The Elk Mountain pilot., 1918-10-17

that the time hns when
thought should he given to the
preparation OF plans for providing opportunity
for these men. And because his department has
handled similar problems in the past ne mas
Innde II his duty to bring the matter To the AT
tentinn Of the president and congress He points
tllnt every country has found itself fhce 10
face with this problem at the close of great
war. q, From Rome under Caesar to France under
\ poleon down OWN Civil war the
problem to what could he done with the
soldiers mustered out of military service.
At the close Of the Civil war America faced
somewhat similar si.untion Bur fortunately n'
that time the public domain offered opportunity
To the home returning soldiers. The great part
the veterans Of that war played IN developing
the West is one NJ our cpcs Tile HOMESTEAD"
law had been signe,, by President Lincoln In the
second ycni of the war. that out of our wealth
In iaInls had farms to Offer the military vet
cfT'us.i II also the of transcontinen'ni
railway construction. II was likewise the period
Of r. pl,i yet broad and full development of towns
and communities and states.
To the grent number of returning soldiers IN
tI,c present war land will undoubtedly offer the
great and fundamental opportunity. The eN-
pcricice of points out the !css' II that "'ir
service men. because Of army life. with Its open
ncss and activity will largely seek o.it Of doors
voenons and occupations
This fact Is accepted by the allied European
nations That Is why their prOgrhlnz and poll
cics of relocating and readjustment emphasize
III" opportunities the land for III" returning
soldier. The question then Is. "Whnt land can
he mnde available for farm homes for our sol
tlersf' -af
We have not the bountiful ;u.,.is domains of
the sixties and seventies. In II liter sense, for
the use Of 1t on generous scale for solder farm
homes ms in the sixties. the public domain Is
gone. The official figures nt the end of the fscnl
yenr June 30. 1917. show that We have unappro-
printed land In, the continental United States
to the amount Of 230.657.155 acres. II is safe TO
sSy that not onchalf of this land will ever
prove 10 he cultivabe in any sense So we have
land In any way comparable to that In the
public domnin when Appomattox cnme-and men
turned Westward with army rifle and roll ban-
ket-to begin life anew.
While we do not have that matchless public
domain of ~. we do have millions of acres Of un-
developed lands In the Northwest. lake states
and South. arl also swamp lnnds In the middle
West md South which he made available
through tho proper development. Much Of this
land can - made suitable for farm homes II
properly handled.
But II will require that each type of land he
dealt. with In its particular fashion. The
arid nnds will require water, the cut-over land
will require clearing and the swamp land must
he drained. Without any of these aids they
m?in largely No Mans Land. The solution of
these problems s no new thing. In the admirable
achievement OF the reclamation service In recu-
nation and drainage we have abundant proof
Of what can be done.
Looking toward the construction Of additional
projects Secretary Lane announces thnt plans
and Investigations have been under way for
time. survey and study has been In the
of consuimmntOn by the reclamation service
the great Colorado basin That project. undoubt-
ctly. will appeal to the spirit OF America. It
would mean the conquest OF empire In the
Southwest. 1t IL believed that than aOOO-
900 of arid land could he reclaimed by the
completion OF the upper and lower Colorado basin
projects
1t has been officially estimated that more than
l5,OOOOOO acres OF lrrigable lnnd remain in
the governments h?nds. This IL the great re-
naming stOrehouse of government land for recla-
nation. nUnder what policy and program millions
of these acres could he reclaimed for future farms
and homes remains for legislation 30 determine
The amount OF swamp and cut-over lands in
the United States available for farming Is extern
tive. Just how much there is has never been de-
terlnned with any degree Of accuracy Practical
~ all of IT has passed into private ownership
For TINT reason. in considering its use. ii would
be necessary to work out policy between the
private owcers ans. The government unless the
land w,.s purchased. Il has been estimated that
!e total area, of swamp and overtiowed lands in
the Unfted States is between T0,oOO.OOO and So
OOOOOO or this amount about G0OO0.O00