New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1920-07-30
GAIN MORE LAND
TO MEET DEMAND
FEDERAL RECLAMATION SERVICE
CONSIDERS POPULATION
INCREASE.
los, 600, 900 PEOPLE IN U. S.
Fourteen Million Inhabitants Added in
Past Ten Years-AIi U. s. Laws in
One New Observation-Disclosures Of
Hat Manufacturing.
BY N p.

BY JAMES p. HoRNADAY.
Washington.-New plans for contin-
uing the continental conquest of vast
agricultural land throughout the cOun-
try are being made by the govern
ment's reclamation service. The main
object Is to increase the cultivable area
of the United States in proportion
to the increase Of population. which
means b addition OF millions of acres
OF land, for the census bureau now esti-
mates that the new 1920 census will
show a population of 105, 0O0, OOO-an
increase of 100000 people in the
last ten years.
The new program of land develop
nlent calls for new legislation that in
ltself Is unique among reclamation
measures, for 1t calls for no money
from the public treasury, not even
the item of overhead expenses or the
cost of preliminary Investigations.
Landowners, desiring water. for their
properties, it is planned. must pay all
the expense, but the government would
encourage them by permitting the rec
lamatiOn service to cooperate in the
development of reclamation projects,
financed by private capital.
New principles in American legis-
latiOn underlie the proposal. 1t aims
to combine the benefits of both pub
lie and private enterprise without in
curing the drawbacks of either. Pro-
ponents of the plan say that it will at
least clearly reveal the limitations of
private enterprise In the field of rec
lamatiOn and land settlement. without
costing the government one cent.
Benefit to the West.
In several states Of the semiarid
West, notably Colorado and Nebraska,
there exist large communities of fairly
well developed farms in private owner
ship, on which by application Of irriga-
ton the production may be doubled.
The arid West might also be benefited
and likewise drainage projects, In the
north and south.
When the fertile prairies Of the West
were open TO settlement the nation had
no difficulty in keeping its agriculture
even IN advance of Its rapidly growing
population. The conditions today, how
ever, are such as to require aggressive
leadership on the part of the govern
ment. A serious factor in the general
trend from the farm to the city at the
present time Is the high cost of small
tracts' .fayorably located with respect
to markets and transportation. togeth-
er with the size Of initial investment
required.
: franklin X. Lane, former secretary
Of the interior department. now in
private life, Endorses the.new proposal.
as does Senator SmoOt Of Utah and
Congressman Kinkaid of Nebraska,
chairman Of the house lands commit
tee, and other congressional leaders.
There are millions of acres of poten-
TALLY rich lands which may be pur-
chased In large tracts at a very low
price In their present condition." says
Mr.. Lane. "By the new plan. IL IL be-
lieved that settlers can effect savings
equalling as much as onchalf and more
of the prices they ordinarily pay for
small rural holdings. This would be
the case first because land owners
would enter into contracts for sale
OF their property on a pre-reciamation
basis; second. because the heavy
charges of sales agencies and interest
nccruing until disposition of subdlvlded
areas. could be practically eliminated.
Settlers would probably save enough
on the first o $ Of their land Ia pay
for their Improvement and live stock.
These savings would aggregate tens
Of, thousands and possibly millions Of
dollars. and, further. the terms of pay
ment could be made such as to give
purchasers at least n reasonable
change of success.
How Government Would Aid.
Under the new plan. the initiative
for development must be taken by the
landowners or communities. They
would apply 70 the interior department
for the use Of the engineering facili-
ties of the reclamation service to in
vestigate a proposed project. accom-
panying their application with the esti.
mated ost Of such investigation. II
their project is approved as sound and
feasible from an engineering. economic
and agricultural point of view. the Sec
rotary of the interior would enter In
to u contract with the landowners un-
der which he agrees to organize and
develop the project precisely as Is now
done under the reclamation law. with
the important difference that the pro-
ject Is constructed wholly at the ex-
pense of the landowners.
In financing the project. the land
owners would enjoy the benefit Of the
projects approval by engineers. econ
omists and administrators. represent
ing the reclamation service. which Is
generally regarded as the greatest en-
cheering organization in the world
with seventeen years experience In
the reclamation Of arid lands. The
financing would be accomplished I'M
der either a public or a private cor
poration. In either case. II would be
done in accordance with state lews,
and with the government only assum-