The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1921-02-19

.~ton-There are over I'VE
.eres Of desert and unpro'
nla land in FIVE western States
da. .,e at present of practically nc
,.s 70 mi one. This land not
10 aroduces neither food o taxes
on' !. also a burden to the rail
IDS which are forced to cross the
r0'. w.s,es between east and west
D.sout gaining either freight or pas
same time there are in these
-..,ou, great streams, which are al
,.eless as the deserts. Some OF
ham irrisate little patches here and
-. INIT most Of their waters go to
and all Of the great power
-,,,h those waters gather in their
...ssut from the mountains goes to
waste.
Nov this country is suffering from
-. much money, from overproduc-
W., and from consequent unemploy-
IAN, and the number Of unemployed
=. being constantly swollen by i'm
migrants.
whv not let the United States Gov
.ynment gather these idle men and
,n, them to work damming these
creams, capturing their power, ir-
,,eatiug the waste lands, making
farms for the men who are out OF
work?
This question former Secretary Of
the Interior Franklin X. Lane put to
the American people. Mr.. Lane. since
his retirement from the cabinet. has
hsen the vice-president of an oil COM
many. But he has by no means re-
rounced that interest In the develop
meut OF the public domain which
brought him into the cabinet. He
urged Q systematic reclamation Of the
arid lands of the west as a means of
providing returning soldiers with
farms. A complete and detailed plan
was offered Congress, but Congress
was too busy to attend to It. Now
Secretary Lane points out again the
great opportunity that is waiting in
the West. and how It may be taken
advantage of In such a way as to
lieve the stress Of threatened hard
times.
What he offers is again a complete
and well-considered plan. The OBJ
lection will be offered that the people
overburdened by taxes resulting from
a great war is not In a position to
undertake an enormous public work.
whatever It's value. Mr.. Lane replies
that this work can be financed by a
bond issue. with the farm
lands and the power which the pro-
Jet will produce as a security.
LANE OFFERS COMPLETE PLAN
Mr.. Lane says that anybody can
figure the advantages OF a reclama-
project, because the proposition
. 50 clear and simple. Here are one
acres Of land, a little owned
BY individuals, some by the States,
'ome by Indian reservations. most by
he United States. and some by the
hree railroads that run through the
lesert country. Taken as a whole,
he land Is worth FIVE to fifty cents an
as II Is now.
Practical engineers, skilled at this
Ind Of work. have estimated con-
srvatively that they can build three
ANS and power plants on the Colo
ADO river, which runs through this |
ountry, and make available enough
to irrigate all OF this desert
iiilion acres, and at the same time
reduce over n million horsepower
! electrical energy. The cost of the
hole operation is estimated at from
fty to eighty million dollars.
Because Of the many different in
rests involved , Mr.. Lane does not
'ei that this could be accomplished
J private enterprise. He says that
s essentially a public work. and
al Is where his bond issue plan
ines In.