-05-18
Public Lands and Food
BIZ Frederic j. HdSkin


Washington May l5.-With the nation organ
ling all of its resources TO increase the produc-
ton OF foodstufs, the commissioner OF the gen.
eraI land service will begin oneninp to entry this
ono ~ ,e i,et grsot bnd;cs If vaiuablc
agricultural lands which the United States gov
eminent has to offer ia its citizens, This will
r,aLe !, nossihIe IN ohtair fru;t and grain lands
some Of them of the very best quality, for $3.50
an acre navable in installments in compliance
with the homestead Iaw About 2 300 600 acres
will be made available in the next few years.
These are the lands which the government has
recovered bv its suit against the Oregon & Cali
fornia Railroad company. now A mart Of the South
ern Pacific system, The lands were granted to
The railroad long ago on condition that they
should be sold in small tracts TO actual settlers
at certain price. They were sold at higher
nrices and in larger tracts An act was recently
passed bv congress revestirg the title to the re-
naming lands in the government which act the
supreme court has now decided to be constitu-
tionaI The land office will therefore classify
these lands az mower sites timber lands and agri-
cultural lands The agricultural lands will be
sold to qualified citizens at the stated price of
$3.50 an acre, on condition of compliance with
homestead law. Doubtless considerable areas will
he a bargain at that nrice
toned, and then these lands will be opened to
entry under the homestead laws Tree OF any cost.
The conditions of the homestead laws are that
the lands must be taken up in tracts not exceed
ing 100 acres; the homesteader must reside upon
his claim for three years. and he must cultivate
a certain part of it.
1t is true that there are over ZOO,OO0,0OO acres
of public lands, and newspaper dispatches have
indicated that much of this great area is to be
promptly ploWed and seeded, so that immense
crops will be produced upon them this year. This
idea is erroneous. AS a matter Of fact, large
part of these lands are now producing all the
food in the shape of range stock they are capable
of producing, and any marked increase OF pro-
duction is matter of time, improved methods
and reclamation by irrigation.
As Clay Talman, commissioner of the general
land Office points out, our government has never
taken any steps to make general and compre-
hensve classification Of the public lands. The
Interior department has been surveying them
the task OF classification to the settler. mus
1t hrst ofered 10 us clliZens homesteaas Vi lVv
acres, and lett them to find the lands whicn coulo
be successfully cultivated III units OF tnat SIZE
Practically all OF the lands sutaDie lot idrHis vi
that size have now been taken. Also, many ,rui.-
less attempts have been maze TO cuitVate ianus
which are too dry ana much money mas ose zen
wasted in that way and settlers needlessly dis
couraged.
Perceving the need for allowing men to take
larger bodies of land, congress passed law
enabling any citizen to take up $40 acres OF arid
land which could not be irrigated from any known
source 1t is this law which brought into being
the science of dry farming. As result of it great
areas in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming which
were cattle range ten years ago have become a
rich wheat country, dotted with towns and grain
elevators. This act also resulted in many
failures.
The 640-acre homestead law was passed last
wear and already 100000 acres have been APP
nlied for in these units. The rush to get lands in
these 64O.acre tracts shows that men believe they
can make living on them. Doubtless many sue