THE IEEIQATION AGE. 



243 



or, at least, that portion of the land problem which 

 relates to the ranches, by granting leases on 100,000 

 acres or less for terms not exceeding twenty-one years 

 at an annual rental of 2c per acre, provided that 

 within three years the rancher will place upon the land 

 one head of cattle or five head of sheep for every twenty 

 acres covered by the lease. Should the number of live 

 stock fall below this amount at any time during the life 

 -of the lease the leasee is liable, on receiving three 

 months' notice, to have withdrawn from his leasehold 

 .an area of twenty acres for every head of stock less than 

 the number called for. No one, however, is permitted 

 to lease land unless he has already taken a homestead 

 or purchased 160 acres on which to place his buildings. 

 By the Canadian law regulations are also made for the 

 protection of public hay lands. 



Canada, however, is not the only place in which 

 "the leasing experiment has been tried. The great State 

 -of Texas is probably the largest individual landlord in 

 the United States. There are in the State 18,000,000 

 -acres of public land belonging to the State and not to 

 the Federation. These lands are largely leased under 

 n act providing for what is practically competitive 

 bidding as to the amount of rental to be paid. The 

 -State lands of New Mexico, Montana and many other 

 western states are also subject to lease. 



The leasing of the public lands of the country ac- 

 complishes four things : 



1. It guarantees to the rancher a sufficient grazing 

 ;area for the sustenance of his flocks and herds. 



2. It preserves as a part of the public domain the 

 great range lands of the country, thereby enabling the 

 nation to make what disposition it pleases of them in 

 the future and at the same time insuring their being 

 adequately utilized pending their final disposition. 



3. It prevents all chance of land frauds and the 

 illegal fancing of public lands because it removes the 

 reason therefor. 



4. It encourages the preservation of the utility of 

 the land instead of its destruction by over-grazing. 



Should the public lands now under the administra- 

 tion of the Federal government be leased as they are in 

 Canada, and as the State lands are in Texas, New Mex- 

 ico and elsewhere, and it was afterward found possible 

 to irrigate any or all of them, provision should be made 

 sc that the nation could readily reobtain and bring the 

 water to them. 



Irrigated lands will support a vastly greater num- 

 ber of people than similar non-irrigated lands; indeed, 

 cases are not uncommon of from 200 to 500 people being 

 supported by the product of a single section of irrigated 

 land. It is, therefore, probable that as the irrigation 

 of the West is carried out it will be found desirable to 

 place a severe limit to the homesteads allowed to indi- 

 viduals. There will, however, always be large areas 

 contiguous to irrigable lands which can not be irrigated. 

 Indeed, out of a public domain of 535,486,000 acres 

 in the sixteen states and territories mentioned in the 

 Reclamation Act, only about 60,000,000 are believed to 

 "be irrigable. The cattle grazing upon these unirrigated 

 lands will have to be provided for during the winter. 

 At the present time many ranchers unable to obtain 

 meadow land are forced to pay exorbitant prices for 

 Tiay with which to preserve their flocks and herds. It 

 is more than possible that as the various irigable areas 

 are brought -under -water it will be found desirable to 



apportion them either by sale or lease to the ranchers 

 controlling the surrounding still waterless land in order 

 that those who are grazing their stock on the dry lands 

 may be able to obtain meadow land on which to raise 

 winter feed. These are matters which in our opinion 

 deserve the earnest and immediate attention of Con- 

 gress, for the longer the present chaotic state of the 

 Federal land laws is allowed to continue the more dif- 

 ficult will the final settlement be. 



L. M. Byles, chairman; A. E. Cheney, C. W. As- 

 bury, F. S. Kretsinger, C. F. White. 



ITS METHODS TRICKY. 



The Spokesman-Review calls attention to a matter 

 that needs looking into and if it be found to be as 

 asserted the men complained of should be taught a les- 

 son they will not soon forget. "It is deplorable," il 

 says, "that the National Irrigation Association is 

 adroitly using money subscribed to foster irrigation 

 to distribute printed matter attacking President Roose- 

 velt's railroad rate regulation policy. The associatior 

 is scattering broadcast in its envelopes and under its 

 stamp copies of a recent editorial page from the St, 

 Paul Pioneer Press. This page carries two editorial 

 articles, one dealing with irrigation and the other the 

 stereotyped railroad argument against 'any form oJ 

 rate regulation that would involve the fixing by anj 

 other agency than the railroads themselves.' 



"Ostensibly the purpose is to disseminate irriga- 

 tion literature, but it does not require half an eye 

 to see that the real purpose is to place James J. Hill's 

 well known views against rate regulation before the 

 irrigation interests of the United States. 



"The railroad article in question is given a posi- 

 tion over the irrigation article in part and in parl 

 alongside it, so that in marking the irrigation article 

 the association has in fact adroitly directed the atten- 

 tion of the readers to the much longer article againsl 

 government control of railroad rates. 



"The medium chosen for this cunning piece oi 

 work is the Pioneer Press. If the National Irrigatior 

 Association wants to destroy its standing and its in 

 fluence and cut away a large part of its support, it hai 

 only to continue these tricky tactics." Great Falli 

 (Mont.) Leader. 



FAVORABLE INDUSTRIAL LOCATIONS. 



The North-Western Line traverses a territory fa 

 mous for its great agricultural productiveness. Iti 

 splendid development in this respect has founded anc 

 sustains many prosperous towns and cities equippee 

 with all the conveniences of modern times. With th< 

 growth of this fertile district there arises a demand fo: 

 the utilization of the high class of help that can givi 

 attention to manufacturing industries. Beside this de 

 sirable advantage to manufacturers there are many nat 

 ural resources of much value. The most favorable hom 

 environment is found in this rich and growing North 

 west, an element that contributes considerably to i 

 satisfactory and permanent business location. 



The transportation facilities afforded by the North 

 Western Line are unsurpassed, giving prompt communi 

 cation with the sources of supply and the markets o 

 the world. To provide information to parties seeking 

 new locations for industrial enterprises the North- West 

 ern Line is giving special attention. 



