1905 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



443 



the canteen made of copper and the 

 ordinary one constructed of tin. 



The investigation is of extreme im- 

 portance, inasmuch as the announce- 

 ments concerning the absolute germi- 

 cidal property of copper led to over- 

 confidence, and might have resulted in 

 considerable injury in such cases. 



Reclamation Estimated amounts to be 

 -forbear covered into the Treas- 



ury to the credit of the 

 reclamation fund from the sale of pub- 

 lic lands, and fees and commissions in 

 the several states and territories dur- 

 ing the fiscal year 1905, under the pro- 

 visions of the act of Congress ap- 

 proved June 17, 1902, is as follows : 



Arizona $47,449.52 



California 361,557.87 



Colorado 270,060.25 



Idaho 370,272.90 



Kansas 30,478.36 



Montana 350,031.30 



Nebraska 120.786.59 



Nevada 12,157.93 



New Mexico 85,602.58 



North Dakota 870,290.01 



Oklahoma 572,633.54 



Oregon 675,325.60 



South Dakota 174,448.96 



Utah 50,716.82 



Washington 522,203.50 



Wyoming 243,962.94 



Total $4,757,978.87 



Reclamation It is also interesting to 



5 %undp -> rto note the amount of the 

 June, 1904 , . , 



reclamation fund prior 



to June 30, 1904, which was at that 

 time, as given in the following table : 



Arizona $193.399-73 



California 1,824,569.32 



Colorado 1,651,187.75 



Idaho 1,651,477.78 



Kansas 109,450.78 



Montana 1,797,157.70 



Nebraska 492,713.47 



Nevada 53,761.42 



New Mexico 388,105.73 



North Dakota 3,632,799.46 



Oklahoma 2,637,073.59 



Oregon 4,156,582.95 



South Dakota 805,483.79 



Utah 284,413.58 



Washington 2,599,659.65 



Wyoming 990,755-93 



Total $23,270,592.63 



Drawback to One of the principal of- 



Wo g rk tU ficers . of the Reclamation 



Service, who has recent- 

 ly returned from the west, said in an 

 interview that the chief obstacle to 

 rapid progress in the semi-arid portion 

 of the country arises out of the essen- 

 tial requirement of the Reclamation 

 Act that water shall not be supplied 

 by the government to more than 160 

 acres in the hands of any one land 

 owner. 



Practically all of the land which may 

 be reclaimed by government works in 

 North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Wash- 

 ington is now in private ownership. 

 The opportunities of reclamation are 

 limited probably not to exceed i per 

 cent of the area of these states can 

 ever be irrigated to advantage. This 

 one per cent being now in the hands 

 of individuals or corporations, it re- 

 sults that these persons have practi- 

 cally a monopoly of irrigable land. The 

 government cannot carry out the terms 

 of the Reclamation Act without the 

 consent and active co-operation of 

 these monopolists. 



They appreciate this position, and 

 believing that the government must 

 spend its funds on these particular 

 tracts, they are holding out for the 

 very best terms obtainable. The values 

 of these reclaimable lands have in- 

 creased enormously ; but not content 

 with this, the owners are trying to 

 force the government to most liberal 

 concessions. On the one hand public 

 clamor is being stimulated to imme- 

 diately spend the reclamation fund 

 without waiting for necessary safe- 

 guards ; and on the other hand the men 

 who own the land are standing out 

 stiffly for privileges which are not 

 thought of in the truly arid parts of 

 the United States. 



In other words, the people in the 

 most arid part of the country, as in 

 Arizona and Nevada, are more than 



