Evening star., 1925-12-14
CABINET MEMBERS
TALK OF IDLE LANDS
Secretaries Work and lar
dire Urge Conservation of
the Nations Resources.

culture were utllllbi dS iiit b"o 'S''i
questions vital to the supremacy OF
the Nation" by Secretary of the IN
terror Work in an address today open
ing a conference on reclamation ana
colonization of Idle lands. At the
same time Secretary of Agriculture
.Tardine emphasized "overproduc-
ton" as the most perpleXing problem
now before the American FARMER.
There would seem to be no need OF
Government effort at the present
time toward bringing more land INTO
cultivation" he said. taking stand
along with Secretary Work toward
conservation by advocating more eN-
tensive reforestatiOn and coordination
of reclamation with the development
Of industry.
The addresses of the two cabinet
officers marked the opening or the
two-day conference devoted I" dis
Cussion Of the Nations reclamation
nolicv by experts and administrators.
We must begin again. in the East.
a did our fOrefatherS." Secretary W olk
said mot to conquer the land. Wreak
a living from II and abandon II, but
10 restore It," Reclamation from now
on. the Secretary believed. should III,
clude the recapture and restoration ol
lost soil fertility. asserting lhai Wiei,
1be lime is extracted from the SOIL ana
depOSited IN men ; dlbeilto t'iN >''
that community is in slGht.
Irrigation Unnecessary.
Emphasizing the economic liipcl
4ance of reclamation OF idle ianus III
tho East which he estimated AT q
rarca nrnportiou of the 4o2,oao'u WV
..cres Of such idle arabic land III the
country. Mr. Work continued:
Reclamation OF these humid reSlollE
7oes not require the eNpetiul' IL, VI
-,7iIlions of dollars for Irrigation W"tHS'
Their water supply comes from the
,.IoIds and is spread without cost.
The Federal Government mas spent
saon OOO 400 to build irrigation WORKS
10 provide water tor l,hoo.ooo acres
of arid and semi-ari3 land in the West;
Sixty million dollars will be required
10 complete these works stnd "a Ike
sum is to be spent on new proJeciS'
Exnendit1Ire Of lesser sums for fer
iilizers in the restoration of exhaust
ed lands would make quick returns
and eliminate the long haul.
Irrigated agriculture * "a SpeclaitN
TO which Eastern farmers are now
attracted. the Secretary SAID. adulnS
that reclamation u national Piop-
lem and should be so treated we
should farm less and farm hetter.
Trade Split Seen.
Social and economic phases OF the
nuastiou also were discussed. the Sec
retarv declaring that an economic
strain was increasing between the IA
ciflc coast and the rest of the country.
Pemarking that Ne5ternerS hau
turned manufacturers and We're devel-
uping a market through the Golden
Gate. he believed that "econonlcallE,
a trade division IS pending between
he = Mt and Pacific states.
Home production and home con
sumption will soon demand intensive
study by our economists. he con
tinued. The great divide already
means more than seam IN the
earth's surface. 1t is already a rent
in the economic fabric OF nation
1t is the intention of the Interior
Department, he said to use the $780,
600 appropriated by Congress for the
study of settlement of idle lands in
a comprehensive way rather than in
promoting local colonization schemes.
Champion Gives Views.
The two speakers We're followed by
ReDrese ntatiye Louis c. Champion or
Michigan chairman of the subcom-
mittee on appropriations for the In
terror Department. Mr.. Champion SAID
he does not take the same pesslmlStlr
view of some reclamation projects
credited to the administrative branch,
but advised caution in future develop
ments, calling attention to what he
called the over-optimism of earlier
projects.
He said any reclamation policy that
IS paternalistic, based on the handing
ort of doles from the United States
Treasury, is wrong. Reclamation, he
said must be based on sound business
principles. Congress will believe In
reclamation only when such principles
are rigidly adhered to.
Mr.. Cramton said the whole prob
lem was that of securing successful
settlers for Federal lands; after the
engineers have finished their work.
He said that many have come to be
lieve that reclamation is a failure, add
ing that he was mot worried about
the composite cabinet picture of over
production" painted by Secretaries
Jardine and Work.
4 score of prominent railway eX.
ecutives were to discuss the interest
of the railways in settlement and ag-
ricultural deI elopment in the areas
they serve as the afternoon session
today, while the economic and finan-
cial side of the picture of reclamation
was to he the subject of several ad-
dresses by college authorities.
DIR. F.lwood Mead. commissioner Of
reclamation, Will IuuItSS jiie Illtclill-
tonight. and two sessions will be held
tomorrow.
Sees Two Main Problems.
Two important questions face the
American farmer of today Mr.. ,Jardine
said, the question of overproduction,
which he held responsible for ''our
surplus problem" and the desire Of
the people to settle on reclaimed land.
ut must be recognized" he said,
that agricultural reclamation means
bringing into cultivation more land.
which means more production. The
question instantly arises, rs there
marked need for more agricultural pro
ductlon?" No sound observer will an
swer this question in the affirmative
at present except with reference 10
certain very special lines of farming.
Even now agricultural expansion
is going on. particularly in the Great
Plains area. more rapidly than il can
be absorbed. Much land has been
plowed up that should have been left
in grass
The other question. the Agricultural
Secretary said lis matel% tied up
with the question of whether increased
agricultural production is needed. for
people desire to settle on farm lan:l
at times when farming is profitHble.
obviously we must care for those
projects on which we have settlers.
on some of our projects there are
imperfect water rights. We must
straighten these out.
Sees Production Need Later.
Our population is steadily increas-
ing. however, and within the next
10 or 15 years we probably shall reach
rhe stage where greater agricultural
production will be needed. What we