The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-05-18
PUBLIC LANDS AND
FOOD PRODUCTION
THE TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
IMPORTATION BUREAU

ton organizing all of its resources TO
increase the production of foodstuffs,
the commissioner of the general land
service will begin opening to entry this
summer one Of the last great bodies
OF valuable agricultural lands which
the United States government has to
offer to its citizens This will make
it possible to obtain fruit and grain
lands, some of them of the very best
quality, for $3.50 an acre, payable in
installments in compliance with the
homestead law. About 100000 acres
will be made available in the next few
years.
i These are the lands which the gov
ternment has recovered by its suit
against the Oregon & California Rail-
road company, now a part of the
Southern Pacific system The lands
| on condition that they should be sold
| in small tracts to actual settlers at a
| certain price. They were sold at high
er prices and in larger tracts An act
vesting the title to the remaining
lands in the government. which act
the supreme court has now decided to
| be constitutional. The land office will
| therefore classify these lands as pow
er sites, timber lands and agricultural
lands. The agricultural lands will be
tsold to qualified citizens at the stated
price of $3.50 an acre, on condition
of compliance with homestead law.
| Doubtless considerable areas will be
a bargain at that price
The timber on the timber lands will
be auctioned, and then these lands will
| be opened to entry under the home
/ stead laws, free of any cost. The con-
ditions of the homestead laws are that
the lands must be taken up in tracts
not exceeding 100 acres, the home
steader must reside upon his claim for
three years, and he must cultivate a
certain part of it.
There is little doubt but such of the
lands as are cultivated lands will
be promptly taken up and planted.
Also, they are about the only large and
immediate opportunity which our pub
lie lands offer for the increase of our
production of foodstuffs. 1t is true
that there are over two hundred mil
lion acres of public lands, and news
paper 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 errone-
Gus. AS a matter of fact, a large part
CT these lands are now producing all
the food in the shape of range st 5ck
any marked increase of production is
a matter of time, improved methods
and reclamation by irrigation.
/ The government reclamation prof.
ects can produce more, and are taking
measures to do so, as described in a
former letter. The timely opening OF
the Oregon railroad lands will add
considerably to our productive powers
Aside from these two resources there
is little that can be done Immediately
except to farm existing producing
lands up to the very limit.
But this is a year of stock taking IN
the United States. = For the first time
in their history, the American peeps
face an emergency that may strain
their resources, and for the first time
they are making a close estimate OF
them. Uncle Sam is like a spendthrifi
who suddenly faces new Responsible
ties and develops a keen interest in the
state of his bank account. This ma
tional inventory of resources is a thlns
of the utmost usefulness in itself, quite
apart from the emergency which has
occasioned it; and there is no nationa
resource which is less generally under
stood than our body of public land
; AS Clay Tallnan, commissioner o.
the general land office, points out, oul
government has never taken any steps
to make a general and comprehensive
, classification of the public lands Inc
: interior department has been surveying
them since it's foundation, but the gov.
. eminent has left the task of classified
!, ton to the settler. Thus it first of
fered to its citizens homesteads OF one
hundred and sixty acres, and left them
t to find the lands which could be sue
t cessfully cultivated in units of tina
size Practically all of the lands suita
BILE for farms of that size have nov
r been taken. Also, many fruitless at
tempts have been made to cultivate
lands which are too dry, and mucl
money has been wasted in that way
E and settlers needlessly discouraged.
5 Perceiving the need for allowing
men to take larger bodies OF land
congress passed law enabling an!
: citizen to take up 800 acres of arit
1 land which could not be irrigated from
t any known source. 1t is TINS iaV
. which brought into being the sclenc'
4 of dry farming. As result OF II
great areas in Montana, luano an ~,
: Wyoming which were cattle range tel
e years ago have become a rich Whea
country, dotted with towns and gran
: elevators This act also resulted IL
!, many failures.
an even larger unit of possession mus
: be allowed if the remaining land
. were to be owned and used Amons
the western representatives in con
gress there were evolved two plan
n for the solution of the problems. ON
f of these was to place the rema1nln:
e lands which were mostly suita BIZ
: only for grazing. under the supervi
n sion of the government, the rang
: rights to be leased to stock owners
q The other plan was for 640-acr
e HON estead, upon which man nigh
: farm or raise stock or both, as seemed
best to him. This plan won out. tn
" 64o-acre HON estead law passed las
year. and already 20 million acre
have been applied for in these unit
| in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado
: Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana
North and South Dakota, Nevada
Oregon. Texas. Utah and Washington
= The heaviest entries are in New Mex
leo and the other southwestern states
The rush to get lands in these $40
= acre tracts shows that men belfev