The Washington herald., 1918-07-18
PUBLICLANDS
FOR SOLDIERS
PLAN OF LANE
Prepares Program Of De
yelopment When Peace
Comes.
NAY USE WASTE AREAS
Proposes U. S. to Supply
Money for Completed
Homes Tor Yanks.
NAY USE WASTE AREAS
sy HARRY HUNT.

By nAnht ASSE
Herald stan Correspondent.
. Secretary of interior Franklin K.
Lane Is preparing q program of peace
time development SO chat when the
war ends the readjustment from a
war 20 peace basis can be made IN
an orderly. systematic way that win
prevent Industrial confusion. unem-
pioyment. hardship and suffering.
When the war ends, he points OUT,
the larger part of our millions OF
soldiers will return to civil life. Other
milIions, employed in war work. will
face change IN employment.
There viii be q necessary period OF
Industrial disorganization while H.
dustries engaged in war production
are resuming the manufacture Of the
products of peace.
Unless plans are worked out In ad-
vance to meet these problems peace
viii bring confusion, unrest and dim
culties second only TO war.
Era Of Readjsstsaeat.
Lane believes this era of read
fustment can be turned into one OF
national development on q scale hith-
erto unknown, In which the waste
lands of the country can be made 70
blossom and bear fruit and happy
homes be provided for hundreds OF
thousands.
While the industry and commerce
Of the country IL being restored to
peace-time basis. Lane would reclaim
for productive uses the cut-oyer lands
OF the South Atlantic and Lake States
and the swamp lands Of the South
and Middle West. and would, BY the
development of great irrigation works
make fertile millions of acres in the
West and Southwest.
In this development he would have
the government and the individual
work hand In hand. the government
furnishing the money, the individuals
cooperating I'm the work. This land
would then be turned over as home
steads as complete, productive homes,
with houses and barns already built.
drains laid. fences in place and with
a proper equipment of implements
and livestock. The cost of these inn
provements. plus a reasonable rate
for the land, would be repaid the
government over a long period OF
years, on a basis of government
financing that would wipe out the
whole debt at less than normal in
tefest rates.
Prepare for Peace.
ITO prepare for the end of the
war is an immediate duty" Lane
says. 1T will be too late to plan
for these things when the war Is
over.
while we do not have the houn-
AAvraofr Nrya held at thA
end Of the civil war, We do have
millions of undeveloped acres that
can be made available for our home
coming soldiers.
But these lands should be sur
veyed and studied SO that the best
development can be made,
For this purpose 1 am asking
Congress to appropriate s1.00O,O00
perhaps the biggest feature is
the moral support it will give our
soldiers
"If they know that we are look
ing ahead and planning for their
future. it will hearten them as moth
ing else.
"Out of this war is going to come
a great measure of cooperation.
Heretofore our cooperative strength
has chiefly been developed by capi-
talists employing other men. We
have co-operated for him and he has
reaped the benefits.
Co-eperatiye N mes. r
Tn addition to the general de-
velopment plan il has seemed to
me that there might be started
some system of cooperative mines.
In a lesser degree, the establishing
of municipal coal piles. as q re-
serve from which citizens may draw
their fuel supplies in times of short
ase. is a step toward full co-opera-
tion is our fuel supply.
Another phase of cooperation
which I believe is bound to come
is the development of community
gardens adjacent to our towns and
cities. There is scarcely any city
that does not have adjacent and
easily accessible large tracts of
land that could be put to this use.
TN all our cooperative efforts
in peace-time reorganization. how
ever, we must remember that CO.
operation needs a. superior type of
organization. Any cooperative Or
ganization, in order to succeed,
must employ the best men. 1t must
pay good salaries. That is how
the capitalist, who hires men to
cooperate for him, gets results"
THE development that 10 possi-
BILE in this country through the co.
operating effort of our returning
soldiers Is of inestimable impor-
tance to the nation and to the men
themselves. We must not fail to
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