THE LAND SYSTEM NEEDED FOR THE ARID REGION, 29 
in this region could thus organize. In fact very large bodies of these lands 
would be taken by people who are already in the country and who have 
herds with which they roam about seeking water and grass, and making no 
permanent residences and no valuable improvements. Such a plan would 
give immediate relief to all these people. 
This district or colony system is not untried in this country. It is 
essentially the basis of all the mining district organizations of the west. 
Under it the local rules and regulations for the division of mining lands, 
the use of water, timber, ete., are managed better than they could possibly 
be under specific statutes of the United States. The association of a 
number of people prevents single individuals from having undue control of 
natural privileges, and secures an equitable division of mineral lands; and 
all this is secured in obedience to statutes of the United States providing 
general regulations. 
Customs are forming*and regulations are being made by common con- 
sent among the people in some districts already; but these provide no 
means for the acquirement of titles to land, no incentive is given to the 
improvement of the country, and no legal security to pasturage rights. 
If, then, the irrigable lands can be taken in quantities to suit pur- 
chasers, and the colony system provided for poor men who wish to coéperate 
in this industry; if the timber lands are opened to timber enterprises, and 
the pasturage lands offered to settlement under a colony plan like that indi- 
cated above, a land system would be provided for the Arid Region adapted 
to the wants of all persons desiring: to become actual settlers therein. 
Thousands of men who now own herds and live a semi-nomadie life ; thou- 
sands of persons Who now roam from mountain range to mountain range 
prospecting for gold, silver, and other minerals; thousands of men who 
repair to that country and return disappointed from the fact that they are 
practically debarred from the public lands; and thousands of persons in 
the eastern states without employment, or discontented with the rewards 
of labor, would speedily find homes in the great Rocky Mountain Region. 
In making these recommendations, the wisdom and beneficence of the 
homestead system have been recognized and the principles involved have 
been considered paramount. 
