The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1918-06-19

600 acres Of arid land could be re-
claimed by the completion Of the up
per and lower Colorado basin pro-
1ects.
TT has been officially estimated
that mora than 100000 acres of
irrtgable land now remains in the
governments hands. This is the
great remaining storehouse Of gov
ernmept land for reclamation, I'm
der what policy and program mil
! lions Of these acres could be reclaim
ed for future farms and homes re-
mains for legislation to determine.
RecIaimlng Our "No Mans Land"
The amount Of swamp and cut
over lands in the United States that
can be made available for farming
is extensive. Just how much there
Is has never been determined with
any degree OF accuracy. Practically
all OF 1t has passed into private
ownership. For that reason consid-
ering it's use, it would be necessary
to work out a policy between the
private owners and the government
unless the land was purchased. 1t
has been estimated that the total
area of swamp and overfloWed lands
in the United States is between TO-
100000 and 80.O0O,0O0 acres. OF this
amount it is stated that about 3d.
000,000 acres can be reclaimed and
made profitable for agriculture.
THE undeveloped swamp lands lie
chiefly in Florida, in the states along
the Atlantic and gulf coasts, in the
Mississippi delta, and in the Miss
ourt, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota,
Wisconsin and California.
Swamp and Cutover Sections.
what amount OF land in it's nat
ural state unfit for farm homes can
be made suitable for cultivation by
drainage only through surveys and
studies can develop. We know that
authentic figures show that more
claimed for profitable farming, most
OF which lies in the Mississippi rtv-
er valley.
''The amount Of cutover lands in
the United States, of course, it is i'm
possible even in approximation to
estimate. These lands. however, lie
largely in the South Atlantic and
gulR states, the lake states, and the
orthweStern states. A rough egti-
mate OF their number Is about 200,-
D00t000j000 acres-that Isl of land
suitable for agricultural develop
ment. Substantially all this cutover
or logged-off land is in private own
erBhip. The failure of this land to
be developed Is largely due to mad
equate method Of approach. Unless
g new policy OF development iswork-
ed out in cooperation between tho
federal government, the states, and
the individual owners, a greater part
OF 1t will remain unsettled and un-
cultivated,
"'The undeveloped cutover lands
lie chiefly in the Pacific northwest
particularly in Washington and
Oregon), in the lake states (Minne-
sofa, Michigan, and wisconsin,, and
in the South Atlantic and guld
coastal states Virginia, North Car
olina, South Carolina, Georgia, Flor
Ida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana
and Texasl.
Face Necessity Of New Policy.
"Any plan for the development Of
land for the returning soldiers will
come face to face with the fact that
q new policy will have to meet the
new conditions The era Of free
or cheap land In the United States
has passed. We must meet the new
conditions Of developing lands in
advance security must, to degree,
displace speculation.
Some Of the defects in our old
system have been described by DIR.
ElWood Mead in these words:
Science (shouldl have gone hand
In hand with the settlement Of the
arid and semi -arid country, and all
that science could give would have
been utilized, first in the creation of
the conditions Of settlement and then
in aiding the settler in difficult
tasks. Because nothing was done,
these heroic but untnformad souls
were bedeyiIed by the winds, cold,
drought, and insect pests. They
wasted their efforts, lost their hopes
and ambitions, and a tragic percen-
tage left, impoverished and embit-
tered The tragic part Of this history
Is that nearly all this suffering and
loss could have been avoided under
a carefully thought out plan OF de-
YeIopmetlt
The Tenant Peril.
tfThere are certain tendencies
which we ought to face frankly in
our consideration OF a policy for
land to the homecoming soldier
First, the drift To farm tenancy The
lexpefiance of the world shows with
out question that the happiest peo-