Evening star., 1918-09-29
w YHEN Uncle Sans soldiers
AA/ have soundly whipped the
wv Hun they will come march"
tn~ honna readv FOR more

the vital problems Of placing men
after the war. Authorities contend
that the plan which Secretary Lane
has ccnceived is not only S thSrougniy
IL has received hearty Endorsement
whore It has been presented. These
plans are. for the purpose or provo
ing support, home and property Ior
the soldiev now overseas % as wen as 20
msrgence by labor after the war.
~.
Every nation that has ever been
confronted with the gigantic task Of
conducting a real war has found it.
SELF st the conclusion Of peace treat
les, with an enormous number or
unemployed men on Its hands. This
was as true in 10 B. c. as In 1918
A. D.. and solutions were not infre-
quentiy deplorably late In rendering
necessary assistance In the very
early days no solution was attempted
compelled to ADJUST himself to diff
cult civil conditions as best he could.
Il is partly because this country has
been quick to profit by the mistakes
Of others that she Is already fh making Sa,nng
coming for her warriors. Even should
the present war extend some time the
Department Of the Interior considers the
time ripe for the development of its
allowing his men to return to Ameri-
can soil to struggle with the con-
fusion and disbursement which
would be inevitable In case the right
stspl ere not taken at the, right time
to AiU them In every possible way.
The reabsorption Of some 100000
United States soldiers into civil life
after their extensive military activi-
tias would indeed beHa thorny problem
resources than the United States. Its
many millions of acres Of land have
proved thsir worth In not only sup
porting myriads Of families and yield
ing abundant CROPS. but IN providing
natural that the Department Of the In
terror turns It's eyes to the country's
wealth In lands when casting about
for future occupations for soldiers:
s az. Las 81 the has ep pInssd Nsr 9S 9Se aa so
diers sought the undeveloped west.
They settled happily throughout the
new country and opened up immense
tracts of land. In the course Of time
those situated on the main arteries Of
travel grew rapidly into thriving
towns, and many of these eventually
became prosperous cities Again. at
IQ2t peTlOQ IN In0 country hlStoEy
railroads were under construction and
q transcontinental line provided work
for large numbers of men released
from war duties.
X X
Today the United States has not. of
course. the vast domain to offer Its
veterans that 1t had then. Neverthe-
less there is an abundance of hand
which, when subjected to scientific de-
velopment, can be made to produce
valuable yields. This land Is not con-
fined to any one section of the United
States. 1t Ia to be found In the south
and the west, in the middle west and
the great northwest, even In the
northeast, and Alaska offers yet
frontier to the man who loves the
The Department Of the Interior states
that. estimated in acres. this land,
which is as yet entirely unappropriated.
amounts to considerably more than 2SO.;
Questions maintain that in all proba-
bility lees than one-half Of these will
prove amenable to cultivation But IN
spite Of this fact, there will be enough
land to 60 around when Johnny comes
marching home again.
discioses land divided into three great
divisions--sw cut-over lands
and arid lands. Each one of these can.
under tho proper conditions, be re-
claimed. Quite different method of
procedure Is pursued when developing
swamp land for agricultural purposes
than when preparing arid or cut-over
land for the farmer. Uncle Sam has but
to point proudly to results achieved by
the reclamation service to verify re-
markable stories relative to any one of
many projects which have successfully
developed swamp. arid or cut-over land.
In the states of the west lie the wastes
of arid land, which, touched by the
magic wand of science, can give such
abundant returns for intelligent labor
and we'll directed effort. There water
is the real essential. and with a thor
oughly efficient Irrigation system the
dry, barren ground can be made to pro-
duce bountifully. Intensive farming has
given ample proof of it's success and in
tensive farming will no doubt be
adopted by many European war vet
Grams who return to this country.
In all there are some 100000
acres of arid land left for future
farmers. This comprises the bulk of
Uncle Sans best land for reclama-
tion. Secretary Lane advocates ex-
tending to the novice on the farm all
possible help. BY doing this the SOL
er-farmer will avoid the tragic mis-
takes and the desperate discourage
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