THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



175 



judge as to the merits of the case and whose judg- 

 ment may be fully relied upon by the Secretary. 



Frequently, what would appear to be an at- 

 tempt to grab some particular tract of land or water 

 power for private use would, on investigation, prove 

 the best means of developing a territory, and in- 

 creasing the production in an agricultural way 

 throughout the particular state in which such a con- 

 dition may arise. There is danger that Secretary 

 Lane will have many advisers and callers who are 

 willing to misinform him about situations in the 

 West, and' he will need to be on his guard. He has 

 made a start, however, that promises well for future 

 decisions. 



It is understood that there will be an 

 May effort made under this administra- 



Adopt tion to shape up a colonization pol- 



Australian icy similar to or on a line with that 

 System. carried on throughout Australia. 



Certain officials are at present inves- 

 tigating the Australian system with a view to pre- 

 senting it to Congress for consideration and possible 

 adoption. 



According to reliable information which we 

 have secured from Australia, the capital necessary 

 to establish one's self upon an irrigated farm is 

 about $2,000. Elsewhere in this issue will be found 

 a letter from Mr. Thomas Bunbury, Ballendella, 

 A^ictoria, Australia, in which he gives valuable in- 

 formation to intending settlers in that country. In 

 view of the fact that Australia is looking for a rea- 

 sonable number of settlers from America who will 

 be able to teach irrigation to their colonists from 

 the older countries, this letter should be gone over 

 carefully. 



We expect to publish articles regularly from 

 the pen of Mr. Bunbury and in that way give our 

 readers a good general idea of what a settler may do 

 under the Australian system. Generally speaking, 

 Australia offers better inducements to colonists 

 than any other country. It gives a long time 

 about thirty years in which to pay for the land, 

 and the first payment required is only about three 

 per cent of the land value, and a period of thirty 

 to thirty-two years in which to pay the balance in 

 annual instalments, with interest at the rate of six 

 per cent. 



Besides this, the Australian government ad- 

 vances money to the amount of about 60 per cent 

 for improvements on a new homestead. That is to 

 say, if a man, as explained by Mr. Bunbury, has 

 $2,000, he can invest that in farm equipment, while 

 the government will take care of building his house 

 and putting in his first crop. It is our impression 

 that fifteen years is given in which to return this 



loan of 60 per cent of the value of the buildings, 

 fencing, etc. The farmer, however, is expected to 

 pay for all of the smaller equipment, including live 

 stock, implements, etc. 



We hope to be able, in a short time, to furnish 

 a complete description of what the Australian gov- 

 ernment will do, as we have written for this infor- 

 mation to the colonization representative of that 

 country, who is at present in San Francisco. Mr. 

 Bunbury's letter will be found highly interesting 

 and we believe will give our readers a clear idea of 

 conditions in the "Land of the Southern Cross." 



A meeting of the Executive Corn- 

 Meeting mittee of the National Conservation 

 National Congress was held in Washington, 

 Conservation March 10, to consider various mat- 

 Congress, ters of importance. President Charles 

 L. Pack of Lakewood, \. J., in his 

 address pointed out that conservation must not in- 

 volve the possibility of retarding honest develop- 

 ment upon fair terms. 



In private conversation after the adjournment, 

 Mr. Pack stated that conservation does not mean 

 reservation ; that it means the best use of our re- 

 sources, with a fair regard for the present and the 

 future. It means also progress and prosperity. He 

 was moved to make these suggestions, he said, by 

 the misleading rumors that were spread abroad con- 

 cerning the alleged purposes and aims of the Con- 

 servation Congress. 



Continuing, Mr. Pack said that conservation is 

 in danger of "getting in bad" if the impression 

 should prevail that the Conservation Congress 

 stands for the closing of any avenue leading to the 

 honest development of public or private natural re- 

 sources. The kind of conservation that amounts 

 only to reservation and disuse, he believed, would 

 do greater harm to the present generation than it 

 would do good to those who come after us. 



President Pack's attitude is at direct variance 

 with the close corporation methods of the Pinchot 

 crowd, who aim to hold up all development of un- 

 occupied territory under the pretense of benefiting 

 future generations. It is clear to all who have 

 studied the subject that wise conservation means 

 development, with proper safeguards. As President 

 Pack says, rational conservation is an economic in- 

 stitution which means the fullest use of the natural 

 resources in such manner as to give the people of 

 today their chance, while it does not deprive pos- 

 terity of its chance. 



If Mr. Pack will study the situation as it exists 

 today in the West study it on the ground he will 

 learn that the Pinchot plan of conservation has not 

 aided in the development of the West, but on the 



