THE CONQUEST OF ARID AMERICA 



Popular ignorance of the West is another potent cause 

 which keeps the willing men away from the waiting 

 land. Undeveloped America is a vague and mysterious 

 quantity to the masses of our people. It curiously hap- 

 pens that they are better informed about Africa and the 

 regions of the North Pole. So much as is known about 

 these latter localities has been published in attractive 

 form and generally read by intelligent people. Then, 

 too, somewhat upon the principle that every boy finds 

 another's sister more interesting than his own, foreign 

 lands have a claim upon the attention of our people su- 

 perior to that of our own. It is doubtful if the senior 

 class at Harvard or Yale could pass a good examination 

 as to the history and resources of such mighty States as 

 Montana, Idaho, or Nevada, yet there would be little 

 risk in asking them for a good account of the lives and 

 surroundings of Paul Kruger and Cecil Rhodes, or for 

 the details of Nansen's voyage to the Pole. If this be 

 true of the liberally educated, who are surrounded by 

 all facilities for studying the undeveloped parts of their 

 own country, no apology need bo made for those who 

 enjoy no such opportunities. 



But if there is lack of information about the West, 

 there is no lack of misinformation. Vast quantities of 

 advertising matter have been sent broadcast by railroads, 

 land companies, and commercial organizations. This 

 class of reading matter has always been prepared in the 

 interest of certain localities, and comes under the head 

 of "boom literature." While some of it has been of 

 high character of its kind, the general ciTect of such ad- 

 vertising has been disappointing both to those who issued 

 to those who read it. 



